There is no doubt that many people today suffer from unsolicited marketing calls, often received at inconvenient times, typically from banks or their representatives. These calls promote various offers such as loans, credit cards, and different types of insurance. Despite intensive awareness campaigns by relevant authorities, this phenomenon remains widespread. A single banking inquiry can lead to dozens of calls from various banks and companies—indicating that phone numbers are being shared among individuals in the sector, with no effective mechanism to stop these calls.
What’s the solution?
Several strict regulations and measures have already been implemented, yet they have not yielded the desired effectiveness—as evidenced by the ongoing calls to this day. After reviewing global best practices, I believe the solution lies in one or both of the following approaches:
1. Mandating In-House Marketing Teams Only
Banks should be required to conduct all marketing through internal teams. External marketing agencies are not subject to the same level of oversight and accountability as in-house teams, and they often work with multiple banks simultaneously. This increases the risk of data breaches and lowers the overall security of customer information.
2. Hiding Customer Numbers from Marketers
Marketers should be able to contact customers only through the bank’s internal system, without ever seeing their actual phone numbers. This would eliminate the risk of number leakage entirely. Additionally, the system could include settings to control contact preferences—such as specifying permitted call times or even opting out of calls completely. This solution could be further reinforced through the creation of a unified national marketing platform, connected with telecom providers, giving users greater control over their privacy and enhancing the effectiveness of the Do Not Call Registry (DNCR).
