Customer Story
Jacaranda Finance increases on-time payments by 67% with SMS reminders
Overview
Challenge: Jacaranda Finance needed a more reliable and scalable SMS solution after its previous provider caused delayed or lost messages, creating friction for payment reminders and client communication.
Solution: Sinch Engage integrated via API to automate client outreach, support real-time SMS authorization and improve payment reminder workflows across the business.
Results: A 67% increase in on-time payments, up to 300,000 SMS messages per month handled across three entities, and a 40% reduction in staff wage spending through automation.
“Our goal was to make communication as seamless and easy as possible. In most cases, our clients prefer communicating via text.“
For Jacaranda Finance, SMS was not just a reminder tool. It was a core part of delivering the kind of fast, mobile-first lending experience its customers expected.
Jacaranda Finance is an Australian-owned financial company built around a digital lending platform and in-house underwriting system designed to give borrowers a faster, more seamless experience. As the business grew, it kept looking for technology that could improve client communication, increase service speed and support more accurate operations.
SMS was a natural fit for that model, especially for a customer base that preferred convenient, mobile-first communication. But Jacaranda’s previous provider proved unreliable, with messages getting lost or delayed. In a business where even short downtime could cost thousands of dollars, that created real friction for payment reminders, loan processing and client communication.
To solve that, Jacaranda integrated Sinch Engage (formerly MessageMedia) via API and automated a wide range of client outreach workflows. That included payment reminders as well as real-time SMS authorisation, contract delivery, notices and requests for additional documents. Instead of treating text messaging as a separate add-on, the business built Sinch Engage into the way it already operated.
Faster payments, lower overheads
The clearest impact showed up in payments. Jacaranda found that timely SMS reminders were the most effective way to improve payment speed for customers not on direct debit, leading to a 67% increase in on-time payments. At the same time, faster message delivery helped the business move loan processing along more quickly by getting contracts, notices and document requests to customers in real time.
Automation also improved efficiency across the organisation. By replacing manual processes, including SMS scheduling and dispatch, Jacaranda reduced staff wage spending by 40%. The system could also handle far greater scale, supporting up to 300,000 messages per month across the company’s three entities.
The benefits extended beyond collections and efficiency. Jacaranda says text messaging improved customer response rates compared with email and phone calls, while automation reduced human error by ensuring messages reached the right clients at the right time. The business also gained better visibility into spend across accounts, campaigns and departments, making it easier to track ROI.
