Life moves fast, and in today’s digital world, how do you know how much you have in your checking account, especially when it can take a while for certain checks or debits to clear?
Regions knows customers need quick access to timely, easy-to-understand account information, such as their account’s available balance, to make informed financial decisions and avoid overdrafts and fees. That’s one of many reasons Regions is focused on making banking easier.
“Regions is always looking for ways to improve the tools and resources we offer customers to help them stay on top of their finances,” said Scott Peters, head of Regions’ Consumer Banking Group. “We’ve made changes in the last year to how our accounts work and continue to do more. We continue to add to and improve the resources that allow our customers to bank the way that works best for them.”
So, what is Regions doing?
First – the bank wants to help customers manage their accounts. Regions enhanced how checks are processed on personal accounts to show pending transactions sooner. The bank also reduced the number of overdraft fees customers can be charged per day.
Next, Regions improved account alerts to make it easier to be aware of the transactions and balances in their accounts.
Customers can set customized alerts to receive warnings when a transaction causes their available balance to become negative, which could help them avoid overdrafts and fees.
“The new account alert features have gotten positive feedback at our branch,” said Destiny Cruz, a financial relationship consultant at a Regions branch in Miami. “Some of our less tech-savvy clients will call to ask for their balance. We have made it a point to show these customers in particular how to enroll in text alerts to save them time, and it has been a success thus far.”
Regions also has enhanced its Online and Mobile Banking, making information easier to understand by using simple language to describe pending transactions. The enhancements include providing expiration dates to indicate when funds on hold from a deposited check will be available. In addition, customers now see a Projected Available Balance, which is their estimated available balance after the next nightly posting.
“A non-customer came into our branch explaining some of the things that upset him at his current bank,” said Robert Regan, a financial relationship senior consultant at a Regions branch in Tampa. “After our conversation, one of the biggest takeaways for him was our functionality with Online and Mobile Banking. He liked receiving overdraft protection from his linked savings account, but when I explained how he can set a balance threshold alert to partner with that, he thought that was the coolest feature. He set up several accounts with Regions and is very happy with his decision.”
This spring and summer, Regions is changing to time-order posting as we continue to improve the customer experience. The bank will continue to apply credits and deposits first – customers can make a deposit or transfer money up to 8 p.m. Central Time to help ensure purchases or payments that day are covered and to help avoid overdraft fees. Then payments, debits and withdrawals will be posted in time order – meaning generally in the order the bank receives them.
Regions also is improving CheckCard transaction processing. As part of our new time-order posting process, Regions will apply holds for pending CheckCard transactions in the order the bank receives them, along with other debit and withdrawal transactions. And, if there is enough money in the account to cover a CheckCard purchase at the time it is made, customers will not be charged an overdraft fee, even if the transaction overdraws the account when it finally posts.
Check out Regions.com/checkingupdate to find out more about how Regions is providing the tools and information our customers need to bank their way.