AFSA Member Companies Stand with Their Communities in Time of Need
On March 17th American Financial Services Association President & CEO Bill Himpler, with representatives of other, select trade groups, met via phone with House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) staff to brief them on what the financial-services industry is doing in response to the coronavirus.
In his remarks Himpler listed many ways AFSA member companies are helping their customers during this unprecedented time, as well as the community and charitable engagement many members are undertaking. These efforts include:
- Tens of millions of donations to local, state and federal health care programs to support response and care, regional and local United Way service organizations, and community-based service organizations to meet the needs of families and seniors whose lives and work have been disrupted by the virus;
- Providing payment relief options, such as extensions and deferred payments;
- Waiving fees;
- Increased use of virtual private networks to ensure timely service and greater privacy protection for customers who shift to online payments;
- Increased fraud monitoring and warnings, while proactively reaching out to customers; and,
- Increased cleaning branch offices and ATMs.
“Our member companies and our association want to reassure the committee. We have long-standing relationships with our customers and the communities where we operate; we are going to do everything in our power to help them get through this,” Himpler told the committee. “We are supporting community efforts to combat this virus and to meet the many needs of our customers. This is only the beginning.” Himpler also encouraged the committee to reinforce with consumers that they should reach out to companies if they require assistance.
To learn more about how members companies of the American Financial Services Association are responding to the coronavirus, visit our Coronavirus Response page, which will be updated regularly.
March 18th, 2020 by Dan Bucherer
