Four Benchmarks to Enhance Business Customer Retention – November 2012
Benchmark #1: “Anywhere” Solutions.
For many merchants today, accepting card payments with a mobile phone is an absolute necessity.
FACT: Bankers’ Bank of the West has a card-reader solution that enables your merchants to transact business anywhere, anytime—with ease and confidence. As a matter of fact, you may be surprised at the wide variety of processing solutions we support.
Benchmark #2: Ties That Bind.
Your business customers are valuable. Conventional wisdom holds that attracting a new customer costs much more than keeping a current customer. You can protect your merchant relationships by choosing a well-established merchant services provider that you and your merchants trust.
FACT: Unfortunately, a growing number of independent service organizations today have folded hidden fees, steep markup on equipment, and expensive termination fees into their merchant contracts. Bankers’ Bank of the West supports your relationships with your merchant customers, never soliciting your accounts. BBW clearly discloses all fees upfront to the merchant and passes along our favorable pricing on equipment to the merchant. Our honest business practices reflect positively on your bank and further develop the merchant’s loyalty toward you.
Benchmark #3: Know-how.
Education is critical, especially in a field as technology-reliant and rapidly changing as bank card services.
FACT: Bankers’ Bank of the West seeks to keep community banks up to date on industry developments. Over the years, BBW has developed relationships with technology-driven partners whose bank card expertise has been shared at BBW’s annual bank card conferences, by mail, in conference calls, and through webinar presentations. What’s more, merchant customers of Bankers’ Bank of the West receive personalized training for their staff, at their bank, at no cost—a benefit that very few of our competitors provide.
Benchmark #4: Peace of Mind.
Having provided merchant processing services in local communities since 1992, Bankers’ Bank of the West has emerged as the time-tested partner of choice.
FACT: There’s no need to dedicate day-to-day resources to back-office support when Bankers’ Bank of the West skillfully carries out all of your back-office responsibilities, from under-writing to equipment ordering, programming and deployment. BBW also performs day-to-day support of your merchants. Another critical factor that clearly separates BBW from the pack is that we adhere to the strictest security standards in the industry.
To learn about bank card programs available through Bankers’ Bank of the West, contact SVP Mary Ann Elliott-Supples, msupples@bbwest.com or 800-601-8630.
September Brief on the CFPB’s Final Rule amending Regulation E (September 7, 2012)
To Bankers’ Bank of the West (BBW) customers:
More than six months have passed since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) amended Regulation E and interpretations of Regulation E concerning consumers’ electronic remittance transfers to foreign countries. The CFPB’s Final Rule—which implements statutory requirements set forth in Section 1073 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act—will become effective February 7, 2013.
We want to assure you that BBW will be able to provide you with information to assist your bank in complying with the new remittance rule. We have worked closely and frequently with all of our business partners involved in the remittance chain to assess viable approaches. Those frequent discussions have resulted in significant progress, and we plan on sharing the information with you when all critical elements are in place.
BBW remains committed to supporting customers with essential information you can use to comply with the Final Rule. Nevertheless, remember that each community bank bears responsibility for ensuring its own compliance. We recommend that financial institutions use the next few months to prepare internally. You might start by making necessary changes to your controls and procedures, and by deciding which disclosures to use when the Final Rule goes into effect. Look at transactional data to better understand how the changes will affect your bank. Additionally, keep the highest levels of your organization involved in deciding how your bank will handle consumer-initiated international remittances. The more thoroughly you prepare now, the smoother your transition will be next February.
You can download the Final Rule, a variety of model forms, and other relevant documentation on the CFPB website.