September 2009 Archives

For the first time, more US bank customers express a preference for managing their finances online compared to any other method, according to a survey from the American Bankers Association.

Source link

The survey of 1000 people, conducted for the ABA by Ipsos-Reid, shows online banking is preferred by one-in-four of the sample. It is the most popular method among all customer age groups under the age of 55 although older people still prefer visiting branches.

The survey also shows mobile banking is yet to make the predicted breakthrough, cited as the preferred method by only one per cent, with most of these being 18 to 24 year olds.

Branch banking is the second most popular method, cited by 21%, with 17% preferring to use ATMs and four per cent the telephone.

Nessa Feddis, senior counsel and retail banking expert, ABA, says: "This marks a watershed change. It tells us that for the first time, more consumers prefer the speed and convenience of conducting their banking transactions on the Internet than visiting their local branch. It also tells us that consumers now have confidence in the accuracy and security of online banking."

A recent poll sponsored by vendor Fiserv found that more than two million US households have adopted online banking and bill payment during the last year, meaning the services are now used in over three quarters of homes with Internet access.

Written by Amanda Ferrante   
Tuesday, 15 September 2009 00:00


ikea_2Well known for its innovative approach customer relationship management, home furnishings retailer IKEA has been giving customers all over the world something to talk about. Focused on providing consumers with the ultimate in function, design and price, Founder Ingvar Kamprad believed in saving in every way possible--except on ideas and quality. Store traffic has steadily increased, with nearly 650 million visitors in 2008 alone.

Largely attributed to the company's commitment to customer service, IKEA continues on inspiration and innovation. Retail TouchPoints recently caught up with IKEA US execs Tracey Kelly (Communications Manager) and Marty McGuire (Direct Marketing Manager) to discuss the company's approach to loyalty and the upcoming holiday shopping season, as well as new plans to tap into the new media goldmine that is, the mobile phone.

Retail TouchPoints: IKEA has established itself as a prominent player in the furniture industry with strong brand power and a commitment to customer service. What are some the fundamentals of IKEA's business model?

Tracey KellyIKEA's business idea is to offer a wide range of well designed, functional home furnishings products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. For more than 60 years IKEA has been learning about everyday life at home for people all over the world. We use that knowledge and experience to offer solutions that meet our customer's needs. We believe that although people may live on a limited budget, they still want to create a beautiful and functional home.  IKEA stores sell everything to furnish the home under one roof. The room settings in our stores show the range in an inspiring way that offers customers ideas and smart solutions for their homes. Most IKEA furniture is available to take home today so that customers can begin to enjoy their purchase immediately.

ikea_visitors

RTP: Can you speak to IKEA's loyalty program and how it integrates into customer service? What feedback have you seen from the recent deployment of IKEA FAMILY registration kiosks in Belgium? Is this an effort that might be expanded into the US market?

Marty McGuireOur global loyalty program "IKEA FAMILY" will be introduced in the US, but we are still working on the timing and how it will be integrated into the full shopping experience. Kiosks will play a role in our US program, benefiting from the IKEA experiences gained from other countries in addition to our own research.

RTP: The mobile phone has really been established as an additional channel in retail, and IKEA has taken full advantage of that by using it to build a database of customers. The response has been impressive, as Mobile Marketer reported 23,000 opt ins as of June. Are you seeing this number grow? How is IKEA putting this information to work? Targeted offers?

McGuire: Interest in IKEA Mobile content from our customers is increasing rapidly. There is a lot of opportunity to better serve our customers' needs by providing content that is optimized for their smartphone's display size and embraces the features they already use (SMS, GPS, Web access, downloadable apps, email, etc.). Mobile presence by retailers is expected from many consumers today, and we will increasingly be supporting existing and new customers through the mobile channel as smartphone penetration increases in the US.  IKEA US customers can now sign up for IKEA Mobile SMS notifications by texting "JOIN" to 62345, by visiting our IKEA US Mobile Web site at http://m.IKEA.us or via our Web site at www.IKEA-USA.com/signup.

RTP: From an overall retail perspective, how do you see customer behavior and purchasing patterns shifting going into holiday? What are some of the ways IKEA is driving in store traffic in the coming months?

Kelley: The biggest selling period for IKEA is when we distribute our annual catalog during August, not during the holidays as it might be with other retailers. Given the current economic conditions, we felt now is the time to lower prices even further on some of our best selling products for our new catalog. These are the products that our customers love; many of them have been in the IKEA range offering for many years. Based on our experience we know that by doing this we will drive traffic to our stores. We will continue to lower prices on many of our best sellers throughout the coming year.

