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NEWSFLASH #60 | 18th October
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Striata Secure eDocument Delivery and Email Bill Presentment & Payment are solution sets (software applications
and adoption methodologies) that deliver rapid reduction in operational costs and quicker payment, by revolutionizing
the way bills, statements, paystubs and other high volume system-generated documents are delivered and paid. Unlike today's
online billing solutions, which insist on consumers visiting and registering at a website, Striata delivers feature rich,
registration-free, navigable and interactive secure email documents directly to the inbox with 'one-click', no registration
electronic payment. This innovative and strategic change from 'pull' to 'push' dramatically increases consumer adoption of electronic
billing, allowing the biller to achieve rapid ROI from their self-service and e-correspondence investments.
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Case Study: Striata Secure 'PUSH' E-Statements at ABSA Bank
SUMMARY
ABSA has implemented Striata's highly secure and easy to use eStatement and eContact solutions with the aim to reducing costs, improving efficiencies and providing improved customer service to its credit card and vehicle finance customers.
OVERVIEW
ABSA Group Limited is one of South Africa's largest financial services organizations, serving personal, commercial and corporate customers in South Africa.
The Group also provides products and services to selected markets in the United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore as well as Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe in Africa.
The Group interacts with its customers through a combination of physical and electronic channels, offering a comprehensive range of banking services, from basic products and services for the low-income personal market to customized solutions for the commercial and corporate markets, as well as bancassurance and wealth management products and services.
Using Striata's Secure 'PUSH' eBilling solution, ABSA now offers its credit card and vehicle finance customers an easy and secure way to receive their statements directly in their email inbox. All resultant inbound emails from customers are managed through Striata's eContact offering which has been implemented within ABSA's eMessaging operations business unit.
"ABSA has embraced the digital world and is striving to reduce paper wherever possible. The Electronic Statement project is a key element of this process," says Carl Louw, Head: Internet Channel, ABSA Bank.
THE CHALLENGES
Distribution of the 7 Million plus statements to ABSA's clients was being provided by a hard copy printed solution together with some electronic functionality available through the ABSA web portal, for which adoption rates were poor.
The traditional paper-based solution has substantial costs as well as the highest risk for identity theft. In line with ABSA's stated drive to service customers electronically rather through physical means, the bank required an easy to use, secure electronic billing system that would allow for simple management of statements, reduced data capturing and paper elimination.
ABSA was also looking to improve internal efficiencies through the ability to both track the documentation being sent and effectively manage all inbound emails.
The bank searched for a viable commercial solution to suit its requirements and selected Striata's Secure eStatement and eContact solutions.
THE SOLUTION
ABSA initially implemented Striata's Secure eStatement solution for credit card customers, followed by vehicle finance customers and is now in the process of expanding this solution as part of a bank wide strategy.
Striata dramatically simplifies statement presentation as there is no paper, no paper filing, no website to visit, no registration required and no choosing and remembering 'usernames and passwords'.
The eStatements, created as an HTML attachment to an email, are encrypted and can only be accessed when the recipient uses their shared secret.
Security of the eStatement is fundamentally 'two-factor' authentication. Recipients need access to the email inbox the bank has on record for them as well as enter the required 'shared secret' to view the document.
A further enhancement is planned so that each encrypted email has a digital signature to authenticate that the email originated from the approved ABSA sending domain and that it was not altered or tampered with in transit.
Crucially, by using HTML, Striata is able to compress the eStatement and related documentation to such a degree that large amounts of data can be included in a relatively small encrypted email attachment without affecting the deliverability and usability thereof.
Inbound message handling is facilitated using the Striata eContact Suite, which provides ABSA customer service teams with an effective interactive email management system. The solution operates across inbound channels to provide a consolidated view of a customer's electronic interaction history. Efficiency is also maximized through standard automated responses, search functionality and escalation procedures.
THE RESULTS
The implementation of the Striata solution resulted in an estimated Return On Investment within eight (8) months, with annual savings of approximately R1,500,000.
ABSA customers now only need to provide a valid email address to receive their Statements electronically. There are no more paper bills to file and the secure HTML attachments can be saved and viewed without being online. A one-click print function is built in, should hardcopies be required by the customer.
Customer service has been visibly improved with the efficiencies provided by the Striata eContact Suite.
CONCLUSION
Striata has given ABSA the power to provide its customers with a safe, secure and highly convenient electronic statement solution.
Benefits to ABSA and its clients include instant statement delivery and massive paper & postage savings as well as significantly improved customer service and related efficiencies.
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If you have questions or comments you would like to share on this topic, please send me an email.
Kind regards,
Garin Toren
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Editorial: 48 Wall Street, Suite 1100, New York, NY, 10005.
© 2007 Striata North America. Contact us for reprints/story use at
info@usa.striata.com, or call +1 88 88 USAPAY.
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