If Top Gun™ has taught us anything, it’s that you need someone covering your six. Cover my six. Watch my six. Keep my six. Any way you say it, the point is, I can’t see my blind spots and I need someone who is looking out for my best interest. The saying rings true both personally and in the world of business.
At Marqeta, we talk a lot about service. White glove service. It could easily be a throwaway marketing line. The truth is, too many businesses proudly tout their amazing customer service without the ability to back up their claim.
But how many vendors, partners or service providers do you have that are able to give you tangible, real-world examples of what this white glove service looks like in practice?
In this new series, we are stepping up to the challenge and sharing what true white glove service looks like in the real world. What dedicated partnership looks like. What it means to have someone who is not just paying attention to your blindspots, but is working actively to help you mitigate whatever risks may be lurking.
The Problem: Picture this; A happy-go-lucky cardholder has just received their first shiny new debit card in the mail. Like about 71% of U.S. consumers surveyed (according to the 2022 State of Consumer Money Movement Report), they eagerly add the new card to their mobile wallet (think Apple Pay®, Google PayTM, etc).
As with all fun new shiny toys they are ready to take their mobile wallet offering out for a spin. They head to their favorite Friday breakfast joint to treat themselves to a delicious savory egg sandwich, a golden crispy hash brown, and hot (but not too hot…you know why) soul-warming coffee. They attempt to pay for their meal with their digital wallet, and bam! Declined!
To add insult to injury, the cardholder left the house without their physical wallet, because of course they fully expected their new card to work. As a line of cars starts to pile up, the honking begins, and our hero feels cold beads of sweat and an overwhelming feeling of panic, which is quickly replaced by frustration.
So what happened? The cardholder did everything right. They loaded their card correctly, their phone is telling them everything is in order. Unfortunately, many cardholders may find themselves facing similar scenarios at various times, days, and locations.
The cause: Most of these issues arise from card networks failing to send us requests to activate the digital wallet tokens on time. Sometimes, they don't send the requests at all.
The solution: The Marqeta tokenization team has implemented a few solutions that resolved 90% of these errors. One of these solutions involves the Marqeta Tokenization Service. Through that service, Marqeta proactively reaches out to the card network to confirm the status of the digital wallet token. If the card network confirms that the token is activated then we are able to activate the digital wallet token in our service, allowing the digital wallet payment to be completed. This initiative has been in the works for quite some time, which required meticulous planning, analysis, infrastructure improvements, and development.
Outcome: Quantifying the impact of work to prevent problems that cause false declines isn’t simple. It’s like quantifying the work of air traffic controllers. The planes don’t crash. The flying public has faith in air safety. Everything works the way we all expect it to. Similarly, preventing false declines means your cardholders have a positive experience at checkout.
Javelin reported that 39% of declined cardholders said that they abandoned their card after being falsely declined. A survey from Finsphere found that 82% of cardholders who experienced a false decline felt the episode was inconvenient, embarrassing, or irritating. According to another study by Sapio Research, 33% of falsely-declined new shoppers abandon the transaction and retailer entirely and never try again.
So, preventing these problems is priceless. A positive cardholder experience at checkout earns the card top-of-wallet status and you enjoy positive vibes with your cardholders. Once the card is top-of-wallet, it gets used again and again. When your call center isn’t inundated with a ton of embarrassed cardholders experiencing problems, the customer support team can devote time to customers experiencing more complicated issues.
That’s what it means to have a partner who has your six. We’re looking out for your interests because our success depends on your success.
*Names have been changed to protect our clients. Because that’s what a partner who has your six does.
