How to Leverage SMS for Your Financial and Lending Institution

Need to touch base with a customer or prospect? A whopping 98 percent of Americans own a mobile phone today, making it a breeze to reach them. Consumers are always on, but they prefer to let their fingers do the talking on a touchscreen. Recipients open 98 percent of SMS messages versus 26.8 percent of emails—and within mere minutes. 

The Role of SMS in the Financial Sector

Financial organizations are turning to text messaging to enhance their services and build client relationships with unparalleled efficiency and convenience. Advisors and clients can connect faster via text than in any email or call with:

• Real-time lead nurturing: Send personalized responses after inquiries, sales calls, or meetings to boost conversions.
• Timely, automated follow-up: Share reminders, confirmations, and check-ins about financing deals in process. 
• Two-way communication: Enable clients to do everything from asking questions to texting images of documents needed for funding. 

But all of this comes with a strip of red tape. Responsible SMS for financial services must address several data security and compliance requirements, including:

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1. Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)

The TCPA protects people from unwanted spam via voice or text because they must opt in to receive communications before organizations can send marketing messages. Achieve compliance and obtain opt-ins through a lead capture form on your website or past purchases with your company. You can also provide opt-out opportunities with verbiage such as “Reply STOP to opt out” or “UNSUBSCRIBE” in messages.

2. 10-Digit Long Code (10DLC)

10DLC allows U.S. mobile carriers to secure and improve business texting so they don’t land in the spam folder. Organizations must register themselves and their marketing campaigns to 10-digit phone numbers to sort them from bad actors—and boost deliverability and response rates.

3. Toll-Free Verification

Toll-free business lines allow organizations to use 1-800 numbers not just for calls but also to send and receive texts. Most messaging is transactional, whether it’s an account alert or notification. Verification requires a clear opt-in policy that enables higher deliverability for marketing messages.

4. Dedicated Short Codes

Using short, 5-6 digit numbers for SMS marketing ensures audiences can reach only your organization. Dedicated short codes are 100 percent brand-specific, eliminating the risks of misdelivery or confusion.

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Benefits of SMS for Financial Services Firms

Emails sitting unopened and unanswered? Social posts collecting crickets rather than replies? Elevate your marketing with SMS for financial services to hyper-target campaigns to the right audience and open the floodgates for effective communication.

Faster Responses

Forget the typical delays of traditional marketing channels. SMS for financial services amps up communication. Thanks to two-way texting, leads and customers can instantly connect with financial organizations. 

Easy Opt-In/Opt-Out Options

SMS for financial services has two key goals: Drive opt-ins and foster engagement with individuals who signed up to hear from you. Texting makes it convenient for members to opt in to interact with offers and alerts. Plus, they can text “STOP” to end when the time is right to opt out—no harm, no foul. 

Better Engagement

Show customers you care and foster long-term trust and relationships. Implementing SMS for financial services can be hyper-personalized to show how attentive your organization is, going so far as to alert customers of potential issues before they become bigger problems.

Did you know that 84 percent of consumers check texts within 15 minutes? Get to them on the spot by texting real-time security alerts, fraud warnings, and transaction confirmations to build engagement and deepen trust.

Improved Closing Rates

ABC: Always be closing. Timely SMS for financial services can tip the scales in your favor by addressing pain points. If a prospect reveals a specific problem during the sales cycle, a quick text message that gets to the root of their desire could prove to be the difference between closed lost and closed won. 

Nurture leads by showing empathy and providing information, whether it’s answering a question or sharing direct links to the resources they need. Every time a prospect takes action, they swing the door wide open to grow your relationship:

• Follow up after a content download. 
• Send post-meeting thank-yous.
• Take advantage of other key touchpoints.

Start by checking in with warm leads via email, and then quickly follow up with a text to stay on their radar.

Omnichannel Support

Grandma said it best: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” And she had a point. Get more out of a diverse blend of tools and tactics via SMS integrations.

Imagine sending messages through your customer relationship management platform. By connecting an application programming interface to a text messaging provider, you can send and receive SMS messages from existing platforms. Creating this link has the power to strengthen not just simple communication but also marketing campaigns. Combine targeted SMS campaigns and bulk messages with other channels, such as email and social media, to promote products and services and achieve higher open and conversion rates.

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Integrate SMS Messaging into Your Financial Services

You can send a text to order a pizza, so why not do the same to manage communications in your financial organization? 

SMS for financial services makes it quick and convenient for you and prospects or clients to stay in touch, improving response rates and engagement to satisfy both sides. Create your SMS strategy to improve operational efficiency and deliver real value. For a more detailed look at the latest SMS engagement trends for 2025, join the waitlist for the SMS Engagement Report 2025: Data-Driven Insights to Take on Business Texting.

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