Visa Partner, ASB Bank in New Zealand, recently launched an innovative new customer experience in their ASB Mobile Banking Application called Card Tracker. The functionality was built with the help of the Visa Card-On-File Data Inquiry API. With the increasing popularity of subscription-based business models and buy now-pay later options, keeping track of numerous recurring payments can be difficult. The Card-On-File API can be used to retrieve information about the merchants that have cardholders’ cards saved. Card Tracker allows customers with ASB Visa Debit or Credit cards to view their subscriptions and stored card payments in one place.
Introducing ASB Bank’s Khurram Aziz
We got the opportunity to speak with Khurram Aziz, Customer Experience Owner (CXO) of Everyday Money at ASB, to learn more about the Bank’s Card Tracker and their partnership with Visa. At ASB, CXO’s act as senior product leads leading streams of work across “squads” or small teams of individuals who work together for a common goal.
Research and Discovery
The idea of the Card Tracker emerged from in-depth customer research. ASB worked with research agencies, led co-creation workshops with their cardholders, and conducted quantitative research, getting feedback from people who have used their products. This research, which took place over the course of six months, helped ASB Bank build a roadmap focused on addressing customer needs. Khurram explained, “We wanted to look at how we could make the lives of everyday banking customers easier, make things simpler to manage. From our research, we found three core areas to focus on: transparency, control, and trust.” An idea that customers brought up during several of ASB Bank’s studies was that they wanted to be able to check where their card was stored and what subscriptions they were signed up for.
Developing the Product
Khurram’s squad met with Visa’s New Zealand team and after walking them through ASB Bank’s research and roadmap, Visa proposed the Card-On-File API as a product whose capabilities were a good match for the customer need ASB was looking to solve. After completing a technical analysis of the capability, ASB decided to use Visa’s API, and the development of the Card Tracker began. ASB Bank worked with Visa teams in New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore to bring the idea to life. “It is great when we get to work with our partners to collaborate in delivering great outcomes for our customers,” Khurram said of the experience.
Present and Future
Khurram emphasized the growing importance of knowing exactly where one’s money is going. “When something is out of sight, it’s out of mind, and by making it easy for our customers to view where their Visa card is being used, we're making it easier for New Zealanders to manage their rising cost of living.” Khurram spoke positively about the collaboration, saying, “We really enjoyed working with Visa’s cross functional team from different offices to deliver a great outcome for our customers. Our colleagues from Visa’s local office in New Zealand were very helpful in making this a success by being very proactive with relevant communications and helping us overcome any challenges along the way.”
Visa’s Card-On-File Data Inquiry API
The Card-On-File Data Inquiry API retrieves transaction and merchant details that can be useful to multiple parties. Issuers can utilize this information when investigating suspicious transactions and cardholders can better keep track of recurring payments, catch transactions they may not recognize, and determine which services to unsubscribe from. The Visa Card-On-File API has many possible use cases, and ASB Card Tracker is a great example of one that offers cardholders increased transparency and control of their subscription payments. ASB Bank plans to continue to work with Visa and take advantage of additional Card-On-File functionalities in the future.
