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Editorial Viewpoint New Light on Consumer Confidence Spotlight On Consolidated Credit Counseling Services, Inc. Spotlight On Huntington National Bank COVER STORY 2005 Customer Symposium Takes a Wide-Angle Look at Electronic... CASE STUDY PNC Bank Leverages MasterCard RPPS Connection As It... EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION Two Team Members Recognized for Exceptional... NEWS REPORT Consumer Marketing Program Drives Adoption of Online... NEWS REPORT New Customers! INDUSTRY INSIGHTS Q&A with David Jones, Ph.D.		SPOTLIGHT ON Huntington National Bank For Huntington National Bank, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, customer education and support have fueled exceptional growth in its online banking and bill payment services. With the help of MasterCard RPPS, Huntington delivers what its customers demand from online bill payment while maximizing the efficiency of its own operations. Online success The only bank subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated, a $33 billion regional bank holding company, Huntington has been a MasterCard RPPS customer since 1992. The bank first offered bill payment services via telephone and took the service online when it launched its home banking Web site in 1996. "Right now we're servicing about 40% of our consumer households for online banking," says Jeremiah Lotz, product manager for Retail Online Transactions, Enterprise Online Services. "With our online bill payment, we're servicing about 30% of our online base." That translates into nearly 4 million payments annually moving through MasterCard RPPS. This accounts for approximately 67% of Huntington's electronic payments—a number that is growing fast, thanks to the efforts of the MasterCard RPPS account team. "We'd like to have even more volume moving through that connection," Lotz says. "Our partnership with MasterCard RPPS is the ultimate in allowing us to provide fast electronic payments to our customers. They expect that if they're paying online, it's going to be fast and easy, and MasterCard RPPS allows us to meets those expectations." At the same time, Lotz notes, online payments reduce the bank's transaction handling and costs, as well as the potential for error, and raise customer satisfaction levels. To better meet its customers' needs, the bank completely renovated its public Web site in early 2005 and recently overhauled its online bill payment service. The site and the online banking services were recently ranked in the top five in the respected Gómez Internet service ratings. Customer education While Huntington has done some marketing for its online banking services, it relies primarily on education to bring customers to the online channel. "When we open a new account, we tell the customer about the functionality and the benefits of our online services. We've found that once they try it, they're usually hooked," Lotz says. Of course, the online banking and bill payment services are free for anyone with a personal checking account. "Customers are now expecting this to come with their other products," he says. Security of the online channel is a major concern for consumers. "We educate them on what we're doing about fraud, identity theft, and security," he adds. "We're proactively addressing these issues, and we make customers aware of our efforts through multiple channels—from our reps to statement messages and stuffers to the Web site itself. "We educate our sales force, too, so that they know and use the online services themselves. When they get a new account, our reps can sit down and go through an online banking and bill payment session with the customer," he says, "and that builds trust." The MasterCard RPPS touch Huntington understands the power of listening to its customers' feedback and supporting their needs. That may be why the bank is so satisfied with its relationship with MasterCard RPPS. "Customer service has been phenomenal," says Lotz. "We had a couple of things we needed to address, and the support staff were able to get them done quickly and effortlessly. In addition, MasterCard RPPS was willing to come out here at our request and conduct an operational review session with us, which will really help us better utilize the service." Lotz singles out the MasterCard RPPS Online Biller/Creditor Directory as a huge advantage, enabling the bank to identify what merchants are taking payments electronically and to convert expensive paper transactions to electronic payments. "We want to get more involved with MasterCard RPPS so we can take better advantage of the other products and services it offers," says Lotz. Printer Friendly Version Back to Top