Head of the Class
Some consumers are earning high marks in debit-card usage. Now it’s time to get the rest of the class up to speed.

A certain chief executive we know fits the profile of the “typical check card user” to a T: 38-year-old married female, relatively affluent, upwardly mobile … She’s even surrounded every day at work by financial services marketing specialists who love to go on about the debit card’s powers and conveniences. But like 57 percent of the nation’s debit-card holders, she’s never used hers for a purchase.

Like home equity lines and credit cards, debit cards are a lot more profitable when people actually use them. Much to-do from Visa and MasterCard has helped debit cards make progress on that front — but nothing to write home about. Debit cards gained a scant one percent market share in each of the past five years.

It’s a classic case of plateau syndrome: While early-adopter types skipped right past debit-card 101 and started using their cards like the A+ students they are, more than half the country is still staring blankly at the chalkboard asking, “Why do I have to learn this stuff?”

Some debit card marketers are trying a new lesson plan. “It’s not just about issuing cards — any bank can do that,” says Sandi McCann, CCG VP/national sales. “The rest of the challenge is getting customers to understand how debit cards work, and to encourage them to use them in ways that are profitable for your company.”

Knowing this and looking to generate incremental revenue from its Visa CheckCard portfolio, Southeastern regional financier AmSouth Bank partnered with CCG to create a miniature debit-card textbook. Inserted with all newly issued cards, both business and consumer versions of the cardholder guide are designed to break down debit-card usage barriers.

Together with follow-up mailings and other communication elements, the initiative will generate revenue growth of nearly $2 million for the consumer segment and $7.5 million for the business segment by achieving program goals.


A Textbook Case
CCG created consumer and small business versions of AmSouth’s new Visa CheckCard customer guide to overcome usage barriers including security concerns, misperceptions regarding how debit cards are different from credit cards and ATM cards, and confusion about signature vs. PIN transactions.