We are under a constant barrage of information. For many people, it’s nearly impossible to retain everything, even what would be considered the most important details. Take your bank card PIN (personal identification number) for example. Memorizing your PIN is important for accessing your finances; but if you don’t use it regularly it may be hard to remember it. And, when your cardholder is making a high-value purchase, a forgotten PIN likely means they need to choose a different payment method, resulting in lost revenue opportunity for the bank.

Cardholder PIN pain points

A forgotten PIN is typically gone forever, with no way to retrieve it. Instead, a new PIN must be requested and the process to do so is far more arduous then the situation often requires. Depending on the bank or country, a new PIN may need to be requested via a call to customer service, from a web interface, or even in a physical branch. And some banks only offer one of those options, rather than the flexibility to choose.

Once a PIN is successfully requested, there’s a waiting period until the PIN is received, likely in a new PIN mailer at home. This means a cardholder may go several days before they can even use the card for high-value purchases, or withdraw money or complete other self-service banking tasks. And, for cardholders that frequently travel, this could become quite an inconvenience. Let’s not forget, once the PIN is received, the cardholder must go through the process of activating it, either by doing an in-store purchase or money withdrawal. For banks that strive to build a digital-first experience for their cardholders, this process is certainly outside of that expectation and therefore leads to a less than desirable experience.

Forgotten PINs effect on banks

So, how does this seemingly forgotten process impact banks? Well, the obvious impacts are lost transactions. From the moment the cardholder needs to change their PIN, the bank misses out on any high-value transactions or cash withdrawals that require the use of a PIN. Not to mention that cardholders may opt to use a different card while waiting for the new PIN to arrive, which means you can say goodbye to your brand’s top-of-wallet status.

Then there are less obvious consequences – cost, security and waste. If cardholders have to call customer service to request a new PIN, this adds unnecessary operating costs. Same goes for the printing and sending of PIN mailers. Think of all of that paper, ink, stamps, etc. The financial institutions becomes beholden to an external delivery system.

Take the PIN digital

Many banks are digitizing their offerings and services to meet the expectations of consumers today. Why not move the PIN process to a digital platform and allow consumers to change their PIN as they would a password? With the Entrust Digital Card Solution, banks can offer instant PIN display and change of their physical card, right in the bank mobile app – providing a more seamless and simplified experience for the cardholder while reducing operating costs and increasing the likelihood of securing the coveted top-of-wallet position for the bank. It’s a win-win.

Our PCI-DSS compliant instant PIN display and change enables reduced operation costs and a truly secure digital-first experience for the cardholder.

Learn more about how Entrust Digital Card Solutions can help your brand become top-of-wallet, visit: https://www.entrust.com/issuance-systems/products/software/entrust-digital-card-solution