As credit card companies continue to offer incentives to potential and current customers, the most recent trend of offering personal customer service may be exactly what customers are seeking. Customer service can be an enormous factor in gaining or losing business. With the increase in Internet usage, and sites such as e-opinion.com, BusinessReports.com, etc., customers can easily share good and bad customer service experiences.

The TP industry is helping improve customer service through automated processing, which decreases errors and increases the speed of each transaction, which in turn increases efficiency by reducing the number of steps needed to complete a transaction.

Companies have begun advertising that customer service is what sets them apart from the competition. Citibank's most recent advertising campaign tells customers that they will immediately be able to talk to a person if they need help, thus preventing the long and often frustrating voice or number prompted "help desk" calls.

Bank of America recently began offering SiteKey to its customers in the Northeast. SiteKey, a free service, helps prevent fraud and identity theft by providing an extra level of authentication. Customers pick an image, write a brief phrase and select three challenge questions. The bank and the customer use this information to confirm each other's identity. This capability is helping decrease "spoofing" and will ensure that customers are not fooled by a fake Web site version of bankofamerica.com. This free service, which is being rolled out across the country, is enhancing Bank of America's customer service.

JPMorgan Chase continues to launch its "blink" service in areas throughout the country with the most recent being Orlando. Blink offers customers decreased transaction time. This technology is free to Chase customers, and enables them to complete a transaction in less than 20 seconds.

The increase in customer service will likely have an effect on the way that customers make decisions regarding which cards they choose to acquire and use. As the TP industry continues to make improvements, customer service will continue to become stronger and more customized to consumer needs.