VLOG: Compliance Trends in Lead Gen
This spring LeadsCon invited IntegriShield out to their annual performance marketing conference in Las Vegas to present on unauthorized landing pages and self-regulation.
In between sessions, they caught up with our President Gayla Huber to learn more about the state of compliance violations in higher education and other industries.
Watch the interview below to hear from Gayla and LeadsCouncil’s Michael Ferree as they scratch the surface of industry compliance.
To learn more about how compliance trends impact your business, email info@integrishield.com or call 888-547-7110.
How the CFPB is Shaping the Short Term Lending Industry
Before large financial institutions evolved in the current banking world, it wasn’t uncommon for individuals that had a good relationship with their neighborhood bank to take out a short term loan. By definition, that meant borrowing funds for one-year or less for an unexpected expense or to purchase a needed commodity. Interest rates were typically higher, however banks could make hundreds of loans and earn a small profit on each which added up to a decent profit line. Paperwork was minimal and, because they had established relationships with their customers, the risk remained relatively low.
Today, the need for these loans is just as common if not greater than before. The landscape has changed dramatically following the introduction of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act after one of our nation’s biggest financial crises. Small loans from a community bank now require pages and pages of onerous loan documents and the time involved for the banks to comply with new regulations make the practicability of these offers not worth the risk. In response, the short term lending market has changed with an increase in higher risk payday loan, title loan, and cash advance lenders. This has now grown into a $46 billion industry.
With a mandate from Dodd-Frank, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has responded to this market with a proposed rule to more clearly define terms, limits, and lending practices to help protect consumers. While there are concerns expressed by both regulators and industry, the importance of knowing how this impacts consumers and lenders is vital.
The CFPB’s proposed ruling is “aimed at ending payday debt traps”. Essentially the CFPB proposes to implement regulations that help ensure consumers have the ability to repay their loans and don’t fall into a cycle of re-borrowing at very high interest rates without the ability to ever repay the original loan. At the CFPB field hearing in Kansas City on June 2, 2016, proponents of the ruling argued that all short term loans are designed to keep borrowers in this never-ending repayment cycle. However, the industry pointed to supporting data to demonstrate that not only was short term lending essential, but only a small percentage of their customers fall into that cycle.
Well before the CFPB released its proposed rule, industry leaders began executing self-regulation efforts to protect consumers. Advocacy organizations such as the Online Lenders Alliance (OLA) and the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA) formed to establish best practices, eliminate deceptive marketing and advertising, and work closely with regulators and legislators to provide quality products and services to their consumers.
What does this mean moving forward and finding new customers in this space? The backbone to acquiring new customers has been through the use of lead generators and affiliate marketers. These are companies that advertise products for a lender, gather potential customer information and then sell the lead to a lender. As one strategy to advertise services to a wide audience, this can lead to one of two results:
- Generate a large volume of customers and provide legitimate leads on a potential borrower.
- Unscrupulous companies may use one particular company brand to drive traffic to another company.
In the second case, a customer is deceived into thinking he or she is submitting a request to a particular lender, yet the information never reaches that lender and other companies are provided the lead data instead.
The proposed CFPB rule will undoubtedly place additional restrictions and regulations on this industry, from requiring limits on advertising claims to narrowing the channels available to promote products and services. To sustain and grow the short term lending industry, brands must provide customers a truthful and honest shopping experience that delivers loans to the borrower as intended. As a result, the importance of protecting ones brand from misuse and using technology to remove unwanted and false instances of their brand will be paramount.
Information on the full CFPB proposed ruling can be found here:
http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/CFPB_Proposes_Rule_End_Payday_Debt_Traps.pdf
Online Lenders Alliance:
http://onlinelendersalliance.org/
Community Financial Services Association of America:
Avoiding Litigation: The win/win for Attorneys and Clients
When most people think of attorneys, they envision John Grisham books come to life though the magic of Hollywood. A well dressed, impressive attorney, arguing in flawless form in front of the jury and providing the final “gotcha” moment that turns the case in their favor and creates the perfect ending. But in reality, the work most attorneys do is all about keeping you from seeing the inside of a courtroom.
Think about it. When circumstances arise where clients have been faced with defending allegations or regulatory infractions and the end result is a favorable outcome due to the diligence and research done by their attorney, aren’t those the best cases where the client is spreading high praise and word of mouth about their attorney? It makes the most sense to seek out an attorney that has all the tools and resources available to them to counter allegations with factual data and evidence to prove that you, as a client, have done nothing wrong.
In the case of brand compliance and digital advertising, the key to avoiding litigation is operating in a Safe Harbor. Safe Harbor guidelines afford protection from liability or penalty under specified circumstances or if certain conditions are met. Typically, in the case of brand compliance, documentation and establishing a defined path to remediation is the key to favorable outcomes.
Here are a few considerations that you or your attorney should think about to make sure your digital advertising is documented, verified, and will be remediated in the case of an infraction.
- What systems do you have in place to inventory all your content?
- Do you know who is publishing your content?
