Engage Early: How Subscription & Bill Management Drive Lasting Customer Loyalty

The first 90 days after account opening present a critical opportunity to transform curious new customers into engaged, loyal relationships. Customers who engage meaningfully within the first 30 days are 3x more likely to become active, long-term users.

Bill and subscription management can play a key role in this engagement by helping customers track, manage, and optimize their recurring expenses—delivering immediate value and reinforcing your platform’s role in their financial well-being.

Subscription Management: Delivering Immediate Value

The average consumer manages 11+ recurring payments including 4 – 8 subscription services with 3.3 of them on average going unused in a given month. In total, Americans spend ~$1,000 annually on subscriptions. This presents a perfect opportunity for early value creation in account onboarding.

How It Works:

1. Customer connects existing accounts via secure open banking connections
2. Atomic identifies recurring payments
3. A dashboard presents all subscriptions in one place—often revealing forgotten charges
4. Simple control actions (cancel, pause, modify) allow the user to take control without leaving your application
5. The user authenticates to the merchant via Atomic’s TrueAuth
6. The requested action is taken on the users behalf

When a customer cancels a forgotten $14.99 subscription, they see instant savings—delivering value before their physical card even arrives. This early “win” builds a positive connection with your platform from day one.

Managing subscriptions is just the beginning. Once customers gain visibility and control over their recurring expenses, the next step is uncovering even more ways to optimize their finances. That’s where Savings Discovery comes in—helping customers identify hidden opportunities to lower their bills and keep more money in their pockets.

Savings Discovery: Turning Insights Into Dollars

Leading institutions are analyzing bill details to uncover savings opportunities that customers might miss on their own.

How It Works:

1. Customer permissions access to their detailed account information
2. Platform analyzes spending patterns and plan details
3. Comparison engine identifies potential savings on common bills (cell phone, internet, insurance)
4. Guided flows help customers capture these savings without leaving your platform

This approach transforms abstract “financial wellness” promises into concrete dollars saved—creating tangible value customers can immediately appreciate. Customers who find even modest savings during early engagement show 40% higher retention rates at the one-year mark.

The most successful implementations focus on these key elements:

• Timing is everything: Engagement opportunities begin immediately after account opening
• Focus on quick wins: Prioritize actions that deliver immediate, tangible value
• Celebrate outcomes: Explicitly quantify the value created (“You just saved $178 annually”)

The institution that creates value from day one isn’t just winning the early engagement game—they’re building lasting relationships with loyal, engaged customers who see them as their trusted financial partner.

This post is the first in a four-part series exploring how modern payment management transforms banking relationships across the customer journey. Join our upcoming webinar on Thursday, March 6 to see these concepts in action with live demonstrations of use cases that drive engagement from day one.