best ivrs for card activation

The Best IVRs for Card Activation Follow These Best Practices

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From credit and debit cards to gift and prepaid cards, when it comes to the best IVRs for card activation it’s more about the customer experience than ever before. From ease of use to lack of dead ends in the user interface, solid IVR solutions keep containment rates high while reducing cost by utilizing your workforce elsewhere.

This is especially the case as the holiday shopping season revs up – people will be spending money more than usual as we see credit and debit card payments increasing year over year. Additionally, physical gift cards continue to maintain their stronghold in a $600 million industry.

A reputable IVR service for card activation and servicing will provide voice-activated card management that’s available 24/7 and easy for customers to use. Here are the major boxes to check when shopping around for your IVR solution. 

5 Qualities of The Best IVRs for Card Activation 

Eliminating Bottlenecks

Using the voice channel is reliable and intuitive. For most customers, it’s an easier alternative to visiting a website, logging in (including the hurdle of two-factor authentication) and typing in long card numbers. Eliminating as many bottlenecks as possible empowers the customer to access what they need without drama. 

When shopping around, find an IVR solution that can efficiently support the customer needs for this transaction, and grow as your business grows with additional offerings. Proper mapping is needed so that callers aren’t put on an endless loop or even dropped from the call. Here are the top ways you can get the most out of activation IVR:

  • Ensuring customer info is easily accessible to answer voice prompts. For example, not asking for the account number if it’s something super hard to find.
  • Clear organization on the caller’s journey as they are activating or servicing their cards
  • Following up beyond activation with pro-active and consistent alerts and notifications

A properly organized IVR system will handle most customer card activations, allowing your contact center agents to handle your more complex incoming customer requests. For more information, check out 3 Ways To Improve IVR Containment Rates Without Touching Your IVR.

Security & Compliance

When shopping around for an IVR solution for credit, debit, and prepaid cards, you will want a solution that is PCI-DSS and SOC2 certified. Both of these credentials require meeting rigorous standards in regards to data security. 

PCI-DSS – or the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard – is the standard for major credit card brands when it comes to information security. Requirements govern the following:

  • Devices and software used at point-of-sale, including regular inspection of these devices for tampering
  • How to store sensitive data
  • Best practices such as the use of firewalls, encrypted routers and strong passwords
  • Employee training on data protection and adherence to PCT Data Security Standard

For more information, check out our Security and Compliance page.  

Ease of Use

The name of the game in activation IVR is to have the customer activate the card as quickly as possible without snags. Once the card is activated, they should be able to nimbly utilize service features such as balance inquiries, lost/stolen card mitigation, card reloading (if applicable), and transaction details. They should be able to do this anytime and anywhere just by talking into their phone, without being asked for information that takes too long to locate.

How will you know if the vendors you are considering check off these boxes? Luckily, providers such as Plum Voice offer free platform demos so that you can experience the system for yourself. It’s also helpful to check reputable software review sites, especially paying attention to reviews from those in your industry. 

Workflow Improvement

When IVR handles simple tasks like card activations, this unburdens live agents so that they can focus on more complex incoming customer requests. Even better, IVR is available 24/7/365.

When purchasing IVR software, consider the cost savings when making your decision. Similarly, when speaking to potential vendors, make sure you get the full picture of the costs involved and what kind of assistance you can expect throughout the duration of your contract. Be sure to ask about their uptime and what kind of help you can expect if there is an outage. Finally, be sure to get detailed information on the installation and training costs and consider the costs related to employee onboarding. 

Higher Containment Rates

At Plum Voice, those who use our voice self-serve solutions enjoy containment rates as high as 90% and higher. This has occurred with clients that started at containment rates in the 50-60% range – all just by applying best practices that are intrinsic to the way we build IVR.

For example, a Major Financial Services Company enjoys a 90% containment rate while fewer than 10% of calls are handled by agents. By using IVR as a central location for receiving incoming calls in the cloud, this company was able to own and control the initial customer interaction.

As a company that outsourced most of its call center needs, Plum DEV allowed this financial company to create dynamic call routing rules for transferring calls between its multiple call centers. This intelligent call routing ensured that calls were transferred to the agents best suited to handle the needs of individual customers.

Another bonus of higher containment rates is that it can have a positive impact on billables. Effective communication to ensure timely payments, which promotes healthy cash flow.

Learn more in this case study on how a Major Financial Services Company uses Plum DEV to control initial customer interaction and improve automation rates. 

How To Get Started

Voice self-service, or activation IVR, is an essential tool for allowing consumers to securely activate cards and complete common service requests. Try Plum today and experience how our intuitive call-flow editor streamlines the card activation process.

Here are a few reasons to consider Plum for your card activation IVR:

  • Certified with PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC2, Cyber Essentials, and Visa & Mastercard Verified, Plum Voice technology provides data security you can trust
  • We guarantee 100% platform uptime in our SLAs
  • Simple subscription allows you to have access to all products without hidden fees

Use automation to improve security, reliability and accessibility for your mission-critical processes, all while saving money. Talk to an expert today or get started with a free demo.