The vast majority of electronic communications between a consumer and a business are inherently not secure, be they via email, fax or web forms. At some point of the transaction journey, the data will travel across publically accessible networks which open up the transaction to potential security issues. It is this very fact that has prevented many financial institutions from embracing a broader range of customer communication channels when engaging with their customers.

numero’s Secure Messaging Portal is a key element of the Out of the Box self service web portal. This important component quickly and easily delivers the capability for secure two way communications. Similar in functionality to a regular email inbox, customers can create, receive and manage their secure messages once they have been positively authenticated.

In addition to traditional service questions, secure messages can also take the form of transactional requests (such as Change of Address or order information) along with the increasing popular use of chat conversations. Where it is not possible to deliver a reply or answer in real time (or at the point of contact) then a unsecure notification is automatically sent to the consumer via their preferred channel to inform them of an answer being delivered to their secure area. This communication update is likely to be either via a regular email or SMS contact. Of course, each of these notifications, together with return to the Secure Messaging Portal represents a permission based marketing opportunity to the business to sell to its customers or increase brand loyalty.