New Change Sciences Research Shows Which Credit Card Companies Have the Easiest Online Application P

Change Sciences Group has released its 2003 Q4 report on the online application process of 14 leading credit card web sites today, showing whos making it easy to apply online and whos not. First USA and Juniper led the pack according to a 2003 Q4 report using Change Sciences scenario-based Typifi(tm) customer experience benchmarking methodology. Industry heavyweights MBNA, Chase and Citibank fared worse, finishing 12th, 13th and 14th in a 14-site review. Consumers put $1.3 trillion a year on their credit cards, and over nine million customers have applied for credit cards online. Recent forecasts indicate than more than 50 percent of all credit cards will be obtained exclusively through online channels in the next year. Leading online credit card application sites were evaluated for the ease of use of getting through the application process online. Specifically, the tasks that served as the basis for analysis were filling out personal and financial information, checking card terms and conditions, and making balance transfers. The most common barriers to ease of use were awkward attempts at cross-selling, forcing customers to navigate complex legalese and banking jargon, adding extra steps, and too much data entry. The site rankings are as follows: 1. First USA 2. Juniper 3. Providian 4. Discover 5. Fleet 6. Capital One 7. National City 8. Household Bank 9. Bank of America 10. US Bank 11. American Express 12. MBNA 13. Chase 14. Citibank Change Sciences Usability Benchmarks are based on its Typifi benchmarking process. Typifi allows for the empirical comparison of sites across more than 30 usability metrics. Using the Typifi process, site owners can see how their site compares with competitors, as a customer would use it, thought-by-thought and keystroke-by-keystroke. Sites that are easy to use attract and retain more customers and project a positive brand image. Using Typifi, Change Sciences analysts are able to identify and document web design best practices, allowing site owners to make changes that matter to the bottom line.