Available from 80% of banking firms, accelerated applications for existing clients encourage account holders to open additional products and sign up for other account-related features, such as complementary accounts, overdraft protection and debit cards. With existing client applications, firms generally either provide a pre-filled version of the standard application, or offer an entirely separate application that is meant specifically for current account holders. In this report, we focused on the following key points:

• What style of existing client applications are banks offering online?
• Can account holders apply for multiple new accounts simultaneously?
• Which account features do firms allow users to select or register for during the application process?
• Do clients have the ability to set initial deposit funding during the application?

Of the firms in this report, five banks currently offer pre-filled applications, while the remaining firms offer either truncated or re-formatted applications. While no bank currently offers the perfect existing client application, many firms highlighted in this report provide valuable options for users, such as the ability to select account add-ons prior to submittal, as well as progress meters and lists of information users will need to apply.

Among the 83% of firms that allow users to sign up for at least one account add-on within the application process, only 1/3 include initial check-order, while 2/3 enable users to register for Overdraft Protection, and all but four offer debit card options. Beyond this, the most innovative firms allow users to sign up for paperless statements during the application, and seven firms offer ways for users to fund their account before they must submit the application. We also found that:

• 50% of firms allow existing client to fund their accounts via ACH external transfers
• Only six firms allow pre-filled or already known personal information for clients to be edited from within the application
• Existing client applications require between two and seven steps to complete