Often, the most effective and certainly quickest way to make improvements to the bottom line of a business is by adjusting its day-to-day operational performance.
How can Accourt help?
Accourt’s consultants have substantial P&L management experience in the financial services sector. As such they are well-versed in driving day-to-day business performance. This real world experience can be readily deployed to benefit Accourt’s clients.
Customer Acquisition & Retention
Accourt has specific and proven expertise in payments, including card systems, together with effective management practices and processes and is well placed to assist clients to develop effective strategies for:
Customer Acquisition:
we support clients to develop effective processes to identify appropriate target segments, as well as marketing campaigns to ensure effective acquisition.
Cardholder Activation:
we assist issuers to ensure newly issued cards are activated and used, as well as identifying strategies for activating cards that have remained dormant for some time.
Usage:
we deploy proven marketing campaigns that drive usage both domestically and in a cross-border environment.
Customer Retention:
we provide effective segmentation strategies and techniques to enable financial institutions to retain and enjoy the strong revenues that are yielded from an effectively managed account base.
Loyalty Programmes:
we work with financial institutions and retailers to provide differentiated loyalty solutions that are valued by cardholders whilst adding to the bottom line of the programme owners.
Performance Improvement
Because of our consultants’ wide experience across major organisations in the payments sector, they are able to rapidly identify issues that are constraining our clients businesses, and to make practical and actionable recommendations for change.
Areas of expertise include product management; risk and fraud management; payments processing; card issuing and acquiring; and technology management.
Examples
For a leading provider of payments solutions and technology, reviewed the operational performance of an existing deployment which was regularly experiencing significant downtime; we made recommendations for changes both immediate and longer term to reduce the impact to, and ultimately eliminate, the performance issues being experienced.
For a Tier 1 acquirer, reviewed merchant acceptance channels and interchange qualification process to understand current shortcomings; worked with the client to develop a better interchange qualification process to ensure transactions qualified for the best rate.
For a leading commercial card issuer, analysed its transaction decline performance both at portfolio level and amongst its largest clients. Identified key areas for improvement and made specific practical recommendations which when implemented will deliver substantial volume growth alongside cardholder satisfaction improvements.
Process Design and Documentation
Through a logical and comprehensive approach, Accourt is able to capture and document existing business processes, and where appropriate identify areas for improvement/streamlining.
Example:
For a Tier 1 international payment scheme – documented in detail and created a core Service Level Agreement for a new mobile payment related solution. As part of this, Accourt acted as primary interface for, and managed engagements with, key hardware providers as well as banks and other external parties.
Target Operating Model Design & Agreement
Accourt has significant front-line experience in organisational and operational design within blue chip organisations globally.
This experience, drawn from P&L responsibility within major international organisations, ensures that Accourt is extremely well positioned to support clients in designing and operationalising fit-for-purpose and effective capabilities.
Examples
For two Tier 1 International Retail Banking Groups analysed and evaluated the pre-existing capability and then developed and implemented an efficient and effective target operating model which delivered significant performance improvements and efficiency gains.
For a leading non-European foreign exchange bureau operator, assessed its current state and identified and prioritised areas for change. In parallel with making necessary immediate remedial changes, working at Board level designed the future operating model for the business. Then oversaw and led the change programme to migrate to that new operating model.
Why Choose Accourt
We have a team of high calibre individuals who have successfully managed numerous Regulatory and Payment Scheme applications for organisations wishing to apply for full banking, electronic money and PI licences. Our seasoned experts have both the relevant IP, hands-on experience and operational know-how to ensure successful applications.