Small banks deliver with technology

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Fintech Pricing and Solutions

Fintech companies that underpin banking technologies have found it useful to offer their products to smaller institutions. In some cases, these technologies are cloud-based with “per user” options, as opposed to huge flat-rate technology costs that, again, medium and small banks might not be able to absorb. .

Dorian Hansen, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Head of Operations and Digital Transformation at Investors Bank (which has over 150 branches), explains that with cloud-based software as a service, “a large part of the software we can buy is what I’m going to call ‘configurable’… Yes, I have an IT department, but I don’t need to hire hundreds of developers to code for me to provide services to a large bank.

She also says, “The good thing that happened with the cost of technology…is that it closed the competitive gap. Our offer is at least as convincing as that of the major national banks.

Peapack-Gladstone Bank’s Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Technology Officer, Kevin Runyon, also said, “Three years ago, the introduction of all these fintechs (fintech companies) was really seen as problematic for the banks. We saw them as competitors, but in the end, they are almost the saviors of the community banks because of their technology, their ability to adapt quickly and their ability to provide us with services at a reasonable cost. This allowed us to compete with the big banks.

Runyon adds, “What we’ve found is that we’ve been able to leverage good fintech companies, and we can not only provide the same services as the big banks. [have]but because we are smaller and more agile, we can also take better care of our customers. »

Similarly, at the former Glen Rock Savings Bank, which in October 2021 was renamed Ascendia Bank, President and CEO Ferdinand R. (Fred) Viaud says the bank’s recent dedication of 35 employees and four branches to adopting the technology, “wasn’t because of the pandemic.

Viaud explains: “This is the end result of our rebranding: as a small bank with four branches, we must remain competitive and relevant in the market. To do this, our board realized that we have to do pretty much everything the big banks do: we’re going to have to open accounts, accept loan applications online and capture deposits remotely. … Those are all the things we hope to have in place before the end of calendar year 2022.”

With a new updated website, internet banking, online bill payment and a mobile banking app, Viaud adds, “When you visit our website now, it’s a big improvement over the website previous ; it’s more friendly. It has the bells and whistles that all the other big banks have, and eventually it will be used as a gateway to the enhanced services I talked about.

Specific products

At Investors Bank, in addition to offering a range of online banking services as well as the widely adopted digital payments network Zelle – which allows people to pay themselves directly (for example to split a restaurant bill) – existing customers of Small Business Investors can open additional new accounts online. And in the first quarter of 2022, brand new small business customers will also be able to open accounts online.

Investors’ Hansen says his bank’s ability to access driver’s license databases and the state affairs database Incorporations, for example, facilitate the ability of investors to do so – and also provide business customers with convenience.

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