Bank of America 2005 Annual Report Download - page 19

18 Bank of America 2005
How We Grow: Innovation
arly in 2005, Bank of America researchers went into the fi eld looking for a fresh
idea, something with a “you’ve got to be kidding” quality that would inspire
consumers to put a little money into savings on a regular basis.
The result was the Keep the Change™ program, an innovative save-while-you-spend
program that was chronicled nationally both on television and in many publications in the fourth
quarter of 2005. And within three months of its October 2005 media launch, the program
Helping people grow their savings
Keep the Change™ program allows consumers to save while they spend
E
had attracted more than 1 million customers—more than
20 percent of them new to the bank.
The program was developed after conversations with con-
sumers who candidly acknowledged being short on both time
and money. They raided the change jar in desperation when
they were short on funds—and were always happy to fi nd
more accumulated cash than they had imagined was there.
When customers enroll, every debit card purchase they
make is automatically rounded up to the next dollar and the
difference—“the change”—is transferred from checking to
savings. Bank of America matches 100 percent of the Keep
the Change program deposits for the fi rst three months and
then matches 5 percent of transfers thereafter, up to
$250 per year, paid annually.
The Keep the Change program succeeds in not only
attracting new customers, but also in providing them with a
strong incentive to stay. And customers who stay also tend
to deepen their relationships with the bank by purchasing
other products and services and are more likely to recom-
mend the bank to others.
Bank of America associates
celebrate helping customers
grow their savings at New York’s
Grand Central station.