Banking Industry Trying Improve Its Battered Image

These days, banks and credit card issuers have been vilified.  With interest rate hikes, increased fees, government bailouts, and high CEO salaries; customers seem to be fed up with the financial industry as a whole.  JD Powers and Associates 2009 Credit Card Satisfaction Survey questioned 9,000 credit card customers on their overall satisfaction with their credit card issuers.  The survey focused on 6 main areas: customer interaction, fees and rates, billing and payment process, rewards, benefits and services, and problem resolution.  The results reported the lowest level of customer satisfaction in the three year history of the survey.  But there is some good news.  The banking industry is trying hard to improve its battered image as many banks and card issuers are developing innovative ways to give back to the community, their customers, and the environment with the creative use of credit cards and credit card-based programs.

Giving Back

If you are looking to donate to a charity and purchase a gift card, you can do both with the new United Way Charity Gift Card.  American Express, the card issuer, will donate the $3.95 card purchase fee (up to $250,000) to the United Way. The card can only be purchased online at the American Express website any time until October 31, 2010. Recently American Express has eliminated all monthly fees on its gift cards and was named #1 in overall customer satisfaction by the JD Powers Survey. The United Way has been named as the largest global non-profit with 1,800 community based United Ways in 45 countries and territories.  The focus of the charity centers on education, income and health.   

Going Green
Many consumers believe the environment is an important issue in America today.  RecycleBank, headquarted in New York City, aims to address those concerns with its new Gconomy Visa card.  The card, produced on 55% recycled plastic, will reward consumers for their green behavior by giving 1.5 RecycleBank reward points for every dollar spent shopping at  participating RecycleBank partners such as CVS, Kmart and Sears.com. 

Other highlights of the Gconomy card:

• Donates a portion of every purchase to the RecycleBank Green School Program.  A program that offers grants for environmental education for students in the local neighborhood.  RecycleBank is committed to giving at least $1 million over the next 5 years to green schools through the Gconomy Visa Card.
• Earn one RecycleBank point for every $1 spent any where Visa is accepted.

Money Games
Studies show that many teens know little about money management.  A recent report by The National Jumpstart Coalition Survey of High School Seniors and College Students found that financial literacy among high school students had fallen to its lowest levels ever.  A 2009 Sallie Mae report on how undergraduate students use credit cards noted 84% of the student population has a credit card, but most do not know how to properly use it.  To bridge this education gap, Visa and the National Football League have recently released a free video game called “Financial Football.”  The game uses a financial literacy curriculum from Practical Money Skills for Life to engage and educate teens (and adults) on finances, debt, mortgages, and credit card management.   In order to win the game, players must answer a series of financial based questions to advance down the field.  The game is free and can be downloaded to play on computers or cell phones.    

Image Makeover
The reputation of banks and credit card issuers has hit an all time low as consumers struggle under what they perceive to be unfair fees, rate hikes, and poor customer service, but banks are making an effort to win customers over with innovative and unique programs to better serve their clients and their communities.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Credit Card News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.