National Australia Bank, one of the nation’s ‘big four’ banks, partnered with ECAL to test how credit card payment reminders in the calendar stacked up against SMS reminders.

The implementation of calendar reminders saw an increase in ‘on-time’ payments by up to 12%.  A significant result that helps NAB customers stay on top of their monthly credit card payments, and in reducing high costs associated with bill chasing, collections and customer support.

The Trial

A message was sent to a selection of NAB cardholders, to offer them the ability to add their monthly payment ‘reminder to calendar’.

The participation rate was a massive 15%, indicating a high consumer need for this service.

NAB subscribers received two completely personalised entries in their calendar, relating to their upcoming monthly payment:

• A ‘payment reminder’ event (2 days prior to due date); and
• A ‘payment due’ event (on the due date)

Summary of Results

Results of the trial were extremely positive

• +4% increase in ‘on-time’ payments at the due date
• +12% increase in ‘on-time’ payments 2 days after due date
• +37% ‘spike’ (the largest) in ‘on-time’ payments specifically generated by the two-day ‘payment reminder’ entry

The next stage in the implementation of the NAB’s Payment Reminders service will involve a full integration within their mobile banking app and internet banking.