Compliance · 5 min read
Opt-in for account alerts, explained
Who has to agree before you text an account alert, how to collect that consent, and what the first text has to say.
An account alert is a text about something the customer already has with you: a payment coming due, a card charge, a low balance, a statement that is ready. Because the message is about their own money, people read it within minutes. That is the reason to send it by text. It is also why carriers and regulators care about how you got permission.
Alerts still need consent
A text about someone's loan is not marketing, but it is not a free pass either. Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, automated texts to a mobile number need the person's prior express consent, and carriers expect you to show where and when it was given. A phone number on a loan application is a start. A clear opt-in for text alerts is better, and it is what carrier reviewers ask to see before they approve your number.
Three places to collect it
At account opening. Add a checkbox to the application or onboarding flow that says which alerts you will send. Leave it unticked, and keep it separate from the box that accepts your account agreement.
In online banking or your app. A settings page where customers turn alerts on, pick the ones they want and change their number.
By keyword. A sign at the teller line or a line on a statement: "Text ALERTS to 55123 for card and payment alerts." The customer starts the conversation, which keeps the record simple. In Textcierge, each opt-in is saved with the time, the source and the exact confirmation text that went out.
What the first text must say
The confirmation is not a welcome note you can write however you like. It needs your company or program name, what the alerts cover, a note that frequency varies, "Msg & data rates may apply", how to get help (usually "Reply HELP for help") and how to stop (usually "Reply STOP to cancel").
A typical version: "Harbor CU account alerts: payments, card activity and balances. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel." Textcierge fills in your name so none of the required parts are missed.
Keep alerts and offers apart
Consent to account alerts covers account alerts. It does not cover a rate promotion, a new card offer or a refinance pitch. Those need separate marketing consent, and many financial companies send them by email instead. Mixing the two is a quick way to get a number filtered. Textcierge plans are built for account notifications, and our Terms do not allow promotional texts on them.
When someone says STOP
STOP and common variations such as CANCEL, END or UNSUBSCRIBE must stop texts to that number right away. The person gets one final confirmation and nothing after that unless they opt in again. Textcierge processes these on every plan and keeps the opt-out on the contact, so a later file upload cannot add the number back. HELP gets an automatic reply with your contact details.
Plan for one thing: a customer who opts out of texts still needs to hear about a fraud hold or a missed payment. Decide which channel, email, phone or mail, picks up the alert when text is off.
Keep the record
If a customer disputes an alert, you need to show when they opted in, how, and what the confirmation said. Keep that record for as long as the account is open, and longer if your counsel advises it. Textcierge keeps opt-in and opt-out records for five years and lets you export them at any time.
A quick checklist before you launch
Add an unticked, separate checkbox at account opening. Give existing customers a settings page or a keyword. Check the confirmation text has every required part. Decide which channel takes over after a STOP. Then test it: opt in from your own phone, read the reply, and text STOP to make sure it works.