Bare minimum UI/UX won’t cut it

Think of the most recent app you downloaded on your phone. When you opened the app for the first time, what was the experience? Could you easily figure out how to navigate and use the app or did you struggle? Now think about your bank’s online and mobile banking experiences, from account setup to reviewing transactions. Are they effortless? Or do users encounter friction? [Continue]

Technology has already upended the branch

Open banking photo

As Covid-19 restrictions begin to lift, customer adaptations will likely become permanent habits, prompting community bankers to reconsider how best to implement relationship-based banking. Does the pivot to digital delivery and remote fulfillment make the physical branch building obsolete? [Continue]

Wanted: Community-minded nurturer

The past few years have seen the rise of “community manager” as a dedicated role within companies. An early 2022 search shows 135,000-plus available jobs with this title on LinkedIn alone. The role is part public relations, part customer cheerleader — and a good community manager authentically shows up, both online and in-person, as the “face” of the brand. [Continue]

Midwest banks find innovative ways to promote financial literacy

Throughout April, banks across the Midwest engage in activities to promote financial literacy. These activities range from tried-and-true classroom instruction to engagement on social media. Bank Five Nine, based in Oconomowoc, Wis., uses an omnichannel approach to foster financial education for both young and old. [Continue]

A case remains for the brick-and-mortar branch

As Covid-19 restrictions begin to lift, customer adaptations will likely become permanent habits, prompting community bankers to reconsider how best to implement relationship-based banking. What does this mean for the future of bricks-and-mortar branches? [Continue]

Sales training tips for the remote banking environment

It’s no surprise that, with continuing pandemic issues and concerns, many clients and prospects are avoiding our bank lobbies. And why not, with online access to almost everything? So how will your salespeople continue to build relationships and keep your best customers? During these times, they must be proficient at reaching out and communicating effectively and consistently. This is key for most banks to sustain and build relationships, grow loans and achieve higher net interest margins. [Continue]

The allure of convenience

In my neighborhood, trucks and vans from UPS, FedEx, Amazon, the United States Postal Service, and various grocers rumble past my door with increasing frequency. My husband and I had originally selected our townhouse community because it was set apart from highly-trafficked roads. It was secluded and quiet. These days, I feel like my home has been plopped into the middle of Richard Scarry’s “Busytown.”   [Continue]

Young Americans offers nation’s only bank for youth

In the early 1980s, billionaire Bill Daniels read about a group of Denver students who were unable to obtain a bank loan and felt society was doing its youth a disservice by essentially excluding them from the banking system. Daniels was a cable television pioneer who’d earned his fortune in tech ventures and sports. In 1987, Daniels turned his attention to banking by forming Young Americans Bank, the world’s only fully-insured and regulated bank for people aged 21 and under.  [Continue]

December tornado triggers disaster recovery plan

Arcadian Bank President Mark Heinemann wasn’t expecting a tornado to strike less than two weeks before Christmas. Though the unseasonably warm day brought the potential for severe weather, it was Dec. 15, nearly one month after the previously recorded latest date for a tornado touchdown in the state. As night fell, conditions worsened. Heinemann, sitting in the basement of his Albert Lea, Minn., home near the Iowa border and approximately 20 minutes away from the Albert Lea-based bank’s Hartland branch, wasn’t worried. [Continue]

Lending calculators designed to attract mortgage customers

Chimney is a fintech that develops website tools — calculators, mainly — to engage potential loan customers. CEO Matthew Covi speaks about online lending and using calculators to attract customers. In today’s ultra-competitive environment, differentiating your online experience from the starting line can be crucial. [Continue]