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Honor Roll: This Week's Top Banking Blogs (Jan. 10-16)

Posted on January 15, 2010

Our favorite banking technology-related blog posts from around the Web (January 10-16, 2010):

Taking on the Big Guys

Camden R. Fine, president and CEO of Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) discusses the Move Your Money campaign. Started by the Huffington Post, the online initiative urges Americans to, well, move their money from big banks to community banks. "Ever since this movement got started more than two weeks ago, I've been hearing from community bankers across the country, just as pleased as I am that citizens are finally talking about the differences between those enormous Wall Street financial institutions and our Main Street community banks," Fine writes.
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Clash of the Titans: Google vs….China??!!

"Regardless of the outcome, retail banking and payments can learn about the future of the industry by watching as Google squares off with China," writes Javelin's James Van Dyke in this post about Google's threats to leave the Chinese market following hacking attempts from inside the country.
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The Future of Supply Chain Finance Platforms

Enrico Camerinelli writes that Celent sees a number of supply chain finance platforms, branded by very large banks, appearing in the next two to three years. "The likely future model is one of a syndicated marketplace based on a technology platform, into which financial institutions, private capital funding, insurers, and logistic service providers will plug to provide collaborative supply chain finance services," he writes.
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Online Statement Centers: Kicking the Paper Habit

Posted on March 26, 2009

Every bank these days seems to hope that its clients will move away from paper statements to online-only account management. After all, such a change by even a fraction of a firm’s account holders saves money in terms of printing and postage costs. In order for clients to play their part and agree to suppress the paper statements that they have always known, however, they need to know they will still be able to find the same information online. A recent Bank Monitor report looked at online statements, the most important aspect of the paperless experience, and found that 85% of firms we reviewed now offer online statements that replicate their paper siblings.

This development is excellent for both clients and firms, as offering online statements that mirror paper statements is an important feature in the continued promotion – and perhaps, increased adoption – of paper suppression. The option of going paperless, while obviously providing financial benefit to firms that no longer need to send paper statements, also benefits clients by reducing paper clutter, so long as they have an easy way to view and save their monthly account reports.

The overwhelming majority of online statements are now offered as true-to-form PDFs that mimic the look and information of paper statements. With this format, clients who like having a hard copy version of their statement can easily save or print it. Where banks start differing in their application of online statement capabilities is in statement availability. Half of the firms in this report make Online Statements available to all users – B of A, Chase, Citibank, Citizens, Fifth Third, First National and National City – while the remainder limit statement access to those clients who have already suppressed their paper statements. Though limiting access can seem like an enticement for account holders to switch to paperless statements, it can also prevent customers from trying paperless statements at all.

To aid in the paperless statement process, every firm except ING Direct now allows clients to both suppress and restart their paper statement delivery online. At ING, clients are automatically enrolled in paperless statements, and can only begin receiving hard copy account records if they send a written request to the firm. Additionally, 86% of firms allow clients to request past statement copies online. Almost all banks impose a fee for these copies, with three exceptions. Citibank and Wells Fargo offer next-day digital uploads of past statements fee free, while Bank of America does one better and provides paper statement copies at no charge.

While BofA was the clear leader here, several other firms perform well overall including Chase, Citibank, and Citizens Bank. Key recommendations we made in the report include:

• Make online statements available to all account holders
• Increase the length of the statement archive to at least 24 months • Facilitate private site statement requests and delivery of bank statement copies
• Offer external incentives for paperless statements

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The WellsFargovia Blog: Social Media Meets Merger Communications

Posted on January 08, 2009

In the 12 years or so that we’ve been monitoring the retail financial services landscape, we’ve witnessed firms merging, splitting, and merging again. Since we’ve had financial accounts all over the place (banks, brokerage firms, mutual funds, etc.), we’ve witnessed this evolution from the client perspective. Sadly, the only consistent thing among all the mergers has been the overall lack of quality communication to customers about what the merger will mean to their accounts, fees, and so forth. Sure, there are exceptions to the rule, but by and large from the time a merger is announced to the time the acquired company’s brand goes away, clients are often met with deafening silence from both firms.

And, unless you fell down a well in September and are only emerging now, you know that the industry is going through another bout of merger-mania. While this time around the circumstances might not be particularly happy ones, the recent mergers are among the first to happen in the age of social media and thanks to Wells Fargo and Wachovia, we’re going to get a taste of how social media can assist clients during the transition. On January 2nd, the first business day after the approval, Wells Fargo launched a new blog on its public site that features posts from employees at Wells and Wachovia.

According to Wells Fargo, the blog is supposed to keep Wachovia customers informed of news and updates as the takeover moves along. It’s a great idea - Wachovia customers will have a lot of information thrown at them in the next few months. Having a centralized place to find information and ask questions can help make the whole process a little less daunting. And it makes sense to have voices from both firms, to let Wachovia customers know that many of the same people are still working behind the scenes.

Only a handful of posts have gone up so far, most of which have been of the “We’re here to serve you” variety - kind of obvious, sometimes corny, and a little press release-y. The most interesting dialogue we’ve seen has taken place in the comments sections, particularly regarding this post by Wachovia’s Matt Wadley, which has received 54 responses to date. Wachovia customers responded with a number of frank questions about the transition: Will Wells Fargo honor Wachovia’s CD rates? Why doesn’t Wells Fargo offer a free checking account? Why does Wells Fargo charge for bill pay?

How Wells Fargo responds to these concerns will play a big role in determining whether or not Wachovia customers take to their new bank. Wachovia was voted highest in customer satisfaction for seven straight years, so clients clearly had some loyalty to the bank and the customer experience.

It’s also interesting to consider that this may be the first major bank takeover in which firms have had to integrate different social media strategies. Neither firm is a stranger to social media. Wells Fargo was one of the first banks to dip its toes into the virtual waters, with its Stagecoach Island virtual world and Guided by History blog. Wachovia got on board with social media a bit later, but has been quicker to utilize third-party social media resources like Twitter. Wachovia’s Twitter strategy seems to tie in well with the new blog. It’s no coincidence that Matt Wadley’s post has received the most comments so far. Wadley moderates Wachovia’s Twitter page, so customers already have a rapport with him. (And Wachovia has been promoting the blog on Twitter.)

It’s usually helpful to take the long view in gauging the success of a new social media initiative, and this blog is no exception. Allowing a frank dialogue between customer and staff is a good start. Only time will tell where it goes from here.

Michael Ellison is EVP with New York-based market research and consulting firm Corporate Insight.

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Transfer Limits: Reducing Risk at the Expense of Convenience

Posted on April 24, 2008

To fund a study we’re conducting in our brokerage research, we recently attempted an online transfer of $5,000 from a Citibank account to a linked Charles Schwab account. We had done this before without any problem, and were surprised to note that Citibank recently reduced the daily limit for outgoing inter-institution transfers (IITs) from $5,000 to $2,000.

