When ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, he may not have had a wealth management debit card in mind.
Yet many financial advisors are finding that the simple acquisition of this important financial product is a key driver in creating long-term, personalized value.
Accelerated digital transformation following the pandemic caught many traditional broker-dealers short. 77% of US- and Canada-based wealth planning firms reported losing business during lockdown, with the lack of digital tools for clients being a chief reason.
If you found yourself in this position, then you may put it down to several factors, including:
- Difficulty finding innovative investment products to keep clients on board, particularly those with a high net worth
- A struggle to ensure that new banking services meet tough regulatory demands
- Problems integrating a new wealth planning product into your existing business model.
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The challenges are clear, but there are also many potential opportunities for wealth managers willing to adapt to B2B payment trends and innovate.
A wealth management debit card is one of them. Cash is out of the picture, and 91% of Americans now use card services for all their personal finance needs, a figure that rises to 98% for individuals who earn more than $100,000 per year.
How a cashless US society looks in 2023
With Canada experiencing similar trends, the race is on for North American business owners to find innovative card products that meet the demands of high-earning clients.
But where to look in a fast-moving fintech industry cluttered with ‘flash-the-pan’ cash management solutions?
Berkeley's wealth management debit card is a shining example of how a disruptive fintech tool looks when backed up by two decades of expertise in the online banking industry.
Rather than act as a separate entity, our embedded finance solution runs on top of your existing architecture, saving your business valuable set-up time and money which you can invest in other growth activities.
Read on to find out how our solution can help your business thrive in today’s competitive fintech market like it did with one of Canada’s top banks, EQ Bank, which achieved record product growth with its reloadable bank card program.
Wise financial planning, strategic growth, and innovative thinking?
Even Lao Tzu would approve.
Want to embed a white-label fintech platform into your brand’s services but not sure where to start? Contact us today to find out how our ‘bank-in-a-box’ service will connect you to a solid revenue stream in hours.
Berkeley's Wealth Management Debit Card: Expand your business through elite client engagement
To understand how Berkeley’s wealth management debit card can help your business grow, we must first break down its main features and assess how they apply to your situation.
Let’s take a look.
1. Safeguard client funds with world-class cybersecurity
Cybercrime is on the rise and your customers are right to be concerned about protecting their funds.
At Berkeley, we believe the first step in managing wealth is keeping it safe. Our wealth management debit card runs through a multi-tenant, PCI-certified platform, which adheres to industry-leading standards for data protection.
We take full responsibility for staying up-to-date with the latest anti-money laundering (AML) developments and ensuring the safety of your clients' funds.
Here are some key features that underscore our dedication to security:
Advanced Data Security
Tokenization and encryption techniques help to protect sensitive data. Not only do they protect transactions but they also remove the need for your business to adhere to PCI-DSS regulations.
KYC Onboarding and Dynamic Fraud Detection
Berkeley uses the latest Know-Your-Customer (KYC) measures to quickly identify your clients while keeping to strict security protocols. Once in the system, our dynamic fraud detection engines get to work to identify and prevent suspicious transactions.
This proactive approach provides you with peace of mind, knowing that your clients' assets are well-protected.
Secure Escrow Account
Berkeley's secure escrow account serves as an additional layer of protection and offers a safe repository for your client’s wealth management funds.
2. Diversify wealth management with our multi-purse account
As a player in the wealth management space, you can use our debit cards to help your clients diversify their financial activity.
Our ‘Bank-in-a-box’ service uses advanced APIs to seamlessly integrate multiple customer-facing features directly into your company’s operations.
Users can divide their funds into virtual “purses”, each with a different financial purpose, including:
- Savings tools that use financial goals to encourage disciplined financial planning and progress tracking
- Smart real-time investment management that leads to proactive wealth growth within your platform.
- Spend analytics that help clients optimize their financial choices
- Multi-currency options, including CAD, USD, and Euro, which simplify cross-border transactions.
