| Insurance buyers expect more technology from their Agents. Here's an example for the tax season.
Income tax returns (April 15 is just around the corner!). Purchase-incentive rebates. Insurance premium overpayment refunds. These are just some of the instances in which you might receive a paper check in the mail. In this day of electronic funds transfers and direct deposit, holding a check in your hands, and realizing that you now have to make a trip to an actual bank branch (or ATM, at best), can be cause for much consternation, inconvenience — and maybe even a touch of nostalgia. It’s an unnatural disruption in your otherwise automated life.
Like many Americans, your clients probably already do a fair amount of banking online. Web sites of the major banks, such as Citibank, provide users with facilities for checking balances, administering accounts and personal information, transferring funds (both inter- and intra-institution), messaging, and a host of related services.
Now, CheckFree Corp., a provider of online banking services, has introduced a technology that allows customers to scan and deposit paper checks online. “Remote Deposit Capture” has existed for several years now, primarily for commercial uses, but it’s now poised to enter the consumer market. The technology that makes these transactions possible is already in place at 150 of the leading banks.
In order to “deposit” a paper check from home, consumers will need a scanner, computer, and an Internet connection. After logging in to their bank’s Web site, they enter the amount and other details of the check, scan both sides of it, and then submit the transaction to the bank. Banks can add their own anti-fraud protection to CheckFree’s transaction process.
This is just one example of the many technological innovations that your clients are coming to expect to help them manage their busy lives. How easy are you making it for your clients and prospects to interact with your agency online? Tekcetera can help. One more reason for you to consider signing up for our SiteWizard for Insurance Agents package.
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