In light of the change at Citibank, we decided to look into the daily outgoing transfer limits at the nine other Bank Monitor firms we track that offer IITs. KeyBank and Wachovia also feature daily limits of $2,000 – the lowest ceiling of any of the firms in our coverage group. Other firms offer much higher limits, such as E*TRADE Bank and HSBC that permit daily outgoing transfers totaling $100,000. Perhaps not surprising given their model, ING Direct has no limit at all.

Although Citibank reduced its outgoing transfer limit, the service itself is free of charge. Similarly, five other firms offer a free IIT service including E*TRADE, HSBC, ING, KeyBank, and WaMu. The standard cost among other firms (Bank of America, Chase, and Wachovia) is $3 for standard delivery of usually three-day processing, while there is a $10 fee for next day delivery.

However, customers looking to transfer relatively large chunks of cash (say $10,000) might be hamstrung by low transfer limits and find themselves forced into executing more expensive wire transfers or inconvenient branch withdrawals. Firms with higher transfer limits (or no limits) increase flexibility for their customers and make a more user-friendly product.

At the same time, there are relatively few customers that will have the desire or means to transfer $100,000 in a day to another financial institution, so such a high limit might not make sense for every firm. A bit of research into your customers’ average daily balances and average transfer requests could help provide suitable transfer limit guidelines. Chase, for example, offers a higher external transfer limit for its preferred clients, while clients with a standard bank account are provided a limit of $10,000 per transaction.

Certainly, there are security benefits to lower transfer limits: Firms with lower transfer limits are liable for less money in the event of fraudulent account access. Still, there are other ways of securing external transfer functions beyond low transfer limit. Firms can require a secondary password for external transfers, or can send an automatic security alert when a new transfer is scheduled. Wachovia, for example, requires customers to answer a series of personal questions through its Wachovia Security Plus feature before allowing customers to make an external outgoing transfer.

The IIT service is an important aspect of the online banking experience. Banks – particularly those with little or no branch presence – need to offer flexible online banking platforms that can accommodate a broad range of customer needs.

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Wells Fargo's vSafe: The Virtual Safety Deposit Box

Posted on March 31, 2008

As we reported in this week's Bank Monitor Update (subscription required), Wells Fargo recently announced a new service that will allow customers to store electronic documents within their Wells Fargo online account. This new service, called vSafe, is supposed to allow customers to store "virtually any popular file format (e.g. Word documents, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, photos, audio and video files)"; includes predefined folders such as "Medical", "Legal" and "Family" and customers can customize their own folders; and will allow customers to automatically upload their Wells Fargo bank statements.

It is unlikely that Wells is trying to break into the file storing business and compete with Xdrive, or give flickr a run for the money in photo sharing. However, leveraging a reputation that is based on trust and security by allowing clients to store sensitive and important documents such as wills, health proxies, birth certificates, etc. is a very unique way of servicing the customer and creating client loyalty. After all, if all of your important legal documents are backed up at your bank, how likely are you going to leave for a competitor?

One issue that will be interesting to see played out is the question of legality of electronic documents. If as a customer I have my will stored electronically on Wells Fargo's website and then my house burns down, is the e-version a legal document? Wouldn't it be neat if Wells Fargo could offer a special notary service that allows clients to go into a branch and scan documents and have them notarized? Clearly, we're not legal experts and have no idea if that is even possible, but it would make this an even more valuable service (and get people into the branch so they could be sold to as well).

At any rate, the service is not yet up and running (at least our accounts currently have no access to this) and Wells has not mentioned how much storage they will provide to clients, but we look forward to seeing this unique feature in action.

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Account Selection Tools: Help Prospects Make a Decision

Posted on March 18, 2008

When potential clients first visit a bank’s Web site, they are often presented with a myriad of choices regarding the types and styles of deposit accounts they might open with the firm. Indeed, if you look just at checking options Citibank has 6 types of accounts, JPMorgan Chase has 4 (not including student accounts), and Bank of America has five types of checking accounts. And this is just checking. If you include savings and CDs, the number of account options become overwhelming.

In this week's Bank Monitor Update, we highlighted that Wachovia introduced a new account recommendation tool to help prospective clients wade through their options. The Flash-based tool features separate questionnaires that recommend checking and savings accounts and Wachovia is now the eighth firm we track that offers such a tool - up from six when we published a full report on this useful website feature back in July.

In that report, we highlighted Bank of America as the best practice example for account selection tools and it still holds today. B of A provides the most complete and well-organized deposit selection tool. Its Account Finder enables users to search for either checking accounts, savings accounts, or both from within a single tool, while basing its recommendations on more than just projected balance levels. The results page, meanwhile, displays suggested accounts in an easily comparable side-by-side format and includes enough information to give users a complete picture of each account it is suggesting. In addition, users can choose to apply for as many of the suggested accounts as they would like simultaneously, by selecting multiple checkboxes from the separate (but successive) checking and savings recommendation pages.

Account selection tools can be a useful and important feature for banks to offer their clients, but they need to be executed well. In our report on this topic, we highlighted a number of recommendations that firms might follow when designing and upgrading any such tools, including:

• Provide account recommendations in a comparison table
• Provide links to apply directly from the selector tool
• Offer both savings and checking options via one tool
• Present package offerings to clients who express interest in multiple products

A well-designed account selection tool not only eases the burden of choice for the prospect, it sets the tone for the overall relationship. After all, if the client has a good experience from the start, it becomes easier to sell them things in the future.

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PayPal's Plug-in Provides Payment Parity

Posted on March 10, 2008

We received an email recently from PayPal inviting us to download their new plug-in, which streamlines the payment process at websites. However, this is not simply an auto-fill tool for forms like RoboForm. In fact, it allows you to use your PayPal account for purchases at any site that accepts MasterCard - even if the site you are purchasing from does not accept PayPal. This new Secure Card feature allows users to generate one-time MasterCard numbers for use in purchasing a product once, or a multiple-use number for repeat purchases at the same vendor.

Secure cards themselves are not necessarily new. BofA offers one (it was part of MBNA), as do Citibank and Discover. These features allow clients to use their cards online without exposing their actual card numbers to the vendors. However, what is different with the PayPal secure card is that now a buyer can use a secure card almost anywhere online without having an actual credit card (if they link the payment to their bank account). Or, they can use any card of their choosing as a secure card for purchases mitigating the need to rely on BofA, Citi, or Discover's secure payment tools.

Although PayPal's market share of payments is still small - a BusinessWeek article from last June said they had 6% of all online payments worldwide - they are widely used among eBay's clients. As those users see the benefit of this new tool, they may be willing to adopt it on non-eBay sites. Indeed, the same BusinessWeek article reported that 40% of the payments processed by PayPal originated on sites other than eBay's shopping properties. What PayPal has done is given consumers flexibility and choice - and that should give established banks and card companies pause.

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More Tales of Customer Relationship Building: How Not to Court Gen…Z?

