Accounts originated digitally hold lower balances than those originated in branch, and their retention rates are on average more than 40% lower after 18 months on book. To improve performance and pursue primacy, leading financial services providers target funding during the account opening journey.
Institutions use different approaches to integrate funding into the onboarding process. Of the U.S.-based retail checking providers tracked by Curinos’ Digital Banking Analyzer, for example, 39% offer funding through some form of automated account linking, with 29% employing a named third-party API for it.
As part of initial funding, some providers – including Chime and Current – seek recurring transactions by encouraging new users to set up direct deposit, often by placing prominent calls to action on the origination screens (see illustration).
Along with digital debit card issuance, this innovation is meant to jumpstart relationship-building by making new-to-bank applicants feel like customers immediately as key depositing and spending behaviors are locked in from the start.
Digital Onboarding Interface​ ​
Chime and Current use clear calls to action to encourage customer to enroll for direct deposit during initial funding​. ​
