Prestige Financial Makes Switch to Texting

Prestige Financial Services switched to text messaging as an exclusive communication channel for customers that opt-in, Rich Hyde, chief operating officer, told AFN.

“We already utilized texting back and forth, but we made an official change on our front-end,” Hyde said, estimating that 30% to 40% of Prestige’s customers prefer texting as the main channel of contact with the lender. “We are doing that on our front end, and even on the collection side, rather than making phone calls,” he said. “It’s a shift for us, because we pride ourselves on hand-holding and educating customers.”

Individual account managers have taken over the actual messaging. “The texts we are sending are not automated, but after reaching a certain scale, we will look to automate that,” Hyde said, adding that text messages are a “fantastic” way to interact with customers. “It’s not emotional for the consumer or anybody on our end; it’s informational, and customers are more likely to read a text [than an email],” he said.