Posted on February 28, 2008

She's baaaaack! Yes, it's everyone's favorite obnoxious British "woman"—Little Britain's Carol Beer, and she's up to more banking shenanigans.

Actually, I received such good feedback on the first blog I ran with a link to a video clip of old Carol that I decided to do some more digging on YouTube. Sure enough, there were plenty of Carol clips available. Not only can we see Carol in the bank, but also at the travel agency and as a very unenthusiastic tour guide in Spain.

In this latest clip, a woman and her young son ask Carol about opening a child's bank account. You would think things would go swimmingly when Carol starts explaining the nature of the account. She even gives the kid a piggy bank. But then again, this is Carol…

So much for going after gen Z.

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U.K. Study: Divorce Easier Than Switching Banks

Posted on February 25, 2008

It looks like marriage has taken another hit, it seems: This time at the hands of the banking industry. Well, somewhat. According to a study by Mintel conducted on behalf of the viewers of the BBC's Watchdog program, many in the U.K. are apathetic when it comes to seeking a new financial services provider versus opting out of a marriage, business partnership or employment.

Watchdog is a television series that investigates viewers' reports of problematic experiences with traders, retailers and other companies around the U.K.

The study surveyed 13,000 people and found that 1 in 2 were either 'dissatisfied or extremely dissatisfied' with the service they received from their bank (with the exception of those banking with Co-operative Bank and www.smile.co.uk, its Web-based sister company). The researchers maintain that in spite of these numbers, Brits are more likely to get a divorce than to switch their bank accounts. Sixty percent of respondents had been with their bank for over 10 years, while a quarter maintained their financial relationship for over 20 years— almost twice as long as the average length of marriage for U.K. divorcee's.

So I suppose this means that getting a divorce is less of a hassle than it is to switch your bank accounts. Who would have thought that banks hold the secret to the everlasting relationship? Maybe there are some lessons here for married couples on loyalty versus happiness. … Then again, maybe not.

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CheckFree Ushers in True Online Banking

Posted on February 07, 2008

It appears that banking will now become truly online thanks to a new service that CheckFree announced yesterday: Remote Deposit Capture. Essentially, this will allow retail customers who have a scanner and an Internet connection to deposit checks from their home without visiting the branch.

Clearly, this could have significant impact on a bank's cost structures (less branches? Less tellers?) and perhaps even justify a fee that banks can charge consumers. After all, there is value in being able to do this online from the comfort of one's home without having to wait in line at a branch or visit an ATM.

Of course, adoption will be an issue, which could lead to a Catch-22: Banks will need to adopt the technology before consumers can use it, but will they adopt it for fear of low utilization by their customers? Our take is that this is a benefit worth offering consumers and while it may not receive wide adoption from older (i.e., wealthier) customers, it is likely something that would appeal to the younger set and could serve to solidify a long-term relationship with that demographic.

It's early yet, and we have not seen any of the bank websites that we track in Bank Monitor mention this new service. But we will be on the lookout in the weeks and months ahead and will certainly be testing out any implementations that we see.

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Add Intelligence to Data to Create Competitive Advantage

Posted on January 09, 2008

You may recall the hype that account aggregation produced several years ago when firms like Yodlee burst onto the scene. Banks and brokerages were quick to add these tools to their sites, fearing that if they didn’t, their competitors would. As fate would have it, these tools never really reached a tipping point among consumers. Why? Because most of the firms that used Yodlee or other screen-scraping technology never added any value to the aggregated data. Yodlee and the other aggregation vendors did their part in gathering the data, but there was always the question of "So what?" lurking in the background.

Fast forward a few years. A new breed of financial websites is again threatening to cut financial services firms off from their customers. Firms like Mint, which analyzes customer spending data to provide recommendations on ways to save money, have popped up that aim to revive aggregation as a service. And it’s not just about aggregation. Small firms employing Web 2.0 principles threaten to disenfranchise established banks. However, banks are actually well positioned to defend against this – after all, the banks already have the customer data. If they can just help their clients turn the data into intelligence, real value would be added to the relationship – which, in turn, could help to increase share of wallet with the customer. In a recent Bank Monitor report, we looked at advanced reporting tools that can help clients do this.

In the world of online banking, many features and tools have become ubiquitous over the last several years, including check imaging, bill payment, and recent transaction tables. Up to this point, however, advanced reporting tools that allow users to take a more in-depth look at their own transaction trends have not achieved similar widespread rollout. While the banks clearly had all the data, with a few exceptions, the only way for clients to truly analyze this information would be to use a financial software package like Quicken or Microsoft Money.

Indeed, of the firms that we track for Bank Monitor, just 33% offer advanced reporting tools: B of A, E*TRADE Bank, HSBC, KeyBank, and Wells Fargo. While some other firms offer links to outside tools or aggregation services offered by third-party providers, these five banks have taken the lead in providing reporting tools that are either proprietary, heavily integrated within their private site, or in most cases, both.

While just five firms offer these tools, capabilities vary widely. Most notable is the degree of client input required in order to make the various tools useful. Only two firms, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, automatically assign category tags to each transaction a user makes. (Note: B of A’s My Portfolio can be used as an aggregation tool as well as a reporting tool; only spending from B of A accounts is automatically tagged with a category.) The remaining firms require clients to manually add tags to each transaction in order to make category-based reports – a central part of each firm’s offerings – possible. This time consuming process almost certainly reduces the number of users who actually take advantage of reporting tools, though it does allow E*TRADE, HSBC, and KeyBank to offer user-defined categories. The process at B of A and Well Fargo, meanwhile, may not be foolproof – indeed some transactions end up tagged as “uncategorized” and need to be manually adjusted by the account holder – but the automatic inclusion of tags help create immediately usable reports.

There are, of course, several other factors that define a robust reporting tool, which our report addresses. Here’s a taste of some of our recommendations for building a best-in-class reporting tool:

Integrate graphs and charts – In addition to offering clients easy-to-access data tables, banks should offer some different visual representations of the data they are reporting. Pie charts showing categorized spending and bar graphs showing aggregate spending over time are both effective visual aids that could help users understand their purchasing and saving patterns.

Offer linked transaction tables – Instead of offering full transaction lists within different report documents, more visually pleasing tools will link from summary reports, where spending for a number of categories is shown as total dollar amounts, to itemized lists of the transactions that fall with that category.

Provide ample account history – To be effective, reporting tools should offer access to at least 12 months of data. This helps users gain a more accurate picture of long-term spending and saving habits. In addition, tools should allow users to set the date range for the report, rather than forcing customers to stick to rigidly pre-defined time periods.

Allow users to correct errors – While reporting tools automatically categorize users’ purchases, firms should allow users to override the system’s choices and change the category assigned to a transaction. In addition, firms should consider allowing users to create new spending categories or rename existing categories to more accurately reflect their spending.

Include tools to track saving or incoming funds – In addition to tracking client spending patterns, firms would also do well to provide tools to help users see their income and savings. These tools can help users step back and see if they have made consistent contributions to their firm-based savings or retirement accounts, as well as providing information on when users are spending more than they are earning.

