Swishfund embeds customer service into company’s DNA with CSE accreditation

Swishfund is a London-based fintech lender providing commercial loans of up to £500,000. Conceived by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, the company offers easy access to flexible short to mid-term finance to aspiring businesses in a range of sectors. From retail and hospitality to media and tech, companies can use Swishfund to address short-term cashflow gaps, finance expansion plans and invest in stock opportunities.

As a young company building their brand and ethos, Swishfund wanted to create a customer-oriented culture within the business. With customer focus often being absent in the financial services industry, getting certified to the Customer Service Excellence (CSE) standard would enable the company to stand out and get recognised as a leading provider of business finance.

After speaking with a range of certification bodies, Swishfund chose to work with Centre for Assessment (CfA) to achieve the accreditation.

“The biggest factor in choosing the CfA was a conversation with the assessor who hugely impressed us with his knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for customer service. He also expressed a genuine interest in Swishfund, and demonstrated a good relationship with his co-workers, indicating a strong and healthy company culture at the CfA. At that point we knew that the assessment would not only help us grow, but it would prove to be an enjoyable experience too” explains Andrew Jackson, UK Managing Director

He adds:

“Working with the CfA felt like a partnership where we were all learning. As the assessor learnt about our business and culture, we learnt about the top standards of customer service across many industries. The process was always very clear with the documentation provided by CfA being well-written, illustrative and instructive”.

Since achieving the certification, Swishfund has set out a "promise" to their customers for their commitment to being responsive, transparent and listening to feedback. In addition, the company has standardised a set of precedent communications to ensure that the tone and approach is uniform across the board and has placed customer service at the heart of all its decision-making.

Speaking about Swishfund's commitment to customer service, Richard Hamilton, CSE Lead Assessor said:

"Swishfund embraced the spirit and letter of the CSE Standard from the very beginning, with a real passion and drive to ensure it added value to their work with clients.  Achieving a strong level of compliance, including two compliance Plus elements at the initial certification was impressive, demonstrating Swishfund's ambitions to be the best provider of business finance they can be.  Working with the team on the CSE project was a great pleasure and I am sure it will continue to drive them forward."

Following accreditation, Swishfund have reported fantastic customer feedback through their surveys, scoring a 9.8/10 on the Net Promoter Score scale measuring customer likelihood to recommend their services.

Commenting on the impact of the certification on the company as a whole, Andrew said:

“Customer service has become a key part of our organisational structure and culture, and we have certainly come out the other side of the assessment as a healthier and stronger business.”

Find out how we can help you achieve the Customer Service Excellence standard here.