- Do you have a technology solution in place to identify infractions?
- What documentation are you keeping when infractions are discovered?
- Are you providing a permanent record of your remediation attempts in order to operate within a safe harbor?
- When an infraction is identified, do you have adequate resources to remediate the issue?
Being able to answer these questions and document your system and process will help prevent that “gotcha” moment from happening to you.
[Whitepaper] Five Common Compliance Missteps of Financial Bloggers
Compliant digital content has become a hot topic in many financial blogger circles. We recently sat down with Phillip Taylor, CEO at FinCon, the peer conference for the financial media community, to discuss the industry’s key compliance pain points. Below are the five topics that bloggers need to manage to maintain compliance.
Ability to add URLs and Editorial Content
Financial Bloggers sometimes struggle managing their entire URL inventory because of tedious manual updates required on each link due to content or offer changes. To combat this process you may minimize the number of URL’s or those with editorial content—limiting the potential to drive additional revenue. This does not have to be the case. By using an automated compliance monitor, you can continue to develop and build on the number of URLs and content. Don’t be a slave to the process anymore. Spend time on what’s important: Increasing your presence and growing your revenue.
Credit Card or Offer Feeds
Keeping up with credit cards and their offers can be challenging. Some blogs have lender feeds incorporated directly into their site. While this makes being compliant easier, it can limit the material they want to present to their audience. Others will manually incorporate the information into their sites, which again requires continual discovery and maintenance as these offers can change on a monthly or even weekly schedule. Top industry bloggers have found compliance automation is the key to spending less time on discovery and more time adding blog content.
Content Inventory
With the vast number of contracted publishers, affiliates and free publishers in the market, many bloggers struggle with maintaining an accurate inventory of their content and where it is located. Unlike larger companies or corporations that may hire compliance teams to review and maintain content, bloggers often are on their own to manage this task. Don’t be a slave to spreadsheets anymore. Identify strategies to automate your search for URL lists containing specific brands, content, or links.
Search Phrases and Link requirements
There are many variables on how content can be presented to stay compliant. Do you include links to drive traffic to other URLs? Creating an efficient system to display content regarding links and where they point creates additional challenges to the blogging industry. Compliance automation will not only pick up the link copy as shown on the URL, but can also display where it being directed. To assist with requirements for certain language before and/or after a link, seek technology that is smart enough to search and flag instances of potential deviations to the required content.
Disclosures
Bloggers must be mindful of exact wording and phrasing mentioned with offers. Include additionally required disclosures from other regulatory bodies such as the FTC, FCC, CFPB and State Attorney Generals. A good compliance monitoring partner will have rule sets to help you navigate policy and guidance to mitigate your risk.
Considering these five areas will help bloggers maintain compliance in this growing industry. Take control of your digital content to avoid compliance infractions and protect your brand. As you develop a process to manage this content, remember: consistency is key.
For more information on compliance monitoring, contact IntegriShield at 888-547-7110.
Revisiting TCPA Language
In 2015 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) outlined new rules regarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This anticipated ruling brought into light the definition of “capacity” with respect to “automatic telephone dialing system”.
Let’s take a look at what this means for your organization and how you can maintain compliance in 2016. We’ll start with the FCC’s definition of the autodialer in the Declaratory Ruling.
Scope and Definition of an Autodialer
equipment which has the capacity—
(A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator; and
(B) to dial such numbers. 47 U.S.C. § 227(a)(1) (emphasis added).
The FCC concluded that “the TCPA’s use of ‘capacity’ does not exempt equipment that lacks the ‘present ability’ to dial randomly or sequentially.” Rather, “the capacity of an autodialer is not limited to its current configuration but also includes its potential functionalities.” This clarification of the definition of an autodialer is really important, because it voids the widely adopted strategy of manually dialing mobile phone numbers. If the phone you are using to manually dial mobile phone numbers is still considered an autodialer under the law, it doesn’t matter if you manually dial or autodial the number.
This is especially important in the for-profit school sector as it defines what is considered consent when dealing with TCPA language in respect to prospective students. Not only is it important to gain permission once the prospective students’ identification has been established, it is imperative that there are clear steps and language to opt-out of receiving calls or text messages should the consumer decide no further contact is desired.
To learn more about the ruling and how to maintain your TCPA compliance, contact us at 888-547-7110.
Dear Admissions: High School Graduates Are Listening
As high school graduates look toward the future, the option of a career college or a trade school might not even be on their radar. Often times they are deciding on attending a community college, a 4-year institution or joining the military. According to the 2015 Noel Levitz Freshman Attitudes Report, nearly 1-in-4 freshmen from two-year colleges decide to enroll in the final weeks before classes begin.
This means it’s increasingly important for your institution to showcase the benefits offered that many high school graduates typically do not consider. From your admissions team to your marketing efforts, here are four benefit areas to highlight.
- Career Focused Classes: Typical 4-year schools require a certain number of general education (GE) credit hours in order to advance to major-specific courses. At a career college or trade school there are no GE classes required. When students enter their program of choice they begin career-focused classes and reduce the time and money spent on classes that are less relevant in their field.