In the age of Web 2.0, banks are going to experience competition from non-traditional firms (e.g. Mint). In order to effectively compete against these new rivals, they will need to continue to add value to their online offering. Adding intelligence to data through advanced reporting tools is one way to do this.

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What Not to Do with Technology and Customer Service

Posted on January 07, 2008

Happy New Year to all our readers. The holidays are over and some of us (including yours truly) are still trying to put things in order from the aftermath of having too many days off! But I think this week is when things will slowly settle down and everything will go back to the status quo.

But speaking of aftermath, I'd like to share with you a customer service disaster I experienced while traveling during the festive season.

My husband and I flew to Illinois to spend Christmas with his family. They don't live anywhere near Chicago, so we had to take a connecting flight. Fine. Naturally, we had to go through O'Hare, aka, the Black Hole of the Midwest.

Apparently, some heavy fog set in and United (our carrier) had to cancel many connecting flights in Illinois, including ours. That's all right. My in-laws are about three hours south of Chicago, so we decided to rent a car and drive there. All we needed was our luggage and we'd be on our way.

No so fast, said the United people (in not so many words, of course). There was no way they could give us our luggage. Why not? we asked several times. You know, we never quite got a straight answer from them. However, they assured us that our bags would be awaiting us at our final destination later that day. I think the guy just said that to get rid of us. Grudgingly, we acquiesced and found the Hertz counter.

Fine, we can go a day without our bags—as long as we got the clothes by Saturday. You see, not only were we in Illinois for Christmas, but also for a wedding. All our formalwear was in the missing bags, which, United had promised us, would "be awaiting" us at our final destination. That empty promise still didn't stop us from continuously calling United baggage service. We spoke to at least 7 people (there were other calls I didn't bother recording on paper) over the course of 2 days, each with their own unique twist on the situation. For instance, one rep said the bags were never checked in to O'Hare (you mean they didn't put our bags on our outbound flight??). Another said that they were checked into O'Hare at 2a.m. the day we arrived in Chicago. And the one excuse that kept cropping up was that they have the bags and that they'll drive it down to our airport in a truck. Of course, it was incumbent upon us to check with the airport to see if the bags arrived. There was much wasted gas and aggravation as we drove a half hour from our hotel to that airport several times.

The morning of the wedding arrived and there was still no sign of our bags. We went to the mall for the angriest shopping spree ever (Thank goodness there was a Macy's there!). Bottom line—we had to waste our time and our money.

Why? What happened in the customer service chain with United—-which, by the way, I had always thought was different from the other airlines? Why even bother affixing the tag with the bar code to peoples' bags if the technology used to scan them doesn't work properly? To me, that's what appeared to be happening here. You would think with all the investments the airlines and airports have been making in tracking technology that they would be able to see exactly where a given piece of luggage is at a particular time. Was it a problem with the volume of travelers? Not necessarily, since this was not the first time I lost a bag in O'Hare, the other times having been "off season."

And why did we have to call seven, eight, nine times before we got a straight story on our luggage situation? Why did we have to give our information all over again each time we spoke to a rep? Why wasn't our updated record pushed to the CSR each time we called so that they would get a better idea for our situation?

What's worse, it was obvious United was offshoring its customer service to India. I can't imagine the awful impression they got of Americans after the angry interchanges we had on the phone! I actually did end up apologizing to the final person with whom I spoke, who was the most helpful one.

We were told that United would reimburse us up to 50 percent of the cost of the items we had to buy due to our missing bags. Yeah, we'll see about that.

These airlines are all alike (I've yet to fly Southwest or JetBlue). Hopefully, banks can learn lessons from other industries, such as the airline industry, regarding what they should and should not do when dealing with their customers. This not only includes the customer service side, but the technology. What good is all the technology in the world if it's not properly utilized?

Next time, I think I'll try to carry-on all my bags. But then I'll have to deal with the TSA, which is a whole other inconvenient can of worms.

Care to share with BS&T and your fellow readers your own tales of holiday travel woes or your views on what's going right/wrong with FS customer service? Drop us an email or click on our Comment link.

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Turn the Research Panel into an Online Community

Posted on December 13, 2007

By Michael Ellison - Corporate Insight

In the course of our weekly research of bank websites, we recently encountered a Chase Panel splash page when logging into our online account. The page announced that customers could join the Chase Panel, a forum designed to collect feedback from customers about Chase products and services through online studies and surveys.

To join the panel, customers are asked to complete a registration survey that included details about the user’s age, yearly household income, primary checking account and savings accounts, and marital status. At the end of the questionnaire customers are asked to input their name and email address for contact purposes. Members of the panel are contacted on a monthly basis to complete surveys and studies. In addition, customers can sign up for the panel, or view their panel profile, via the standalone Chase Panel sitelet. We completed the registration, but have yet to be contacted.

While this is not as open a forum as Bank of America's site reviews section (see our post about this here), which allows site visitors to post comments about the bank for all to see, it is an interesting way to solicit feedback in more of a controlled environment. What we don't know, however, is whether or not panel members will be able to see results of surveys or what Chase intends to do about them. It is likely that they won't - after all, how many results do you see from telephone surveys you've taken?

Given the socialization of the Internet and how it is transforming the way firms conduct business (read: Web 2.0), we wonder if there isn't an opportunity for banks to take such panels and make them more of a two-way community. Call it an advisory panel or something and allow this select group of customers to receive some form of benefit from it. We're not talking flights on the corporate jet (but that would be a great perk!), but perhaps offer the ability to sign up as a website beta tester for new releases, or share some results of the surveys and provide insights on how that's going to change their experience. The point is, embrace the community and provide them with some recognition for helping out your business.

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An Online Banking Story With a Happy Ending

Posted on December 03, 2007

While interviewing an executive from Bank of America for a mobile banking article, I learned of a new online banking function, the ability to transfer money from my account to that of another Bank of America customer.

I'm not sure why I didn't know this already, but this pleased me to no end. I called a friend of mine with the news. Of course, she was not as excited as me. Hmm, doesn't everybody loves learning about new banking technology?

I put my new knowledge to use immediately. Two of my friends, also Bank of America customers, owed me money for renting a car to return to Manhattan after Thanksgiving. If I didn't know about the online banking feature, I would have had to wait until the next time I saw them to receive the money they owed me. Then it would have probably come in the form of a check and I would have had to go to the bank or ATM to deposit it. I probably would not see that money hit my bank account for about two weeks. But with the transfer capability, I was able to receive the money instantly.

I hope this doesn't sound too much like a promo for Bank of America, but to be honest, I have been very happy with my bank recently. After having my credit and debit card stolen, the bank alerted me to potential fraud before I even realized they weren't in my wallet. They also blocked any fraudulent purchases from going through and issued me a temporary ATM card.

What can I say? I'm happy with my bank. I love online banking. I like "keep the change." I'm even considering signing up for mobile banking.

