The Need for Language Services
Unlike other industries like law and government that use large text documents as foundations, banking and finance revolve around numbers. The numerical figures are only supported by text. Many languages already use the same numbers (digits) as English. Immigrants and foreign investors often learn the numbers used in English (Western Arabic) early in order to make purchases. Yet their other English language skills may lag behind their numerical ability. Still, in the twenty-first century, there is no reason why Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals cannot be reached as clients. Over 67.8 million people (over age 5) in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home. Many LEP individuals are proficient. However, even the fluent still prefer to receive financial information in their first language. When making complex or pricey decisions, they yearn for, or demand, the clarity of their maternal language. Information in their second language can remain too vague or hazy to sell a person on a product or service. They, along with everyone else, only trust an institution after being able to analyze offers and their terms.Breaking Down Language Barriers
Luckily, serving diverse customers need not provoke major changes to financial institutions’ existing systems. Nor does a diverse client base require a hiring frenzy. Financial institutions can reach customers who are racially, ethnically and linguistically diverse with a few proactive steps. Actually, the simple addition of language support for banking can attract customers searching for a bank that speaks their language…or that can quickly dial someone who can. In the future, we will be increasingly interconnected. In fact, foreigners were investing over $100 million in US real estate from 2015 to 2018. The figures can surely rebound after they fell due to Covid-19 and other complications. When non-native speakers want to purchase a property, boat or industrial equipment or if they want to invest otherwise, language services for finance can bridge the gap for your institution. While hiring bilingual staff may meet the need for common languages like Spanish, connecting with a company that can provide a host of language services on-demand is a future-oriented solution.
Considerations about Language Services for Financial Institutions
When considering companies to provide interpretation and translation, it’s important to weigh several factors affecting financial services. Quality of language conversion, wait times, and reliability all come into play. Security and ethics are also important elements. The quality of interpreting and translating ensures that errors do not occur when information is exchanged about accounts, contract terms and repayment requirements. Quickly converting high numbers is challenging for undertrained or non-native-speaking interpreters. With verbal information, whole decimal places (or even the tens or hundreds column of a figure) can easily be lost by a low-quality interpreter. When your associate needs to reach an interpreter, low wait times bring a host of advantages. Booking an interpreter or translator ahead of time isn’t necessary with non-existent or short wait times. An on-demand, reliable language company saves all parties time and money. A few companies offer 24/7 availability to serve all time zones, including Alaska, Hawaii and US territories. As for security and ethics, banks and financial institutions need to work with partners and vendors with the highest standards. They must have impenetrable cyber defense systems. Backup systems and groups of personnel in different locations should be separate and identical (redundant). Finally, the company’s ethics are important for banks, which need to ensure customer privacy. Robust companies that serve medical, legal and government clients usually offer high ethical guarantees. While it may sound like we’ve mentioned a lot of considerations, it is possible for one language service provider to meet all of these conditions. When one comprehensive company offers a battery of different languages and can meet needs for translation and interpretation services, banking and finance offerings made by your institution can be multiplied by that many languages. There is no need to turn down a potential customer or investor who speaks a rare language.Commonly Translated Documents
- Financial Statements
- Contracts
- Marketing Collateral
- Loan Applications and Information
- Credit Information
- Banking & Account Statements
- Fiscal Revenue Reports
- Mortgage Terms, Conditions & Contacts
- Annual Reports
- Application Forms
- Audit Reports
- Investment Reports
- Disclosure Agreements
- Shareholder Information
- Balance Sheets
- Compliance Documents
- Commercial Correspondence
- Legal Documents
- Bank Statements
So Many Language Interpretation Options
Over-the-Phone Interpretation With the fastest connection times in the industry and around-the-clock availability every day of the year (literally 24x7x365), we enable financial institutions in every greater-US time zone to get more done faster while reducing costs. Our on-demand telephonic interpreters are certified, experienced and highly trained. Best of all, they take on your tasks so naturally that many customers don’t realize they’re not speaking to your institution’s in-house interpreter. Video Remote Interpretation Video affords your associates, clients and the interpreter the benefits of visual cues like gestures and facial expressions. These additional aspects result in more accurate, personal and friendly service. Yet it doesn’t carry the price tag of in-person interpretation. One of our expert interpreters can appear before your associates and clients via web camera, tablet or smartphone. Your associates may not need to leave the program they routinely navigate to request and interpreter. A video remote interpretation can take place with one or more international parties. Zoom or Video Remote Interpretation We understand the importance of accurate interpretation services from interpreters who have specific knowledge regarding your unique industry. The use of an interpreter during Zoom calls and meetings will help you and your business provide effortless interaction by enabling comprehension for those who have limited language capabilities. In-Person Interpreter When you need an interpreter to come to your institution or another site, our wide network of interpreters can meet even rural demand. They can deliver the personal touch or relay complex topics in the special way that characterizes in-person services. Wow your international or LEP clients with our knowledgeable, professional yet friendly in-person interpreters. They’re often available on short notice.Prepare for the Future with One Company: Kickwords
When it comes to translation and interpretation services, banking and finance institutions are in a unique position. Banks can mostly let LEP clients serve themselves with online banking, and reserve language services to answer questions or offer new types of accounts and loans. Basically, on-demand language support for banking goes a long way. It reduces costs compared to bilingual employees or local interpreters who charge monthly minimums, or demand bookings in blocks of 2+ hours. Meanwhile, language services for finance care usually only needed upon the first engagement with a new client and for periodic conferences. Kickwords has a variety of options for how your institution reaches an interpreter. These options let you strike the perfect balance between price and personal service. Impress clients from all over the world, and keep your billing streamlined through one point of contact for multiple types of language services, multiplied by over 100 languages!Source: Language Services in Banking and Finance for 2022 (telelanguage.com)
