I want my Credit Card to be more like a Pizza

I’m not crazy, but I really can’t understand why my credit card which I use on a daily basis needs to be different from a Pizza order that I do once a month (if not less).

The On-Demand Economy

The on-demand economy is already here. People are used to get what they want, whenever they want and where they want it.
This trend, which is no longer new, effects almost all industries.
For example, Millennials (Y generation — born between 1980 and 2000) don’t really watch cable TV anymore, they use Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other on-demand TV services in which they can choose what and when to see.

Traditional TV is not working anymore for Millennials

Another example is listening to music. Most of the Millennials will never use the radio option, they will choose to use Pandora, Spotify, Apple music (streaming music services) and more options. In this way they can choose the type of music that they want to hear or the specific song or. a playlist whenever they want to.

Apple music options

But that’s not all, customers are used to track their order and to check every detail of their order status after confirming the order.
People want control. They pay for their product and they want to know where it is and when exactly they are going to get it.
Today in the era of Amazon and Uber, no customer will compromise for less.
Let’s say I ordered a Pizza.

From the moment I confirmed the order via the app, I have the option to track it doing its way to my home.
I can even know who will be the delivery guy and in some cases even to give him an online feedback after receiving my order.

Dominos Pizza Tracker

Finance And The On-Demand Economy

But not all industries are there. One example of an industry which is missing this important thing is the finance industry.
The finance industry is constantly trying to figure out what customers want and need.
This industry now stands in a super problematic situation when 33% of her Millennials customers don’t believe they even need them (the banks) and 73% would rather manage their money in financial services from GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon).
Banks and other financial companies are trying to solve this problem by adding innovative digital possibilities to their product’s portfolio.
But sometimes when you aim so high, you miss the basic that you should cover.

Millennial’s believes regarding banks

To understand what is that basic that they are missing, I will tell my personal experience in trying to get a new credit card.

Why Tracking My Credit Card Order Can’t Be Easier Like Pizza?

Three weeks ago I ordered a new credit card.
Unfortunately, my card got lost and I had to cancel it.
It was really nice that I had the option to cancel it immediately in the app without the need to talk with anyone.
This is really important since it is one of the customer’s “moment of truth” — those moments he really needs his bank’s support (but this is for a different post).
But since that moment everything went wrong:
1. I couldn’t see my old card transaction’s page anymore — which was really annoying since I still did have more purchases to pay for.
2. I didn’t get the new card number - so I didn’t have the option to use the new card number for virtual purchases (phone/internet).
3. I didn’t get an order number - so I didn’t have the option to track it and actually till now, I have no clue where my new card is.
4. No one from the customer service tried to contact me — after all, they can see I ordered a card and didn’t activate it.

What they could do different?

1. At the moment the customer order a new card /checks book or even request for a new credit limit — he should get a tracking number, using SMS, Chatbot or Mail.
2. The customer should have the digital option to track his order and it should be updated in real time.
3. Don’t leave your customers without a way to view their history (even if the request ended or the card is blocked)- it is critical to present those options in the company’s digital channels.
4. Define reports for the customer’s support team — for example: a report of customers who didn’t got their card cards after X days.
5. Talk with your customers — call customers who applied for a new product or request and hear about their experience.
6. Send the customer a summary of the request at the end, via mail.

So, just to summarize my point :

• The on-demand economy is here - Join it or Stay behind.
• Prioritize your innovation plans from basic to advanced.
• Customer experience should be designed per process — end to end- don’t leave open ends.
• Use your big data to discover those frustrated customers and help them- Be Proactive.
• If I can track my pizza order (even when it is at the oven), there is no reason I won’t be able to track my credit card order.
• That goes for all customer’s interactions with financial institutes such as product ordering, new requests and so on.