Customer service and the call center can be slightly frustrating at times, but I'd have to say it's tremendously better than other call centers I deal with, specifically cable companies and phone companies.

These online features are great. I can't imagine why anyone would choose to not bank online. Why not pay your bills online or pay back your friends and relatives without having to mail them a check? Like I said before, banks have to do more to get their customers to use online banking. There are probably functions to online banking of which I am not aware. Tell me about them!

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Is Your Bank's Web site Webby Worthy?

Posted on November 26, 2007

Do you think your bank's Web site is the best out there? Well, now is your chance to gain some recognition for your online achievements.

From September 19 to December 14, 2007, The 12th Annual Webby Awards will accept entries for the Best Banking Site of the year. Last year, Zopa, a peer-to-peer lending business, took home the top banking prize at The 11th Annual Webby Awards on June 5, 2007. Nominees included Bank of America Online Banking, Chase Online, Know Your Money, and TrappedBanker.com.

It's interesting and maybe a sign of things to come that Zopa nabbed the top prize last year. It's at least another indicator of the fact that non-traditional financial services firms are giving banks a run for their money. Perhaps because their infrastructure is newer, they are able to be more innovative with their designs.

Either way, banks should keep an eye on this contest to examine the features of the winning and nominated sites.

About the Webby Awards

"The banking industry is doing some of the most interesting and innovative work on the Internet today," said David-Michel Davies, executive director of the Webby Awards. "The Webby Awards is an exciting opportunity for banking industry leaders to share the stage and international spotlight with some of the world's leading Internet luminaries and innovators."

Hailed as the "Oscars of the Internet" by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Web sites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile Web sites.

To enter a Web site in the 12th Annual Webby Awards, visit www.webbyawards.com. Banking industry sites can also enter in interactive advertising categories and feature categories such as Best Navigation and Best Copy Writing. Nominees will be announced in April and winners will be honored at the gala ceremony in June 2008. In keeping with Webby tradition, all winners' speeches are limited to just five words.

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RDS SPECIAL: The Next Generation of Online Banking

Posted on November 18, 2007

Generation Y members and 22 million small business customers represent two huge untapped markets that banks can reach through online banking, according to a panel of experts and some bank customers during BAI’s Retail Delivery Show in Las Vegas on Nov. 15.

Catherine Graeber, VP and principal analyst for Forrester Research, says that Gen Y consumers show a preference for podcasts, Apple computers, mobile phones, social computing and networking. “Why should banks care?” Graeber rhetorically asked the audience.

Because Gen Y currently makes up 15 percent of online households and is the only generation that is growing in size. By 2011, the generation will comprise 29 percent of all online households, she says.

Another reason banks should care about this group is their banking behavior, which generally costs banks less than that of older generations. “You don’t have to convince them to give up checks," because they have never used them, Graeber says. Members of Gen Y also are the most likely to apply online for financial products..

These consumers want financial institutions to categorize their spending for them and want to go online for money management tools, she says.

B. Michael Rauh Jr., EVP of sales, service & delivery for The Washington Trust Company explained why he thinks U.S. small businesses are also an untapped market for online banking services.

These “micro-businesses,” of which there are about 22 million in the United States, are very small, often with less than five employees. Banks have problems even recognizing the owners of these businesses because they tend to have minimal separations between their business accounts and their personal accounts.

Most banks don’t have set services for the smallest of business, although these businesses have some traditional business banking needs. While they may not need large scale cash management or treasury services, they are still often dealing with payroll, accounts receivable and payable, and numerous deposits.

Banks are missing out on the opportunities these business provide, Rauh says. They should find ways to serve their specific needs and make them stickier customers.

Following Graeber and Rauh's formal presentations, three consumers — one a Gen Y and the other two small business owners — explained their online banking behavior and needs. The panel then answered audience questions. The one thing that they all wished they could have, but don't currently is a way to deposit their checks remotely, to avoid ever having to visit a branch.

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RDS SPECIAL: Capital One's Lynn Pike Outlines the Three Elements to Successful Innovation In Banking

Posted on November 14, 2007

After an unsuccessful attempt to find a sandwich at lunch on Wednesday (Note to BAI: Next year, order more sandwiches), I wandered over to the large ballroom to hear Lynn Pike, president of Capital One, give a talk on innovation. Fine, a positive message like that could help take my mind off my hunger! And seeing the clips of the firm's well-known Visigoth TV ad campaign was good for a few laughs.

But it was actually interesting to hear the banking veteran's take on what makes an innovative company. She was able to boil it down to three dimensions. It might sound too simple, but Pike seemed to tie them together nicely so that it actually did make sense. The trio of elements for innovation according to her were business leadership—understanding what's going on around you; technology leadership—enabling your team to take care of customers and do things more efficiently and effectively; and cultural leadership—the essence of what drives everything at the bank.

Pike gave more specific examples of how each element played in her career at various financial institutions. Not only did each dimension tie into each other, but technology played a key role even in the business leadership and cultural leadership areas. "Customers make us invest in technology," Pike said. "They want choices. So technology is a big driver in all the decisions we make."

While at Wells Fargo, for instance, Pike says the bank looked for a way to put more control into the hands of its frontline people since they are the ones directly interacting with the customers. So they made some heavy technology investments that allowed Wells Fargo to push real-time information to the frontline to enable these team members to make the decisions they need to help customers better and to help them lead in their local market. It was this decentralization that lead to success for Wells Fargo at that time, she said. "Always question the status quo, even if you're doing well," advised Pike.

Specifically speaking of technology leadership in innovation, Pike looked back to her days at Fleet when it was acquired by Bank of America. The decision was made not to convert Fleet to BofA's platform but to put Fleet on a completely new platform that would then become the architecture for the entire Bank of America company. "The team focused on top line growth and bottom line impact to deliver a platform to keep its associates and customers engaged," she explained. "When you put two companies together you have to pay attention to all the constituents and take advantage of the all the knowledge that exists in the companies."

Finally, Pike examined the cultural aspect. For example, she joined Fleet at a time of grate change—branches were being closed, people were leaving, customers we fleeing. "All the metrics were going in the wrong direction. So what did we do to chance this dynamic? We decided to spend more money!" The reason, she said, was because the frontline people where the ones directly experiencing the pain points as they interacted with customers. They wanted to be able to deliver for customers. Therefore, the bank invested in technology to allow them to handle problems as they cropped up. "Revenue returned, growth returned, attrition was way down and customer satisfaction was up," she commented. "Periods of change create uncertainty, so it's important that the team has a compass so they know what matters to the bank. You want to arm your team to take care of your customers. Culture is the single biggest driver of change and innovation at the organization."

Pike has taken these lessons and applied them to her work at Capital One, which has a unique operating model in the industry. Some of the same challenges Pike experienced in the past lay ahead of her as Capital One takes Hibernia and North Fork and create Capital One Bank--three different companies with three different cultures, technology platforms and market focuses.

