@Paul Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed response! There’s a lot of great ideas here. If you’re open to it, I’d love to set up a call to chat more. I’ll send you a message with my information if you’re interested.
I completely agree that the current process for updating direct deposits and PADs is archaic, and it seems like this issue is widespread across Canada. A lot of banks seem to try and make up for it with bonuses and other incentives, but not much is being done to fix the actual pain points. We’re keen on trying to change that.
I’ll start with responding to some specific things that you shared that I found interesting:
Do you think Neo makes it easy enough to find your account numbers on our apps and website? Right now this information is kind of tucked away in your account details, so I wonder if people struggle to find this info when they need it.
I feel the same way. The first time I set up a PAD was for my rental insurance, and they wanted me to send my account number via email. I thought it was a scam, until I realized that’s just how it’s done. From what I’ve seen, this type of fraud actually happens way less than I expected, but it’s still a real risk, and it’s something I worry about.
Thankfully, there’s a decent dispute process for PADs if someone gets ahold of your account number to get your money back, but it really shouldn’t come to that. We’re looking into building new alerts to tell you when you get a PAD from a new company, and making the dispute flow easier if you see something suspicious, so that Neo can reject the PADs and get your money back.
I like this idea! Since most companies let you email them PAD instructions and banking information, we can look into streamlining this flow. Maybe something like this:
- You go into the Neo app, and select to set up or update a PAD
- Neo generates a pre-filled email template with all the details needed, so all you have to do is enter the company’s email address and hit send
- Instead of including your account info directly in the email, we could provide a secure link (maybe one that expires after a set time to keep it more secure)
- If you don’t want to use the pre-populated template, we could let you copy just the secure link to your clipboard too
It’s still not fully automated, but it would make the process faster and more secure, and is hopefully a step in the right direction. Let me know what you think about this idea.
This is something we’re actively exploring! We’ve been considering a “white glove” service that could help you manage your DDs and PADs. Initially, we were focused on helping customers set them up, but expanding it to help with unsubscribing is something we can look into too.
The idea is that you’d tell Neo what needs to be set up or changed, and authorize us to contact those companies on your behalf. Based on how things work in Canada, this likely involves Neo sending a lot of emails and snail mail behind the scenes, but at least it shifts the burden to us, and makes things less of a hassle for customers like yourself.
We’re still looking into whether we’re allowed to send instructions on behalf of customers, or if all companies would accept instructions from a 3rd party, but it’s definitely a service we’d consider offering to make things easier for customers.
Let me know if you have any ideas on how we could make this service great for you. I’d love to hear what features or options you’d want to see from something like this.
Thanks again!
