- ¹Visa Funds Disbursements Research, Aite Group survey of 2,378 North American consumers, Q4 2017
- ²Commerce Bank comparative analysis of current carrier costs and costs of CommercePayments® PreferPay® for Claims Payments, January 2017 to April 2019
- ³Visa & Aite Group, Funds Disbursements Research, Estimates 2017
Visa Direct delivers real results
An innovative financial institution helps
insurers simplify payouts
Nothing sums up Commerce Bank’s customer promise, “We ask, listen and solve,” better than their use of Visa Direct to launch a push-to-card upgrade to CommercePayments® PreferPay® for Claims Payments. The bank made it a priority to simplify the often complex world of insurance payouts, so they could offer insurers and their customers better service and greater responsiveness. Through Commerce Bank’s payment portal, insurers can now deliver payouts effortlessly and in real time⁴ , when they’re needed most.
The new system was a fantastic success. In less than a minute, I received an email containing my confirmation info and receipt. I immediately logged in to my online banking and the money was already there!
Challenge: Reduce checks, lower costs and meet customer demand
Commerce Bank distinguishes itself through innovative product offerings and a clear-eyed focus on the customer. So when they began hearing, at trade shows, in sales calls and through an industry advisory council, that insurers needed ways to speed payouts to their customers, Commerce knew they needed to act quickly to offer a solution.
Traditional payout options lacked the simplicity, ease of adoption and speed found in many aspects of today’s businesses. Insurers were looking for a solution that wouldn’t involve creating a new account, reconciling check payments and asking the customer to wait a few days.
Solution: Real-time⁴ funds when users need them
As Commerce Bank discussed its needs with Visa, a push-to-debit system enabled by Visa Direct really started to make sense. By creating a standalone, push-to-card payout option, Commerce Bank could enable merchant clients and non-clients alike to deposit funds to a customer’s bank account using their existing debit card in real time⁴.
"As the insurance industry moves to a more customer-centric model, our platform — coupled with Visa Direct — enables our insurance customers the ability to provide faster, more secure payments,” says Jeff Schultz of Commerce Bank. “By providing straight-through process in claims, we improve the overall customer experience.”
Result: A win for everyone — bank, payers and payees
Adding a push-to-card payout option means less hassle, lower costs and happier customers. Insurers can now use Commerce Bank’s standalone system to offer quick payouts to customers in immediate need, including homeowners displaced by natural disasters, drivers waiting on collision-damage reimbursements, and insurance policyholders seeking refunds on a variety of other claims.
Eliminating the wait for payouts, when considered along with innovations like photo estimating for car insurance claims, means greater operational efficiency and lower costs for insurers. Fewer days of replacement vehicle rentals add up to big savings, especially when an insurer is paying out millions of total loss auto claims over the course of a year.
As the insurance industry moves to a more customer-centric model with faster settlement of high-volume, low-dollar claims, our platform and Visa Direct are being recognized by many in the industry as the best way forward.
- Mike Long and Jeff Schultz of Commerce Bank
Commerce Bank and Visa took a customer-centric approach to address real-world payout challenges in an industry that runs on responsiveness to ever-evolving customer needs.