In the end, to succeed and innovate, Pike said a clear strategy is vital. "You have to have clarity of your strategy, clarity of what the company wants to be in the long-term so that the journey makes sense and ensure that your team is connected to it. You have to know how to move from idea to execution."

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Heed the Call of Web 2.0

Posted on November 13, 2007

The cover story in this month's Bank Systems & Technology focusing on the nascent Web 2.0 movement among banks was very interesting. It is also interesting to note that in the broader retail financial services arena, one can argue that banks are actually taking the lead in this effort. Indeed, as we posted recently on the Wall Street & Technology blog, aside from a couple of firms dipping their toes in the Web 2.0 pool, we have seen little application of it from major brokerages.

According to the article, Gartner estimates that in about five years, 75 percent of banks will use Web 2.0 technologies. That's all well and good, but just because your site makes use of AJAX does not mean it's a Web 2.0 site. The key is adding the social interaction as firms like Wells Fargo (Stagecoach Island) and RBC are doing.

In fact, as we announced in our Bank Monitor Update (subscription required) this week, Bank of America also recently took a step in this direction by adding a Read Reviews to its public site Online Banking page, enabling users to submit comments about the firm’s products and services and read other users’ comments. The page features a promotional ad at the top, along with a Start Using Bill Pay link. A dropdown menu below contains several sorting options for the reviews, including newest, oldest, highest rating, and lowest rating. A Write a Review link located next to the dropdown leads to the preexisting Login page. A Featured Review section provides a list of reviews supplied by customers.

Each review contains four rating meters – Overall Rating, Ease of Use, Services Available, and Security – along with information about the customer (i.e., screen name, location, and date they became a client), whether or not the customer recommends the product, and a written review. Readers of the review are able to indicate whether they found the review helpful via Yes and No links. In addition, readers are offered a Report Inappropriate Review link. Customers must log in to their online account if they would like to add their own review.

The importance for banks in applying Web 2.0 is not just about marketing to a more technology-driven demographic (e.g. Gen Y). It is about not being disintermediated. The marriage of social networks and technology present a big risk to banks. Firms like Paypal, Prosper, Etelcharge on the payments side are already making waves. For bank technology leaders the time to engage in this change is now.

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Online Message Centers: The Wait is Over

Posted on November 06, 2007

There has been much discussion about online security for banks lately and generally it has centered around the obvious importance of keeping customer data secure. Aside from this fundamental need, there are ancillary benefits that accrue from successfully implementing such measures. Among them is the ability to provide enhanced customer service online, which not only can increase customer satisfaction, but reduce service costs as well.

A recent Bank Monitor report that we published reviewed the customer online messaging centers at 14 major banks. In it, we reviewed message center design, secure message design, accessibility, timeliness of responses, etc. and in doing so were able to determine some best practices for providing this useful service.

In a telling sign of the industry's adoption, every firm we track except one offers an online messaging center. And, of those, 85% allow clients to both send and receive messages. The major benefit of well-designed message centers is that customers can get support on specific account-related issues. Since the centers are secure behind the customer login, there is no need to filter sensitive data, which would be necessary if you were communicating via standard email.

Despite the overall high use of these centers, only 28% of firms send a confirmation email to clients confirming that customer service has received the message. More importantly, only a little over half the banks we reviewed email clients when they have posted a response to the question.

Our report goes into detail and provides screenshots, examples, and best practices. Suffice it to say, however, if you plan to offer such a service, here are some important features to include:

• Set expectations - let clients know when they expect a response; and more importantly meet that expectation!


• Offer FAQs or knowledge base answers based on the client's question prior to taking receipt of the message. This can greatly reduce support costs - after all, it is likely that other clients have had similar questions.


• Design the message center following conventions around online mail clients (e.g. gmail or Yahoo mail).


• E-mail clients confirming the submission of their question as well as when a response has been posted.

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That Minty Fresh Feeling of Aggregation

Posted on October 18, 2007

I recently heard about a new approach to aggregation that a firm called Mint is taking. Essentially, it uses Yodlee's platform to aggregate users' credit card and banking balances and then analyzes the data to recommend other products and services to customers. It's an interesting approach, but one that ultimately relies on the consumer wanting to be sold to.

However, the fact that Mint is at least trying to do something with the aggregated data is refreshing in its own right and actually highlights a problem that we have always felt the Yodlees of the world have failed to deliver: What does one actually do with the aggregated data? In research we've conducted for both our Bank and Brokerage Website Audits, consumers have routinely given aggregation a low priority when it comes to desired website features. Indeed, after the initial infatuation with Yodlee several years ago, we have watched as firms have removed the service outright or at least relegated it to less-valuable real estate on their websites.

Our suspicion was that the reason for this lack of acceptance by clients was that other than seeing all of your information in one place, there was nothing that could be done with the data. What decisions did this help clients to make? For banks to really reap the benefits of aggregation, they need to add some analytics to the service that would entice clients to sign up for it. Doing so would also allow banks to differentiate their offerings from their competitors.

As an example of how to do this, one can look outside the banking industry to Fidelity. Their Full View application is built on Yodlee, but they take it a step further and integrate into other areas of the client relationship. In particular, for Income Management Account clients, the Yodlee (er, Full View) data actually feeds the monthly client statement as well as the IMA analysis tool. Thus, Fidelity IMA clients have a very compelling reason to set up their outside accounts on Full View.

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Bank of America's SafePass Excellent Compromise Between Security & Convenience

Posted on October 16, 2007

Welcome. My name is Mike Ellison and I am the EVP at Corporate Insight. We’re a firm that looks at the retail experience at a number of banking , mutual fund, and brokerage firms. From time to time, I’m going to be blogging on subjects related to retail banking - particularly the online customer experience. Much of what I will be talking about will come from our experiences in maintaining live accounts at the firms we follow in our research. When we uncover something I feel would generate some lively discussion, I’ll post it and hopefully you’ll chime in with your opinions.

To open our discussion, Bank of America recently launched a new feature for SafePass that actually allows customers to use the SafePass on a device they likely already carry around - their cell phone (they are evidently developing a card as well, but it is not yet available). Once customers have set up the SafePass system, they will be asked to request a six-digit SafePass code, which will be sent to a previously registered mobile device, each time they (or anyone else) attempts to execute one of the protected functions (e.g. transfer accounts, bill pay, P2P transfers, etc. - users can choose the functions they want to require SaffPass authentication, a nice feature). This is an excellent compromise between security and convenience - and as an added bonus, customers that sign up for this service are given higher transfer limits.

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Why Can't Banks Get Customers to Use Cheaper Channels?

Posted on October 15, 2007

For the October issue of Bank Systems & Technology, I wrote a piece on channel preferences and generational differences. The article cited a recent survey from the American Bankers Association that found that 37 percent of all consumers use the branch more often than any other channel, but the number jumps to 47 percent among the 55 and older set.

