Independent Banker - August 2021 - 34

due diligence, investigating a
variety of vendors for a thorough
understanding of all the options.
" The hard part is identifying
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Budgeting tip 2: Lean on vetted resources
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Investments in innovation and technology require tremendous
research. That's why ICBA and its ThinkTECH initiative aim to make
the process easier.
When assessing and evaluating vendors, look to ICBA ThinkTECH
to better understand the types of solutions and capabilities
available and the partners that can make it possible. This resource
(icba.org/thinktech) includes everything from fintech-focused
education to a vetted solutions directory.
The goal is to help remove barriers to fintech adoption and better
manage the risks. " Lean on us. Call on us, " Potts says. " The less
friction in the process, the fewer hurdles and barriers, the smoother
the journey will be. "
what's the right path to take, " Wall
says. " There are a lot of emerging
technologies out there, and if there
are three different ways to solve a
problem, we're looking for the one
that helps solve the problem the best
and makes the most sense financially. "
One of those costs is the time
needed to fully deploy a solution,
something banks frequently
underestimate, Potts says. Due
diligence means working with a
vendor to set realistic goals, objectives
and timelines. " Truly vetting out the
capability of a provider to meet those
goals and timelines is something most
community bankers know, but they
need to keep it top of mind, " he adds.
End-user adoption is another area
that often takes longer than expected
and can delay return on investment
(ROI). There needs to be time for lots
of testing to assess how quickly and
easily consumers or internal users can
get up and running. There needs to be
training and promotion, too.
" It's not 'build it and they will
come,' " Potts says. " More often than
not, it's 'crawl, walk, run.' "
Community State Bank looks at
efficiency and offsets when estimating
ROI. The bank carefully considers
whether a new technology will overlap
with old programs and replace
them, freeing up resources to invest
elsewhere, Wall says. It's a rough
calculation, he adds, but it helps the
bank determine if it will go forward
with an innovation.
" We can look at a program and say
... we think it will make everyone, on
average, 5% more efficient, " he says.
" What does that look like in terms
of dollars? "
More than technology
Budgeting for innovation doesn't
just mean budgeting for technology.
Many critical innovations aren't
based in tech. It can be as simple as
outsourcing an activity that's timeconsuming
or requires a high level
of expertise. For example, when
budgeting for innovation at FNBC,
Sharp focuses on three key factors:
people, process and technology.
" A lot of those strategic goals run
back to automation and making
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Independent Banker - August 2021

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