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Press ReleaseClairMail Powers Retail Banking with New Version of Mobile Customer Interaction SystemGroundbreaking solution optimizes any mobile phone to become a valuable 2-way channel for customer interaction Novato, Calif., October 9, 2006 — ClairMail™, Inc., the leader in mobile phone-based customer interaction solutions, today introduced the latest version of its breakthrough messaging-powered mobile customer interaction system customized for the retail banking industry. The new offering adds a host of new features to power retail banking services — including actionable alerts, on-demand access to account information, second-factor authentication and no-hold customer service. Financial institutions interact with customers through a variety of delivery channels — in-person, ATMs, call centers, interactive voice response (IVR) and online — yet none of these channels translate well to the mobile phone. There are more than 225 million mobile subscribers in the United States which, at an astounding 76% penetration rate, exceeds even the Internet. With its ubiquity, constant availability and unique capabilities — including the ability to improve security for wireless and online transactions — the mobile phone is the obvious platform for delivering the next generation of customer interaction. Clearly, optimizing the mobile phone for customer interaction is a growing customer need to which every type of business — including financial institutions, online merchants and traditional retailers — must respond. ClairMail's revolutionary system enables a real-time, two-way channel between the mobile phone and secure information via text messaging or wireless email. Initially targeting financial institutions, the ClairMail system delivers convenient, secure and always-on mobile services to its customers and enables retail banks to extend access, expand service and displace expenditures in existing channels. The ClairMail system empowers customers to access secure information on demand and allows banks to interact with customers on important communications such as transaction verifications. According to a recent IDC white paper sponsored by ClairMail, Reducing Friction and Cost of Customer Interactions: Leveraging Mobile Devices to Deliver New Services and Multifactor Authentication (Doc #202109, Aug 2006), "solutions such as those from ClairMail … are in a strong position to deliver the right combination of functionality, ease of use and security for mobile banking and other forms of mobile commerce." Powered by ClairMail, mobile customers are now able to securely retrieve account balance and activity information, and to execute transactions like transferring funds or confirming bill payments — by simply sending a text message or email. Moreover, they can insert themselves into the call queue without waiting on hold, thereby reducing 800 number and infrastructure system costs and increasing call center efficiency. Finally, the ClairMail system can be used to transmit and receive responses for customer acquisition and retention marketing campaigns. The standards-based ClairMail system seamlessly integrates with existing back office and security infrastructure and customer contact systems like IVR and CTI — empowering financial institutions to rapidly deploy a complete mobile banking solution. Importantly, the ClairMail system requires no client-side software to be loaded, making it operationally feasible to instantly support any messaging-enabled mobile phone in the market. The latest version of the ClairMail system includes a variety of new features designed to enhance its retail banking offering, including:
"Because existing customer interaction channels such as IVR and online do not translate well to the mobile phone, the ClairMail system is game-changing," said Joseph Salesky, CEO of ClairMail. "The strong interest we're seeing from leading financial institutions and the validation we've received from IDC underscores our belief that there is tremendous value in optimizing any mobile phone to instantly become a valuable two-way channel for customer interaction. Our messaging-powered mobile customer interaction system enables retail banks to seamlessly create competitive differentiation, reduce costs and improve overall customer satisfaction. The net result is greater value to customers, improved operational efficiency and the potential for a host of new mobile banking services." For more information on Clairmail's latest offering and to download the IDC white paper, visit the ClairMail website. About ClairMailClairMail's breakthrough technology optimizes any mobile phone for two-way customer interaction. Using the mobile phone's standard and intuitive messaging functionality, ClairMail empowers financial institution customers to easily access secure information, conduct transactions and get no-hold customer service by sending a single text message or email. Additionally, ClairMail's Actionable Alerts™ enable financial institutions to deliver complete service to customers as an alternative to expensive channels like call centers and IVR. Unlike other proprietary and inflexible point solutions, the ClairMail system is a turnkey, standards-based offering that seamlessly integrates with existing systems and delivers the fastest time to value. ClairMail removes the friction from customer interactions by empowering mobile customers to retrieve and update vital information from any back-end system. Founded in 2004, ClairMail is headquartered in Novato, Calif. The company is privately held and funded by Norwest Venture Partners, Outlook Ventures and JAFCO Ventures. For more information call (415) 884-7270 or visit www.clairmail.com. For media inquiries, please contact:LaunchSquad |
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