I know I've said it before, but I still cannot believe that people still go into the branch to withdrawal cash. Ever since my stepmother (who is under 60) told me she doesn't even know how to use the ATM, I've been asking Baby Boomers (well mostly second hand through their children) if they use the ATM. Overwhelmingly the answer is "no." Many don't even carry their ATM card with them. They also use checks for purchases!

The worst story I heard was from my brother-in-law. His mother had asked his father to deposit a check at the ATM. It was the first time he had ever made a deposit at the ATM. His wife became concerned after the check didn't show up in a few days. It turns out that his dad had stuck the envelope in the small slot between the ATM and the wall! Unbelievable.

Thankfully, my own parents use the ATM, I think mostly because they work during general banking hours, and I know they have been doing so for at least 20 years. But sadly, despite longtime use of the ATM, they still haven't gotten used to online banking, even though I extol the virtues of online bill pay every time I see a stack of bills piled in my mother's kitchen.

So, why are these people not using their ATMs? (One step at a time — We'll get to online banking later.)

Banks have got to find ways of migrating their customers from expensive channels like the branch and call center, to cheaper channels like ATMs and the Internet.

One credit card company is doing a good job at shaming some of these consumers into being embarrassed when using checks or cash at retail locations.

Other banks attempt to do this by charging their customers for repeated branch visits. ING reserves the right to drop you as a customer if you call their contact center too often. (You don't get to offer those high interests rates by funneling money into expensive channels.)

Banks should make it easy for customers. Help them out. They should ask them if they are comfortable using the ATM when they come into the branch. If they aren't, an employee should show them how. If they are concerned about safety, address their worries. Offer incentives for ATM withdraws and deposits. Run promotions. Have larger text options for older customers. Install help buttons.

Do something.

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Consumer Behavior and ATM Surcharge Spikes

Posted on October 12, 2007

It happened with gasoline, it happens all the time with your cable bill and now it's happening (again) with ATM surcharges. Several major banks recently announced plans to increase the fees they charge non-customers when using their ATMs.

Earlier this October, Synergistics Research released a study called The Risk vs. Reward of ATM Surcharging. The figures showed that of the nearly 750 consumers polled, 65 percent said they would only use their bank's ATMs; 18 percent said they would use ATMs less; and 6 percent said they would change banks. Overall, according to William McCracken, Synergistics' CEO, the findings reveal that "consumers are resistant to ATM surcharging and may change their behavior in response to increased surcharges. Providers need to develop ATM pricing strategies based on an understanding of consumer resistance and behavior."

What's next? Will banks start charging for online banking and e-bill pay? Most have gone to a free model. It's what people have grown accustomed to over the past decade. But will the battle for more fee revenue make banks think twice about free Internet banking?

And what about mobile banking, for that matter? In this country, we're only now really seeing the vanguard of mobile banking/payments offerings. As banks settle more on an operating model and as consumers grow more comfortable with the concept, the adoption of m-banking will surely take off. But what about pricing there? Will banks charge for it? They do in other countries, like Korea, according to an analyst I heard give a talk at a conference several months ago. And people do pay for the service—because they want it.

But is the ATM channel different? People need access to cash, even with the movement toward electronic payments. We all know that feeling when we need cab fare and the only ATM nearby belongs to some bank we've never even heard of! But we bite the bullet and pay the $1.50 or $2.00 surcharge because we have to. However, what happens when that fee goes up to $3.00 or $4.00? Will people take the time to look for an in-network ATM? I'm guessing they will, to a point. I think in the end, it will be just like what's happening at the gas pump. We complain and moan about $3.00 gas but we still pay for it—because we have to.

Thank goodness for those merchants who let you get cash back at the point of sale when you use a card. We might be seeing more cases of people buying a $0.70 pack of gum so they can get the $50 they needed without paying Bank X $4.00 for the service!

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Celent and Millennial Banking Behavior: A Second Look

Posted on August 20, 2007

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog titled, "Surprise! Kids Are Going to Bank in New Ways." I admit, the entry was a bit snarky and I was a little harsh on Celent's report, "The Millennials, Financial Services, and the Web."

It's just, as an almost Millennial, I wasn't thinking like a banker, or even a bank customer, who hasn't been using Internet banking, cell phones, or even ATMs, his or her whole life.

Then, while on a family vacation, my step mother mentioned that because her bank is going to start opening later in the morning, she is going to be forced to use the ATM, which she had never done before. She doesn't even have an ATM card!

I immediately thought back to that blog entry and decided to revisit the topic. Maybe the generational differences are not as obvious as I thought.

So, to be fair, I went back to Celent with some questions. Below is the transcript of my e-mail interview with Alenka Grealish, managing director of Celent's banking group.

Q. Do you think banks are getting the message that they will have to communicate with the next generation in different ways?
Grealish: Yes, many bankers have teenage children and see them living in a virtual world with a cell phone. They may, however, overlook the fact that this generation’s delivery expectations and preferences are being set by non-banks, e.g., youtube, secondlife, amazon, eBay.

Q. How can banks serve the needs of those that are accustomed to texting, mobile phones, blogs, etc. while also appeasing their older customers who may not be comfortable even using the ATM?
Grealish: For decades, most banks have tried to be everything to everybody -- and, now one can add, everywhere. Their challenge lies in earning a return on the channel investment. They should welcome Gen M as being the low cost-to-serve generation, which will subsidize customers who have a high cost to serve. They should fear their remoteness to this segment, however. They will have to build loyalty in a different manner, for example through credit/debit card reward programs and relationship bundling.

Q. What do you think will create the biggest problems in meeting the needs of younger generations?
Grealish: I don’t think there are any major problems to serve (any bank can come up with a free student checking account with a cash rewards card), but rather a problem in retention. How do you retain a Gen M’er who opened an account with your bank because of its proximity to home or campus once he or she moves elsewhere? The national banks figure they’re all set given their footprint, but that is not necessarily so. The bank that originates their first auto loan could garner the rest of their wallet.

Q. What do you recommend that banks start doing now to adapt to the incoming customers? What first steps should they take?
Grealish: Capture the Gen M’s checking account and then cross-sell products which helps this segment’s particular needs, such as, to save for relatively small value items (for a car or a down payment for a car or a vacation), manage their credit (e.g., a credit card with charge volume alerts), and expenses (online personal financial management lite which automatically balances a checking account regardless of source of debit/credit and notes pending e-bill payments and automatic debits).

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Blogging Is An Effective Way for Banks to Improve Their Web Sites

Posted on August 13, 2007

Banks should start up their own blogs, according to research compiled by Javelin Strategy. According to the research firm, 20 percent of all U.S. consumers read blogs and readership rises to 34 percent among the more affluent tech-wise surfers.*

"Financial institutions need to realize that brand management, customer-centricity and loyalty can be strengthened through a blog at relatively little cost, but only if the new rules are understood by established bankers,” said James Van Dyke, president and founder of Javelin.

Van Dyke says that less than 1 percent of financial institutions have opened blogs.