The conventional wisdom is that when large vendors enter a niche market, those vendors "legitimize" that market. But the announcement that First Data and RSA Security are getting into the credit card tokenization business raises many issues beyond them simply "making" the tokenization market. Here is my first take on the implications of this announcement:

Posted from StorefrontBackTalk

  • Pressure On The PCI SSC To Embrace Tokenization
    The PCI Security Standards Council already commissioned Price-Waterhouse Coopers to do a study of tokenization, end-to-end encryption and other "beyond PCI" issues. The results will likely be discussed at the PCI SSC Community Meetings. That's great. Merchants, service providers and even QSAs want specific guidance about tokenization. This announcement and the weight of the players in the market should virtually guarantee that tokenization will be specifically addressed in the next release of PCI DSS, in addition to QSA training and other guidance from the SSC.

  • Pressure On Payment Processors And Gateways
    I have said before that the number of companies offering tokenization will increase several-fold within a year. We've already seen about a dozen players enter the market in the last six months. I'm expecting 30 to 40 more announced packages over the next six months, as payment processors, gateways, encryption vendors and application vendors all vie to see who can remove credit card data from the merchant environment the fastest.

  • Tokenization Standards And Portability Will Be Hot Topics In 2010
    The more options in the market, the more the demand for "token switching" will increase. Merchants who have entrusted their card data to Service Provider X will increasingly seek shorter duration contracts and have more specific demands about how they migrate their data from one tokenization provider to another.


    Because there are not currently any standards for either the form of a credit card token, how it is generated or how one token type can be converted to another (they can't, BTW), as more merchants realize this, they will raise concerns about being "locked in" to a particular tokenization approach. Smaller vendors will develop "token migration" or conversion tools, etc.

  • Multi-Channel Options And Other Complexity Issues Will Emerge


    Read rest of story at StorefrontBackTalk


  • New driver license legislation proposed

    Some believe that new proposed driver license legislation would help states better secure IDs while also protecting citizen privacy. Others say it "guts" an existing law and takes states back to pre-9/11 identity vetting for IDs.

    Debate on whether it increases or decreases security

    Story Link

    A hearing held in the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on the proposed bill called the Providing Additional Security in States' Identification (PASS) Act of 2009. Testimony revealed very different takes on the bill that would basically roll back, REAL ID. It's not clear how the proposed change would impact states already complying with REAL ID and rolling out new documents. Even with this new bill looming, some states are still moving ahead to comply with REAL ID.


    "The major problem with REAL ID is that it is producing very little progress in terms of securing driver's licenses, and it is not getting us to where we need to be," said Janet Napolitano, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "Simply put, REAL ID is unrealistic."

    Citing the almost $4 billion estimated price tags for states to switch to REAL ID and unfeasible deadlines, Napolitano offers up PASS as an alternative. Napolitano, when she was governor of Arizona, had signed a law against REAL ID.

    "PASS ID is a critical piece of national security legislation that will fix the REAL ID Act of 2005 and institute strong security standards for government-issued identification," she said. "PASS ID will fulfill a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, that the federal government set standards for identification such as driver's licenses and non-driver identification cards-and this bill will do so in a way that states will implement, rather than disregard. PASS ID will enact the same strong security standards set out by REAL ID as quickly as REAL ID but, critically, this bill provides a workable way to get there."

    Napolitano said that PASS ID keeps document verification and authenticating of source documents, advocates the physical security of ID production, requires that photos of applicants be taken and still has the requirement to show compliant IDs. "All in all, PASS ID would match the security provided in REAL ID, while providing the states with more flexibility to innovate and meet the standards," she said.

    How does it differ from REAL ID?

    The major difference is that PASS ID gives states different options to meet the criteria. "While REAL ID mandates electronic verification for all source document information, PASS ID would maintain a focus on ensuring the authenticity of identity source documents that applicants present, allowing states to adopt cost-effective ways to achieve or exceed that threshold," Napolitano said.

    Since states would be able to choose how to verify identity there would be some cost savings, Napolitano said. The bill would also codify state grants for driver licenses and speed up implementation.

    "States would have one year after the issuance of final DHS regulations to begin issuing compliant documents, and would have five years from that date to enroll driver's license holders as they see fit," she said. "The REAL ID deadline for completing issuance of compliant driver's licenses is December 2017. If Congress enacts the PASS ID Act as it is currently written by October 2009, states could complete enrollment by July 2016, a full one year and five months ahead of the REAL ID timetable."

    PASS ID potentially rolls back one key requirement of REAL ID, checking other states to see if an individual has multiple licenses. Napolitano and others say this was cause for privacy concerns. "PASS ID would not require states to provide direct access to each other's driver's license databases; in fact, the bill contains protections against creating any national identity database containing all driver's license information and requires states to adopt adequate procedures to prevent unauthorized access to or sharing of personally identifiable information," she said.

    Read rest of the story and how Opponents see PASS ID as a weak substitute for REAL ID.

    Link to story

    American are taking a shine to self-service healthcare.

