Technology
11/17/2014

What’s Working and Why


DI_mag_thingy.pngI am a big believer that many banks have immediate opportunities to expand what banking means to individual and business customers. This special supplement to Bank Director magazine highlights a number of interesting technologies that have re-shaped the fortunes of banks across the U.S.

Now, technology in the financial world encompasses a broad spectrum of tools. For most officers and directors, I’ve found conversations about technology naturally incite interest in mobile banking. This isn’t a surprise when one considers that 68 percent of American adults connect to the Internet with smartphones or mobile devices, according to the Pew Research Center. Smartphone penetration is highest among people with higher incomes, and the young. What an opportunity to engage and reshape your relationships with this audience! To show how Americans use smartphones, and how banks are offering mobile services to meet that demand, Bank Director compiled an infographic on pages 4-5.

Clearly, banks are trying to reach customers with the appropriate technology to stay relevant. But some banks are pushing themselves beyond what every other bank is doing. A story on page 6 features interviews with banking leaders about the most successful innovations or technological advances impacting banks right now. Among new ideas is Malauzai Software’s and Allied Payment Network’s PicturePay, which allows banks to pay customer bills with a photo of the bill taken on a smartphone. 

As many banks face pressure to grow revenue or reduce expenses, we take a look at some that are coming up with creative solutions to tackle that problem. For instance, Central Bancompany in Jefferson City, Missouri, turned to Ignite Sales to double the number of services the average new business customer uses at the bank from three to six or seven different products or services. 

Likewise, City National Bank in Charleston, West Virginia, found success with the help of StrategyCorps. About one-third of the bank’s customers have opted into a value-added checking account for $5 per month, even though free checking is still available. Inland Community Bank in Ontario, California, used Paladin fs to save money on its core information technology contracts during the sale of the bank, improving the value of the deal and saving $700,000 in termination expenses.

While most banks are far more efficient than they were just five years ago, there is money to be saved in banking. Some of the more ambitious companies, who want to stay relevant and solve their customers’ problems, are saving money and growing revenues through a variety of means. Banks have to make changes to stay relevant and address customer needs, and some of the more inventive banks are finding unique ways to do this while boosting the bottom line. On behalf of our team, please enjoy this special supplement, one we designed to inspire and shine a light into what’s possible.

Contents

When Free Checking Is No Longer Enough

By: Sandy Smith

Successful banks like City National are always looking for customer friendly ways to grow fee income, says StrategyCorps’ Dave Crook.

Giving Banks a Better Way to Cross Sell

By: Sandy Smith

When Central Company engaged Ignite Sales, it needed to help its front-line associates improve relationships with its business customers.

Saving Money on IT Contracts

By: Rick Grant

Financial institutions are generally paying too much for information technology contracts. In many cases, those contracts could negatively affect M&A transactions in the future.

Succeeding With Mobile Bill Pay

By: Rick Grant

Park Sterling Bank is increasing customer retention through mobile bill pay.

WRITTEN BY

Al Dominick

Board Member

Al Dominick serves on the board of DirectorCorps, Inc. The former CEO of Bank Director | FinXTech, he is a partner at Cornerstone Advisors.

Prior to Cornerstone and Bank Director | FinXTech, he ran the business development efforts for Computech, a Bethesda, Maryland-based information technology firm (now part of NCI — NASDAQ: NCIT). Before that, he worked for Board Member, Inc. in a variety of revenue-generating roles.

A 1999 graduate of Washington & Lee University, where he majored in Politics and was a four-year letterman on the varsity baseball team, he earned an MBA from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business in 2007.