It's probably a good idea for banks to start blogging and who, what, why, and when are undoubtedly explain in Javelin’s $1,250 dollar report.

Blogging is a great step that banks can take in enhancing their online presence. Most younger consumers bank only online with very few yearly visits to a branch. And most banks' Web sites, while being very functional are not nearly as interactive as the branch. Blogging is a great way for banks to not only market to their online customers, but to show that, yes, there are real live bank employees behind their Web sites.

A few years ago, with the resurgence of the branch, the move was to make bank branches more customer-experience focused, places where customers could come, watch TV, read a magazine and grab a cup of coffee. The changes in design were aimed at making branches more like retail establishments.

Banks should have the equivalent features on the Web sites. Other retailers have picked up on this idea. They have filled their Web sites with games, blogs, recipes and advice.

Yes, of course, functionality is the most important aspect of a bank’s Web site, but soon that too will be commoditized, with every bank offering pretty much the same kinds of services. It will be the features above and beyond traditional banking that will set banks’ Web sites apart.

Note: *Then why does spell check still not recognize blog as a word?

- By Nancy Feig

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Retail Banking: I'm Bringing Branching Back

Posted on June 08, 2007

By Nancy Feig

As much as banks like to push customers to automated and cheaper methods of interaction like Internet banking and ATMs, they still recognize that face-to-face interaction with customers is the most successful method for closing sales with high-value customers. So, that takes us back to the branch.

These days, branch innovation comes in the form of moving routine, everyday transactions to automated channels and freeing up branch staff to handle more personal, targeted sales (for the customers who make it worth their time (read: affluent).

While many customers now perform the majority of their banking online, many still visit the branch. However infrequent those visits may be, they still are the only times that customers will meet flesh and blood bank employees. A bad experience in the branch has the ability to taint a customer’s entire relationship across all channels.

However, its not just training tellers to smile and be helpful that will set your branches up for success.

A recent report from Gartner, “Bank Branch Scenario, 2006-2010,” by Graham Taylor uncovers the ways banks are going to have to change their branches to meet the needs of today’s customers(Gartner Analysts will discuss the future of the branch at Gartner's Financial Services Technology Summitt.)

“Future branches will definitely have to be supported by new technologies, but large banks with thousands of branches must choose technologies carefully to avoid expensive mistakes,” Taylor writes.

As we all have heard, the customer experience is what is going to separate the men from the boys in the financial services market of the future. The ability to deliver a unique and pleasant experience at the branch level is becoming more and more important and new technologies from kiosks, to RFID, to VoIP, will enable that kind of experience.

As banks struggle to achieve organic growth, the will rely on their branches to be the human aspect of their multichannel strategies.

Here at Bank Systems & Technology we aim to bring the tops minds in the Retail Banking business together to discuss what’s going on in their branches. Our Maximizing Retail/Channel Performance Executive Roundtable will explore how the branch is evolving to meet the needs of today’s customer.

Curious to learn what kinds of investments in branch technologies make sense? On the morning of July 25, representatives from some of the top banks will meet for this off-the-record peer group to share their ideas about the future of in-branch technology.

Participants in this Executive Roundtable meeting will explore opportunities and challenges related to:
• New technologies to measure branch performance.
• The next wave of branch automation, including self-service kiosks, banking stations, etc.
• Using technology to choose optimum branch location.
• Targeted electronic marketing for real-time marketing in the branch.
• Using checkbooks and cards with RFID technology to recognize customer visits to the branch.
• The importance of the branch experience for customer loyalty and retention.
• Branch personnel issues, including teller management.

To gain a seat at this exclusive roundtable, register today.

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Maximizing Channel Performance – Still Frustrating After All These Years

Posted on May 01, 2007

Consumer banking is the largest single area of technology-related spending in banking, according to Financial Insights. But how many banks are really getting the most for their money in retail banking? How many financial institutions are really gaining more consumer insight; building use of alternative channels; improving customer loyalty and retention; and ultimately increasing revenues and driving growth because of the investments they're making in retail and channel performance?

The reality is that, even as bank branches appear seemingly on every corner, as e-banking and e-payments become commonplace and as the emerging mobile banking platform starts to gain credibility, many banks still struggle to make their investments in areas such as customer experience, cross-selling and channel integration pay off. This isn't a new frustration – banks have been trying to execute for years on strategies to generate more business from existing customers, with results that can only be considered mixed, at best. Furthermore, there's a looming competitive threat from non-banks - whether brokerages, retailers, telcos or other innovators adept at seizing market opportunities - looking to build more comprehensive financial relationships with consumers (especially tech-savvy Generation Next).

These questions and challenges face every retail bank, regardless of size or market. To provide insights and information that can help advance the discussion and perhaps provide some strategic solutions, Bank Systems & Technology is launching the "Maximizing Retail/Channel Performance" Online Resource Center, geared toward exploring some of the challenges and success strategies in areas such as customer acquisition/retention, analysis and segmentation, product development, channel management and cross-selling. Whether it's the future of the branch, strategies for capitalizing on changing demographics, improving speed to market and targeted product development, or mastering the emerging discipline of price optimization, we aim to provide a forum for education, news and maybe even debate. I hope you'll join in the discussion.

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Making a Case for a More Automated Account-opening Process

Posted on March 16, 2007

By Maria Bruno-Britz

I have always felt that a bit more automation on the account opening side at banks could go a long way. After my ordeal at a midsize, New York-based bank last weekend, I couldn’t feel more strongly about this idea.

I accompanied my parents (both seniors) to the bank to help them open an IRA CD. We thought we’d be there 45 minutes, tops. Instead, it turned into a 2 ½ hour fiasco.

Keep I mind, I realize an IRA CD is a bit more complicated to open than a traditional one, and my parents made a few errors themselves regarding beneficiary information. But 2 ½ hours?? Most of the time was spent, understandably, actually inputting the data into the system. The rep asked them for the appropriate information and she typed it in. All this, however, was being done amidst the usual din of a crowded branch on a Saturday morning. I wish I could count the number of transposition errors the rep made (each caught by my eagle-eyed mother). I think we were responsible for killing half a forest with the amount of printouts that were made.

Why didn’t things go more smoothly? Both my parents were accountholders at the bank. However, it didn’t appear that much of their existing information was automatically input into the fields of the IRA CD form. Maybe it was, but after the first hour of sitting there, you just had to wonder.

So I was thinking, why not give the customers the option of typing their information into the system themselves? Yes, it defeats the purpose of the full-service branch, but wouldn’t it be more efficient for all involved? This low-tech solution is employed by the UPS Store I frequent. The keyboard is on a tray that swivels out to face the customer. Once the patron finishes inputting his information, he turns it back to the rep for a once-over and approval. I think this idea could work at a bank. For security reasons, this would all be done under the careful supervision of the branch rep and the customer would be locked out of any other screens. If we had this option available to us last week, I would not have lost half my Saturday. Plus, the rep could have served at least 3 more people in the time she was with us.

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