6 Ways IVR Rocks for the Prepaid Card Industry

As the holiday season comes barreling at us like a runaway train, prepaid card companies start to prepare for an onslaught of new customers. Prepaid cards have become a ubiquitous form of currency. Companies use them to fulfill rebates, average Joes and Jills use them as gifts, and there are plenty of other uses for them, too.

Fortunately, with the right technology managing prepaid cards for customers can be a lucrative business. As with any customer interaction, managing prepaid cards effectively requires convenient access, accurate information, and fast transactions. Interactive voice response (IVR) checks all of these boxes when it comes to customer self-service.

Here are six ways that prepaid companies can use IVR to manage customer interactions.

1. Activation/Registration

This is probably the most obvious use case for prepaid cards. Having a registration process helps companies obtain additional information about their customers, which, in turn, enables them to provide better service.

2. Account Balance/Updates

It’s happened a million times. Someone uses a prepaid card for one transaction, but they leave a balance on the card. Customers can check their balance with a quick phone call. See our post with example code for a balance check application to help you get started.

3. Transaction Details

Sometimes it’s not enough to simply know the balance of a card; a customer may want to know how the balance got to its current level. This is especially true if you allow customers to replenish the funds on a given card.

4. Account Top-Up

If you offer a top-up option to customers, then that’s another process that can easily be completed over the phone. For this type of financial transaction make sure that your IVR is PCI-compliant.

5. PIN Changes

Giving customers the option to set and update the PIN number on their prepaid card provides a valuable security feature that keeps their funds safe. IVR streamlines this process and presents customers with a fast method to control their account.

6.  Report Lost/Stolen Cards

When life throws a curveball, you’ll be there for your customers, giving them a way to report cards that are lost or stolen. You can also provide a way for customers to leave voice messages for more complicated, non-urgent issues.

All of this points to the fact that prepaid companies can get a lot of mileage out of their voice channel when it comes to customer service. Not only is voice extremely reliable and easy to use, but these factors also contribute to confidence in the channel, confidence from you and your customers alike.

It’s probably not a good idea to completely do away with live agents, but having a proactive, useful IVR means that prepaid companies can operate at a high level with fewer employees. Obviously, the cost savings here is considerable as well because technology can work around the clock for pennies on the dollar compared to what agents cost.

Here at Plum Voice, we not only specialize in IVR, but we work with many prepaid card companies already so we have the industry experience to get your customer service optimized in no time.