Customer Information File (CIF)
What Is a Customer Information File (CIF)?
A customer data file (CIF) is an electronic file that stores generally relevant data about a customer's personal and account data. The customer data file (CIF), which contains a CIF number, permits the business to see its customer accounts by relationship and not rigorously by account type. Albeit numerous industries have customer files, CIFs have been generally associated with the banking industry. A CIF at a bank could incorporate a client's credit relationships, accounts owned, and ownership data.
How a Customer Information File (CIF) Works
The CIF for bank records such data as a customer's indispensable statistics account balances and transactions, and types of accounts held. It is refreshed as frequently as daily to guarantee precision and is utilized to aid different service and administrative capabilities.
A CIF furnishes the business with a summary of each of the activities associated with a specific customer. A CIF is all the more regularly held in an electronic organization today alongside its CIF number. Nonetheless, a CIF paper organizer frequently exists too containing important reports, for example, signature cards utilized during the account opening cycle. The customer data file capabilities as a central point for inspecting customer data without looking into each account or transaction independently.
Commercial banking utilizes CIFs to show the different credit products, for example, business loans and credit cards currently being used by a customer. The CIF may likewise display data with respect to any previous requests, to assist with giving targeted data to the purpose of [cross-selling](/strategically pitch), which is offering complementary products to existing clients.
CIF and Data Security
Any business or entity that records certain customer data is required to uncover the way things are collected and the way in which it will be utilized. Additionally, the business is required to find certain base ways to safeguard the data from accidental or forced exposure by unauthorized gatherings.
The Federal Trade Commission assists with safeguarding consumers and businesses by managing how data is to be secured in the U.S. The FTC likewise gives assistance to companies on keeping data secure and guaranteeing that data is discarded appropriately.
Special Considerations
A customer data file (CIF) and its data are many times utilized as a marketing device. For instance, a CIF with online retailers could remember data for previous web look, previously saw products, and purchases. The inquiry and perusing behavior assists online companies with deciding different things that could interest the customer to request new or extra sales.
Service suppliers likewise keep up with CIFs with the end goal of future marketing. This can incorporate notification to a consumer about services the consumer utilizes at specific spans, like vehicle maintenance or finishing services. By gathering data on when service was last utilized, the company can guess when the customer might require it later on and send an update.
Illustration of a Customer Information File
A CIF frequently contains personally identifiable data (PII). This can incorporate the customer's name, address, and telephone number for the purposes of satisfying purchases. A CIF can likewise incorporate an individual's introduction to the world date and Social Security number, which is all the more frequently required in banking or in conditions wherein credit is significant. Additional data, like race and orientation, may likewise be remembered for the data is accessible.
Features
- A customer data file (CIF) is a mechanized file utilized by companies that store a customer's personal and account data.
- Online retailers additionally make CIFs for current or potential customers in view of their online product searches or purchases.
- In banking, a CIF contains data like credit relationships, account ownership data, the number, and types of accounts owned.