The result? A unified financial experience that allows for personalization, all within your brand’s own ecosystem.
3. Issue cards and onboard client’s money in seconds
Recent advances in online and mobile banking have transformed your clients’ banking needs. Instant payments and smooth digital transactions are now commonplace, and speed is almost as important as security.
Your customers will expect swift interactions after enrollment, and our agile PayHub Portal allows you to make this happen.
Here, you can load client funds and instantly issue cards in just a few clicks as well as access an overview of all of your cardholders.
A clear and concise overview of your cardholders
Your customers, meanwhile, will be able to see their funds appear on their card balance soon after leaving their checking account or credit card via an intuitive mobile app.
All user deposits are FDIC insured and are protected by our elite security features, meaning their wealth management journey is as secure as it is efficient.
4. Enable real-time transfers for instant wealth management solutions
Berkeley's wealth management solution brings the power of real-time payments and money transfers to your clients' fingertips.
Our DDA (PAC, PAD) Card-to-Card Transfer service enables direct fund transfers between payment cards (that means the money arrives in seconds, not days!), whether it's moving money between cards or setting up automated payments and transfers.
Our platform also links with major mobile wallet providers, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. This means your cardholders can easily request and store tokens in their mobile wallets.
They enjoy the convenience of real-time transfers and the versatility of mobile wallet usage in your company’s name. You increase your brand recognition and customer loyalty.
5. Make your mark with branded wealth management
Berkeley’s white-label solution not only gives your clients the wealth management features they need but also helps you land new business.
Your branded VISA or Mastercard debit card means your clients carry your brand with them, placing your name on every transaction and increasing your exposure.
A branded VISA card with the customer’s name on it
Your customized cardholder portal provides your clients the tools they need to carry out financial actions in a familiar and trust-inspiring environment.
Your very own bank-in-a-box service allows you to offer a full suite of financial services in your name, including gift cards and rewards cards – a great way to strengthen your brand presence in a competitive market.
Unlike other co-branded card providers, we prefer to take the back seat and let our client's success do the talking.
How our Wealth Management Debit Card helped EQ Bank achieve record-breaking growth
As one of North America’s leading savings banks, EQ Bank knew that providing day-to-day wealth management services for their clients was vital to their business strategy.
They also knew that building a whole new private banking service into existing infrastructure often takes years and millions of dollars.
EQ recognized that they needed a white-label solution, but finding one that matched the offerings of tier-1 banks in terms of quality, service, and customer benefits was incredibly difficult.
The answer lay in Berkeley's banking-as-a-service (BaaS) wealth management solution, which integrated with EQ Bank's existing savings accounts instead of running as a separate entity.
This meant customers now had access to Mastercard spending capabilities while continuing to enjoy EQ’s high interest rates.
Not only that, but they could withdraw funds from thousands of ATMs, pay bills, and transfer funds in real time all through the EQ Bank Card Program.
The results were remarkable.
EQ Bank experienced the fastest account growth in its history, marked by a surge in new customer acquisitions and deposits.
For the first time, EQ Bank's clients could conduct all their banking activities with EQ Bank, forging deeper and more meaningful customer relationships.
Berkeley takes pride in being a valuable partner to EQ Bank on this journey and contributing to their impressive growth story.
Access your elite wealth management debit card program in minutes via a single API
Whether you’re a small business owner or an industry leader with thousands of brokerage accounts, embedding Berkeley’s turnkey service into your everyday operations takes just minutes.
We provide a single-integration API that grants you swift and direct access to Berkeley's well-established infrastructure, payment processing capabilities, and even your very own Berkeley relationship manager who will ensure everything runs smoothly.
The result? An oven-ready card program that onboards new customers smoothly, keeps costs in check, and yields rapid returns.
Ready to find out how Berkeley's wealth management debit card can kickstart renewed growth for your business? Sign up today and join one of Canada’s top savings bank in reaping the rewards of top-class embedded finance.
