Management of the card division, change of payment scheme, and customer portfolio migration
INTRODUCTION
For a pioneering online bank, Square Management handled the day-to-day management of the card business, the transition to a new card issuer, and the migration of the customer portfolio following the adoption of a new payment scheme for debit cards.
CONTEXT
Following the departure of several key staff members, the bank approached Square to take over the immediate management of the card business, as the bank was prepared to change both the card issuer and the payment scheme for its debit cards.
In this difficult context, Square Management took up the dual challenge of meeting the day-to-day management requirements of the card division and working in project mode to implement in place the tools and processes necessary for migrating the customer portfolio within the planned timeframe without interrupting services.
SOLUTION
Square supported the client by acting as the Product Owner and the Product Manager. This dual role has enabled the implementation of a three-level management approach.
1. Project management
With half a dozen external stakeholders, one of the key issues of the project was stakeholder management, especially considering that the project involved a co-badged card with an international payment scheme cohabiting with a domestic scheme which is unavoidable given its popularity in the local market.
As a Product Owner in an Agile environment, Square Management was responsible for writing user stories and organizing sprints to continuously feed the workload of the teams responsible for developing the services and interfaces to enable the marketing, support, and use of the new debit cards.
Square Management was also responsible for change management, adaptation of contractual documents, training manuals for contact centre agents, and procedures for complaint management etc.
2. Performance management
For an online bank with customers who are heavy e‑commerce users, the issue of the e‑commerce card authorization rate is particularly crucial, as well as the ability to provide effective solutions quickly in the event of a production incident.
Square Management has therefore ensured that performance indicators and dashboards were in place to assess, for example, the authorization rates of cards issued by the bank and the number of incoming tickets via the contact centre.
During the mission, it became apparent that resources or existing documentation were lacking for a number of processes in use. Keeping true to its role as a partner, Square Management systematically alternative mechanisms to optimize the use of the available skills within the bank when necessary.
3. Contingency management
Finally, Square Management coped with events (whether planned or unforeseen) such as the management of mandates imposed by the card schemes, the massive renewal waves of expired cards, the management of card stocks in the context of a global shortage of electronic chips, or the reporting demands from national and extra-national regulators.
RESULT
Square Management’s intervention enabled its client to ensure the continuity and completion of the project, despite the departure of several key employees. Square Management’s consultants bridged the knowledge and expertise gap at short notice, while maintaining with internal and external project teams and the management of the card centre.
After 12 months of collaboration, the Square Management group enabled its client to complete the change of card issuer, adapt all support processes to the new product, and establish the conditions for a smooth migration of the entire cardholder portfolio.
Square Management also took particular care to create the necessary documentation for a seamless handover to the client’s internal teams responsible for taking over the reins of the cards centre at the end of the intervention. Additionally, apart from managing the migration project, Square Management successfully completed several in-depth analyses of production incidents to identify effective solutions to prevent or resolve problems linked to the implementation of PSD2 rules and 3DS authentication mechanisms.
LE
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Provision of a Product Owner/Manager with strong business knowledge and proven experience in the field of payments.
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Knowledge of Agile methods and ceremonials.
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A resolutely pragmatic approach with a “customer-oriented” mindset and a great deal of openness to effectively manage projects in a complex environment with numerous internal and external stakeholders.
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Strong experience in defining and implementing banking products and services, coupled with knowledge of electronic banking and PSD2.
- Ability to intervene across the entire value chain, from defining the user experience to setting up performance indicators, managing issues related to GDPR, or product marketing.
- Extensive, multi-sector knowledge of best practices and trends in payments and e‑commerce.
- Guarantee of achieving the objectives within the budget.
- Support from all the consultants in the “Digital & Marketing” practice to conduct rapid market research to assist the client in making strategic or operational choices.
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