Financial institutions such as banks, credit unions, investment firms, and stock brokerages require communications solutions that are secure, rich with features, and designed for a flexible work environment. Unfortunately, a traditional PBX isn’t equipped with the features needed to help these businesses succeed—which is why it might be time to make the switch to a VoIP phone system. 

What is VoIP? 

Voice over internet protocol, or VoIP, is the technology that allows you to make and take phone calls using an internet connection instead of a regular phone line. A VoIP phone system allows you to call and collaborate from anywhere with a single cloud PBX communication solution that unifies business phones, video conferencing, texting and collaboration under a single phone number. It allows for greater flexibility, accessibility, and scalability—all while reducing costs.  

Why do financial institutions need a VoIP phone system?

In this article, we’ll explore the top benefits of a robust VoIP for financial advisors and institutions, like b-hive by Broadvoice, and how it can provide a seamless omnichannel experience for both customers and employees. 

Flexibility & Accessibility  

With more employees working from multiple locations, flexibility is key. A VoIP phone system allows team members to reach each other and their customers from any device or location, all from their business phone number. 

Plus, with hotdesking your team can easily work from any office location as a VoIP phone number will ring multiple offices from one extension. So if a customer is trying to reach one of your agents—even if that agent is in a different office—they will still be able to get through to them without any issues.

Create a customer-first experience 

As a financial institution, your customers are everything. A VoIP phone system can help your financial advisors or agents successfully connect with customers from anywhere. And, features like auto-attendant and call routing ensure that no customer call goes unanswered. 

Auto-attendant will automatically direct inbound calls to the right person or department. And call routing will queue and distribute those calls to your team, ensuring that no customer has to wait on hold for an extended period of time, helping improve customer satisfaction. Plus, customer service representatives have more freedom to connect with customers on whatever channel they prefer best—whether voice calling, video calling, or even text messaging—further personalizing the customer experience. 

Scale Instantly 

With a cloud-based business phone system, it’s incredibly easy to scale at a moment’s notice. If it’s tax season and your financial institution is experiencing an increase in call volume, you can easily add more capacity with a few simple clicks. And once tax season dies down, you can scale back to normal until the next tax season or increase in call volume occurs. 

Cut costs 

Every financial institution knows the importance of saving money. Fortunately, with a VoIP phone system, you’re able to cut costs by paying only for the services you need. And unlike a traditional business phone system, you don’t need a hoard of physical equipment so you can get your system up and running in minutes.  

Furthermore, if you have already invested in expensive equipment and you don’t want to lose out on your investment, you don’t have to. SIP trunking allows you to keep your existing hardware and ditch your landlines for more flexible and affordable cloud-based business phone service. Basically, you can replace your phone lines with the internet service you already have, helping modernize your business.  

To learn more about SIP trunking, check out our article: SIP trunking 101: a beginner’s guide. 

Enhanced security with every conversation 

Keeping customer data safe is paramount! You can’t have private financial information leaked outside your company. With a VoIP phone system, like b-hive by Broadvoice, you can rest easy knowing that every call is PCI DSS (Payment card industry data security standard) compliant, employs single-sign on to mitigate security risks, and follows PCI best practices including: 

• Implementing firewalls to protect data 
• Appropriating password protection 
• Protecting cardholder data 
• Encrypting transmitted cardholder data 
• Utilizing antivirus software 
• Updating software and maintaining security systems 
• Restricting access to cardholder data 
• Assigning unique IDs to those with access to data 
• Restricting physical access to data 
• Creating and monitoring access logs 
• Testing security systems on a regular basis 
• Creating a policy that is documented and that can be followed 

Our services are also protected with multiple layers of 4G failover so local internet and phone outages don’t impact your service, ensuring you’re always available for your customers. 

If you’re looking to securely connect with customers, cut costs, and streamline communications, check out b-hive today.