How ZYNLO Bank transformed new customer engagement and drove record growth through automated onboarding

Overview

ZYNLO, a digital-only bank launched by PeoplesBank in 2019, entered a highly competitive market to grow its national customer base. As a digital-first institution, ZYNLO needed a scalable way to drive account funding, engagement, and retention among new customers.

Challenge

The bank relied on a traditional bulk email platform with limited capabilities. New accounts were often left unfunded, balances remained low, and a significant number of accounts closed within the first year. ZYNLO needed a way to reduce attrition while increasing balances and transactions to build profitable, engaged relationships.

Solution

ZYNLO partnered with Digital Onboarding to deliver a more effective onboarding and engagement strategy. The team designed 49 automated campaigns tailored to customer needs, leveraging:

• Incentive campaigns with funding bonuses for customers meeting deposit and transaction thresholds within 45 days
• Personalized microsites with task-based guidance that updated dynamically
  
• Automated targeting and retargeting to eliminate manual list uploads and decision trees
  
• Email and SMS reminders to motivate action, including the bank’s first use of text messaging
  
• Self-service widgets that simplified adoption:
  
  • Direct Deposit Widget for instant enrollment
    
  • Secure Personalizations Widget for secure account number retrieval
    
  • Mobile App Widget for quick app downloads
    
  • Survey Widget to collect feedback and inspire reviews
    

Results

Within the first eight months, ZYNLO exceeded every goal:‍

• 115% increase in average balances (11x the original goal)
• 6 incremental transactions per active account per month (6x the goal)
• 64% lower attrition (2.5x the goal)
• 118% increase in funded accounts‍
• 85% increase in active checking accounts

We set modest goals for the Digital Onboarding platform, and it blew away our expectations! The incentive campaign was such a success, I want to make it a permanent offering."

‍Brittny Williams, Senior VP, Digital Growth & Partnerships

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Impact

ZYNLO demonstrated that a strategic, automated onboarding experience can transform customer relationships. By combining education, incentives, and frictionless digital tools, the bank dramatically improved funding rates, balances, and retention, setting itself apart in a crowded market.

Digital Onboarding doesn’t just help us communicate, it makes it easy for customers to take action. The platform gives us the tools to stem attrition and build fully engaged relationships automatically!”

‍Brittny Williams, Senior VP, Digital Growth & Partnerships

Conclusion

Digital Onboarding empowered ZYNLO to achieve results far beyond expectations. By moving from bulk email blasts to a personalized, automated engagement engine, ZYNLO built deeper customer relationships, reduced attrition, and positioned itself for sustainable digital growth.