If you’ve ever wondered how much of a difference a contact center provider can make to your bottom line, Cedar Financial is one digital transformation example to examine.
Cedar Financial, a leading asset recovery management company, was in the market for a financial services call center solution for inbound and outbound that could help them consolidate vendors, expand customer communication capabilities, and incorporate AI-driven workflows into their processes.
When they started using Nextiva’s customizable call center solution, the company got everything they wanted — and more. Let’s explore how Cedar Financial implemented it and achieved amazing results.
From 7 Vendors to 1 Powerful Solution
The biggest challenge Cedar Financial faced was reducing vendor complexity.
They sought to simplify their tech stack by reducing seven different vendors to one. After comparing several financial services call centers, they became interested in Nextiva.
To ensure a smooth transition, Nextiva managed the integration between Cedar’s back-end systems and Nextiva’s cloud infrastructure — with zero downtime.
Hear from Edwin Margulies explain extreme vendor reduction — a common ask in today’s competitive market:
Switching to Nextiva also improved Cedar Financial’s scalability. With their former collection of multiple vendors, this wasn’t possible. Nextiva’s call center software architecture within a single platform allowed the company to add and change services easily, meet rising customer support demands, and adapt to the evolving financial services industry.
“Nextiva’s reliability and the ability to scale quickly have been absolute game-changers for us. We’ve gone from worrying about outages and disruptions to being able to focus entirely on delivering exceptional service to our clients. The peace of mind that comes with knowing our communication lines are always open is invaluable in this industry.”
Justin Franklin
Boosting Agent Productivity and Reducing Costs
Cedar Financial’s old system limited its ability to handle outbound calls effectively. Agents could only make 70–100 calls per day. Manual campaign management and a lack of metrics also slowed them down, leaving call center agents and supervisors in the dark.
With Nextiva, agents now make over 400 calls daily, a 471% increase. Real-time contact center dashboards and whisper coaching empower supervisors to monitor and empower agents, creating a win-win: happier agents and more satisfied customers.
Nextiva’s call center solution for financial institutions also reduced operating costs by 30%, thanks to fewer licensing fees, simplified vendor management, and improved agent productivity.
Committed to Compliance and Data Security
Cedar Financial significantly reduced its compliance risk with Nextiva’s AI-powered transcription and compliance scorecards. Agents could now complete PCI compliance audits in real time, avoiding time-consuming manual audits.
Additionally, Nextiva’s industry certifications, such as ISO/IEC 27001, PCI-DSS, SOC 2, and HIPAA, helped underscore the effort to protect customer data for Cedar Financial’s customer base and more than 100,000 other businesses.
These tools prevented costly fines by automatically detecting non-compliance issues. Combined with enhanced data security features, Cedar Financial also ensured that its call center outsourcing efforts met all security standards, improving the overall profitability of its operations.
Highlights Since Switching to Nextiva
Here are the key improvements Cedar Financial made after switching to Nextiva’s all-in-one contact center solution for financial services:
- Increased call volume: Agents increased call volume from 70 to 400 calls per day—a 471% improvement.
- Improved efficiency: Overall operational efficiency increased by 40%.
- Grew revenue: Agent-driven collected revenue grew by 30%.
- Lowered operating costs: 30% cost savings due to vendor consolidation.
Strengthening Retention with Omnichannel Communication
Retaining customers in the financial services industry is essential if you want to be the preferred business process outsourcing (BPO) provider for clients.
Cedar Financial improved customer retention using Nextiva’s omnichannel tools, which allowed them to communicate with clients via phone numbers, email, and SMS. This built more personalized connections and improved the customer experience, especially when taking credit card payments and managing other financial products.
By combining call center outsourcing with CRM systems, Cedar Financial tracked all interactions in real time, allowing agents to respond more effectively. This enriched the customer journey and helped the company handle rising call volumes while maintaining service quality, resulting in higher customer satisfaction.
“The contact center solution that we now have through Nextiva allows us to segment our business into different teams, maintaining compliance across the board. This intelligent contact center has transformed our operations by bringing multiple centers into one unified system.”
Amir Erez
Streamlining Operations with AI-Driven Workflows and Automation
Operational efficiency is vital in the finance industry, where quick responses matter. Cedar Financial utilized automation tools through Nextiva’s platform to streamline processes like call routing and skill-based routing, ensuring calls reached the right call center agents.
With AI-powered workflows, they automate routine tasks such as inbound call handling and follow-ups via predictive SMS. This reduced manual work for agents, allowing them to focus on high-priority tasks while maintaining compliance, keeping wait times short, and enhancing their center operation and overall efficiency.
Bilingual Support and Global Outreach
As financial services companies expand globally, bilingual support becomes more important.
Cedar Financial adopted Nextiva’s bilingual features, allowing them to serve clients in multiple languages. This was key to their outsourcing services strategy, ensuring they could provide excellent service regardless of the market.
By implementing real-time monitoring and AI-driven contact center metrics, Cedar Financial maintained high-quality service across languages and handled growing call volumes, ultimately improving its bottom line.
Helpful Features for Financial Services Call Centers
- AI agent assist: Provided real-time intelligence about callers, both inbound and outbound.
- Inbound call routing: Streamlined inbound call management so fewer transfers are needed.
- Outbound calling: Improved control over outbound call strategies and phone number management.
- Team SMS: Engage clients with bi-directional team SMS to increase communication effectiveness.
- Omnichannel: Managing calls, emails, and SMS in one platform.
- CRM integration: Real-time CRM syncing for seamless customer interaction.
- Compliance tools: Ensuring compliance across teams using customizable criteria and AI.
- Surveys: Feedback and performance monitoring for agents based on customer satisfaction, dispositions, and results.
Ready for a More Capable Call Center?
Book a personalized contact center demo today and discover how Nextiva can transform your business. Plus, read the full case study for more details on Cedar Financial’s incredible results.
