Independent Banker - April 2021 - 29

" Ease of communication and access to
resources is a major boon in a stressful
time. Based on the positive feedback from
the banks that have had to participate in
this manner, we intend to have the remote
support continue into the future. "
-MARIA SCHULD, FIS GLOBAL
executive of Americas banking
solutions at the Jacksonville, Fla.based
company.
While the FIS team may not
be physically present at clients'
locations, the team is still able to
provide its traditional level of service
by proactively monitoring systems,
defining touch-point processes with
key stakeholders, defining clear
communication channels for all team
resources and quickly responding to
any need that arises, Schuld says.
There are some clear benefits of
this remote process, she says. Banks
have more immediate access to
required functional and technical
support areas, which makes resolving
issues faster and scheduling any
pop-up meetings easier. Plus, core
providers save time on travel, giving
them more time to support the
community bank.
" This ease of communication and
access to resources is a major boon in
a stressful time, " Schuld says. " Based
on the positive feedback from the
banks that have had to participate
in this manner, we intend to have
the remote support continue into
the future. "
Other benefits of a remote
conversion include the ability " to
level the playing field " regarding
bank staff training, says Tyler Lentz
of Cedar Park, Texas-based IBT Apps.
In the past, banks with multiple
branches would employ a " train
the trainer " approach, he explains.
With remote conversions, IBT Apps
can now train everyone, " so there's
no imbalance of who gets first dibs
at training. "
" Certain kinds of training can be a
little more difficult remotely, because
educators are not in the room with
bank staff and able to confirm that
everyone is fully experiencing the
training, " says Paul Jones, DCI's vice
president, professional services. " But
we have been doing routine training
in a remote format for several years,
so, more often than not, we feel like
our education and training sessions-
nearly 100% remote [in 2020]-are
still very successful based on the
feedback we get from customers. "
There are drawbacks, too
There are downsides, such as less
face-to-face time for relationship
building; some financial
institutions aren't equipped for
videoconferencing.
" One big drawback of remote
conversions is that community banks
tend to very people-oriented, " Lentz
says, " and a lot of our clients do miss
that personal connectivity that comes
with being in front of each other,
training them and walking them
through things. "
However, core providers report few
problems. The DCI conversion team
is " pleasantly surprised " with how
well they've gone.
" We were really happy we didn't
have issues, " Fankhauser says. " The
conversion process wasn't delayed,
which is very important since all
customers have a hard date on
conversions or else [they may] face
financial penalties from the previous
core provider. "
Ensuring that a remote core
switch goes smoothly may mean
extra prep work. Schuld says banks
can increase the success of a remote
conversion with effective planning
and preparation.
" Participating in training classes,
system review sessions and practice
opportunities are all critical
components of a successful conversion
event, whether remote or not, " she
says. " Take advantage of these events
and you can expect a successful and
fully remote conversion. "
Long-term changes
Post-pandemic, Fankhauser doesn't
think DCI will ever go back to
completely being onsite unless a
particular bank client prefers that.
Most likely, there will be some sort
of combination of onsite and virtual
sessions, which would allow banks to
decide what would be the best option
for their conversion. " This can also
help banks save money and some
time, " she adds.
Other vendors are eyeing a hybrid
approach. IBT Apps has conducted
conversions that are part onsite
and part remote, Lentz says. " It
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Independent Banker - April 2021

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