- Smaller Class Sizes: Career colleges and trade schools often maintain a low student-teacher ratio within each program. With fewer students in the class, the instructor can provide more one-on-one attention and time to each student. This allows students to get their questions answered and be confident that they are not falling behind or struggling with any aspect of the program.
- Flexible Learning: It’s not uncommon for trade schools and career colleges to offer programs and courses in many different formats. After all, 89% of career school and private school students feel it’s important that classes are scheduled at convenient times. This variety allows students to balance work, their families and other aspects of life while still pursuing their education.
- All Inclusive: Many institutions offer programs that are “all inclusive,” meaning the cost of the program includes: classes, books, materials, testing and in some cases starter kits with items needed upon entering the workforce. Reports show 85% of career and private school students consider financial aid a factor in decision to enroll. This option can appeal to many high school graduates who do not want to worry about paying for classes, books and supplies separately.
As you highlight the benefits of your sector and attract high school graduates, remember to use industry best practices to avoid compliance missteps. Audit your staff calls with prospective students to confirm that regulations and brand standards are being met. For more tips on how to stay compliant when speaking with prospective students, read IntegriShield’s latest blog post on how “Your Mistakes are Giving Prospects Cold Feet.”
Creating a Culture of Compliance
Every few months, the story repeats itself: Company X suffers a major security breach or unexpectedly enters a legal battle due to an industry compliance violation. Fortunately, there are several steps organizations can take to protect themselves. It starts with creating a “compliance culture”—a workplace operating on a set of policies that foster compliant behavior as everyday best practice.
Click here to read the full IntegriShield’s article as published in Thinking Bigger Business magazine.
This article will help you understand:
– Why a data breach is more than a “tech problem”
– Best practices for handling confidential records
– When and how to implement non-compete and non-disclosure agreements
2015 President’s Club Award Winner
Each year, IntegriShield holds an annual holiday party to celebrate with our sister companies and recognize the staff’s achievements throughout the year. This December, the prestigious President’s Club Award was presented to one IntegriShield employee who has gone above and beyond the call of duty and served as a valuable team player and overall asset to IntegriShield and our clients.
Our management team recognized Kari Long, Compliance Analyst/Team Lead at IntegriShield as our 2015 President’s Club recipient. Over the last 18 months, she has assisted in every service IntegriShield offers and succeeding in all tasks that have been thrown her way. In her current role with client services Kari specializes in remediation of violations found on third party websites and she is responsible for the resolution of nearly 10,000 infractions for our clients. Her diligence has helped the team bring client satisfaction to an all-time high. Kari is never one to be concerned with recognition of extraordinary work, and she has been a catalyst in the success of IntegriShield since her first day.
Once again, we congratulate Kari on her award and continue to thank all of our employees for their hard work and dedication in 2015. We look forward to celebrating more achievements in the New Year and the opportunity to continue serving our industry as the full-service compliance solution.
Vlog: Text Messages and the FCC
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Your Mistakes Are Giving Prospects Cold Feet
The first contact a potential student has with your school can make or break their choice of attendance. Is your admissions team unknowingly causing potential students to get cold feet and not follow through with an interview—or choosing your institution at all? After auditing hundreds of mystery shopping calls, we’ve compiled the list below of the four most common mistakes representatives make during first contact—and how you can avoid them.
- Unresponsiveness of Representatives – Potential students that do not get a call back, especially after leaving voicemails, may feel under appreciated. That the lack of response could be an indicator of what to expect after enrollment. It should be top priority for representatives to return phone calls within 24 hours. Remember, you don’t know how many institutions they might be calling to get information.
- Over Promising Financial Aid – At some point during communication it is important to disclose the fact that financial aid is only available to those who qualify. Without this disclosure, prospective students could be misled to believe they will receive grants and scholarships to cover tuition costs then discontinue the enrollment process as a result.
- Slow Response to Lead Forms – Its best practice to contact potential students submitting a lead form on an institution or vendor’s website within 24 hours. Schools often wait days or even a week to follow up. At this point the inquiry could have changed their mind, lost interest, or chosen a different institution.
- Unprofessional Language – Representatives need to walk a cautious line when building a rapport with prospects. It’s acceptable to try bonding with potential students by explaining how proud they were to finish school themselves, talking about their children or families, or even recounting a positive story. https://integrishield.com/your-mistakes-are-giving-prospects-cold-feet/ https://integrishield.com/your-mistakes-are-giving-prospects-cold-feet/ https://integrishield.com/your-mistakes-are-giving-prospects-cold-feet/ https://integrishield.com/your-mistakes-are-giving-prospects-cold-feet/Yet, going into financial comparatives, politics, or the foolish things they did when they were younger could make your prospects feel your institution isn’t serious.
By training your staff to avoid these common mistakes, you can help prevent cold feet and transition more prospective students into enrollments. Remember to monitor brand representatives regularly to help limit your compliance risks.
To learn more about mystery shopping click here.