Independent Banker - July 2024 - 50

Here are some examples of how
community banks have gone through this
process, for the good of their bank, their
employees, their customers and their
bottom lines.
Seeing the writing on the digital wall
Sometimes, the push to revamp the digital
customer experience can be a practical
one, as it was for $586 million-asset
Commencement Bank in Tacoma, Wash.
Its contract with its software vendor was
about to expire, and Commencement
would either need to stick with its core
50%
of customers abandon a
digital loan application if
it takes more than three to
five minutes to complete
Source: FIS
system or make a change.
" When we looked at our legacy system,
we saw that we wanted to accomplish 10
new things, " says John Manolides, CEO
of Commencement
Bank. These 10 tasks
included allowing
customers to open
an account online
and deactivate their
debit card if they
think they lost it, and
enabling the bank
to more quickly spot
potential fraudulent
transactions.
According to
Manolides, the
community bank
realized that " it would take us about two
and a half years to get all 10 things in
place " with its older system. So, bank
leadership decided to move to a core
platform that would make enabling those
kinds of functions easier.
Bell Bank in Fargo, N.D., was also
aware that it needed to change the way
it digitally presented itself to customers.
Laura Orcutt, senior vice president
director of product at the $13 billion-asset
community bank, knew it was a problem.
While the bank's primary markets are in
Minnesota, Arizona and North Dakota, it
also underwrites loans in 30 states plus
the District of Columbia.
" We acknowledged we need to be able
to provide services to customers whenever
they want to do their banking, " Orcutt
says, especially as the bank is working to
" attract customers across the nation. "
Meanwhile, $640 million-asset
Climate First Bank in St. Petersburg, Fla.,
had relatively new digital platforms,
as it has only been in business since
June 2021. However, according to
senior vice president and chief of staff
Chris Cucci, within eight months of
opening, the community bank realized
it couldn't succeed unless it revamped
its consumer lending process. That
meant working on its loan application
process so that staff could make a lending
decision almost immediately, because its
competitors-which it sees as fintechs
rather than banks-were giving almost
instant approvals.
Hashim Toussaint, SVP, general
manager of digital solutions at FIS, says
An e-commerce
experience in the
banking world
While no one expects a community bank to
deliver toilet paper and pens in 24 hours,
customers do expect their banking experience
to be on par with those of Amazon and other
technology giants.
According to the Zendesk Customer
Experience Trends Report 2023:
72%
of customers
want immediate
service
50 // ICBA Independent Banker // July 2024
Independent Banker - July 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - July 2024