    They may not be snatching the scalpel out of their doctor's hands and doing their own surgery, but they are registering on their own - in doctors' offices, clinics and hospitals - thanks to the advent of healthcare kiosks. Taking their cue from airlines, retail stores and banks, healthcare providers are using kiosks to speed up the registration process, enter valuable data into the electronic health record and push revenue cycle management capabilities to the front end - all while advancing the concept of consumer-directed healthcare.

    "The uniqueness of this application is that the patient is involved - this is the first application to focus on the patient," said Josh Napua, vice president of the healthcare group at Fujitsu, which has teamed with Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions to launch a kiosk. "This creates a portal for the patient into two key areas: billing and the EMR."

    Jeffery M. Kendall, director of business development for NCR, said kiosks are popular with healthcare providers seeking to clean up their front-office efficiencies. Tying the kiosk into a Web-based portal, providers are able to push appropriate clinical content to the patient prior to the appointment, as well as establish payment plans and set up billing procedures.

    NCR recently teamed up with Passport Health Communications of Franklin, Tenn., to integrate revenue cycle management solutions into NCR’s MediKiosk. “Increasing the efficacy and efficiency of front office activities can have a direct impact on improving revenue cycle. Integrating with Passport increases the benefit NCR solutions can have in this critical area,” said Raj Toleti, general manager of NCR Healthcare.

    The list of kiosk vendors in the healthcare market is large and growing larger by the day. It includes GE Healthcare, Siemens, the NCR Corp., Healthcare Kiosk Management, DynaTouch, Gokis, Medfusion, McKesson and D2 Sales, to name just a few. Another new entry to the market is Navicure, which partnered with Clearwave to unveil the Navicure Check-In solution in March. And The CBORD Group, based in Ithaca, N.Y., markets a series of kiosks designed specifically for food service in hospitals.

    According to a study undertaken by the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center, the healthcare kiosk market is expected to top $800 million by 2013. 

    Kiosks are popping up in hospitals and clinics from one end of the country to the other. The Carle Clinic Association in Illinois, one of the nation's largest private physician groups, implemented D2's My Patient Passport Express kiosks earlier this year at 11 offices in central Illinois. Following the rollout of 90 self-service kiosks in 60 medical clinics in southern California, Kaiser Permanente conducted a patient satisfaction survey. The survey indicated 75 percent of those using the kiosks found it to be faster than checking in with a receptionist.

    According to Lynn Dunbrack of Health Industry Insights, kiosks will work in the healthcare setting if they improve the patient experience - and that means reduce the time spent waiting, making the technology easy to use and linking patients to billing services. With so many hospitals operating in the red, she pointed out, a technology that improves revenue cycle management is a good sell.

    "There is the concern that you're removing the clinician from the encounter, but you're actually freeing up time for the clinician to talk to the patient," she added.

    Merge Healthcare is in the "proof of concept" phase for its own kiosk, which will feature registration, billing and management applications. Company officials were impressed by how kiosks had caught on in airports, but understand the airline and healthcare industries are vastly different.

    "The variations on a theme are pretty spectacular," said Tim Kulbago, Merge Healthcare's chief strategy officer. "Unlike airplanes, healthcare is still very much a person and a patient."

    Kulbago said a kiosk by itself won't work in a hospital setting. Merge is working with avatars, he said, to make the experience more personal for healthcare consumers.

    "It comes down to a comfort factor," he said. "It's a little impersonal, and sometimes you just want to talk to somebody."

    "The worst thing you can do is walk up to a kiosk and it tells you to go talk to somebody at the front desk," he added.

    As for concerns that kiosks would put nurses on the unemployment line or be too impersonal, Fujitsu's Napua said kiosks will actually free up nurses to make better use of their time.

    "The human interface doesn't go away," he said. "It actually enhances their jobs."

    Not everyone is enamored with kiosks. Kelvin Buncum, of Atlanta-based International Medical Solutions, says providers and patients need something more mobile - something that can be carried with the patient or doctor and be used by different people. To that end, IMS is marketing the Mobile Patient Communicator, which looks like a tablet PC and has all the functions of the kiosk.

    "It's a better alternative than the standard kiosk," said Buncum. "Kiosks have been out there for a bit and they haven't really penetrated well."

    Buncum said the MPC can be customized for each patient, capturing data and providing access to a portal that can provide educational material as well as directions and messaging. 
    "We think this is the missing piece of the puzzle for healthcare," he said.




    Related Ring Sites:
      GoKIS  |   ThinClient.org  |   keefner.com  |   Visi Kiosk site  |   KIOSK  |   Kis-kiosk.com  |
    Resource Sites:
      Elo TouchSystems  |   Acire Inc.  |   Nextep  |   TIO Networks  |   Olea  |   Self-Service Networks  |   Meridian Kiosks  |   Provisio  |   Kioware  |
      Selling Machine Partners  |   Source Technologies  |   Seepoint  |   5Point  |   Nanonation  |   Netkey  |   KioskCom  |   Summit Research  |   NCR  |