Enhancing Customer Service Through Innovation

The Direct Express® program provides federal benefit recipients with a secure, convenient way to receive their payments electronically—without the need for a traditional bank account. Today, more than 3.5 million beneficiaries rely on the Direct Express® card to access their funds quickly and safely.

To support this large and underserved population, the program operates a robust call center dedicated to assisting cardholders with a wide range of inquiries. However, with such a high number of customers, the Direct Express® team continually seeks innovative ways to improve the customer experience that reduce the need for phone-based support.

In recent years, the program has introduced several self-service features available through the Direct Express® mobile app, cardholder website, and interactive voice response (IVR) system. These enhancements allow cardholders to:

  • Lock or unlock their card
  • Order a replacement card
  • Change their PIN
  • Enroll in alerts and notifications

Despite the convenience of these tools, many cardholders opt to call customer service for assistance with routine account maintenance. A recent cardholder satisfaction survey found that 6 out of 10 respondents contact the call center at least once a month. Furthermore, program data shows that over 250,000 monthly calls to live agents (43% of live agent calls) involve general maintenance requests that could be easily handled through the app, website, or IVR.

The survey also revealed that many cardholders are simply unaware of these convenient self-service options. Increasing awareness and usage of these digital tools benefit both cardholders and the program. By encouraging more customers to use self-service options, call center lines remain more available for urgent or complex issues, such as suspected fraud or disputes over unauthorized transactions. Since most Direct Express® users are unbanked, many of them must learn how to use these self-service options for the first time and would benefit from the educational resources made available by the program.

To that end, stakeholders are encouraged to promote awareness of these tools and direct cardholders to the Direct Express® Financial Education Center (DEFEC) for information on how to access and use them effectively. DEFEC can be accessed via the Direct Express® mobile app or online at https://direct-express.everfi-next.net/welcome/financial-education.

Looking ahead, the Direct Express® team continues to invest in technology-driven solutions that enhance the cardholder experience. Additional self-service functions are currently being developed for the mobile app and website, and stakeholders will be kept informed as new enhancements are rolled out. By expanding and promoting self-service options, the Direct Express® program reaffirms its commitment to providing secure, convenient, and innovative financial services to millions of federal benefit recipients nationwide.

SOURCE: Direct Express®