Since when did Providian get a conscience?
In the 1990s, Providian Financial was known as the lender to the unlucky — peddling credit cards to consumers with shaky credit scores. Class action lawsuits (including the largest settlement ever by a U.S. credit card company in a consumer protection case) and the ensuing bad press made some put Providian in the same camp as Lenny’s Corner Loan Sharks.
The comeuppance was ugly. As customers’ finances tumbled, they took Providian’s business — its share price, its employees’ jobs — with them. The company all but abandoned the subprime business and started wooing a less risky customer base. It now keeps company with the likes of American Express, BankOne, Motley Fool credit card provider MBNA, Citigroup, and Capital One. The makeover is punctuated by a tagline on the company’s website: “But we’re Providian, a new kind of credit card company.”
Indeed it is. In fact, Providian’s latest customer acquisition strategy seems downright golden-hearted.
Providian’s Real Information program lets customers check their FICO credit score (provided by TransUnion) for free once a month. The perk includes access to score simulators (to see how certain actions, such as paying off a card, might affect one’s score) and tracking features.
For this complete story, please visit Providian Shifts Customer Acquisition Strategy.
