Independent Banker - June 2019 - 28

PORTFOLIO
vices. Ideally, open banking should result in a
better customer experience. Now, I don't know if
100 percent open banking will arrive in the U.S.,
but I do believe some aspects of data-sharing will
occur. The myriad benefi ts for banks include the
grand slam of benefi ts from fi ntech: cheaper,
faster, simpler and more secure. Open banking
puts more pressure on large data providers like
core-processing companies and digital banking
providers. The downsides include reduced privacy
and questions about data ownership.
Digital customer onboarding
Innovation Station
By Kevin Tweddle, ICBA
What's hot in
fintech now
hree things are certain in life: death,
taxes-unless you're a credit union-and
change. Community banks have started to get
used to change, but what has made it more diffi
cult is the speed at which change is occurring.
Let's explore the key trends that are driving
change in our industry today.
T
Open banking is coming
We have been hearing a lot about " open banking, "
as it's already happening outside the U.S., but it's
becoming closer to reality here. Open banking is
the practice of sharing fi nancial information electronically,
securely and only under conditions
that customers approve of. Application programming
interfaces, or APIs, allow third parties to
access fi nancial information effi ciently, which
promotes the development of new apps and ser28
Q ICBA Independent Banker Q June 2019
This area is really heating up for community
banks in particular. This refers to new customers'
ability to use digital tools to complete the
onboarding process. Think online loan applications
and deposit account-opening tools that
simplify the process. Some tools have these capabilities
built in, while others provide a bridge to
existing tools. Again, this provides a better customer
experience and allows community bankers
to focus on customer relationships, rather than
time-consuming manual tasks.
Mobile first
The mobile-fi rst trend continues. This refers to
the process of ensuring that a product works on
your mobile device before progressing to other
channels and larger screens. The smartphone is
entrenched as the device of choice for customer
connections, so as many banking activities as
possible need to be accessible and executable on
your phone.
Financial health
Kevin Tweddle
(kevin.tweddle@
icba.org) is
chief operating
off icer of the
ICBA Services
Network
This trend is just starting to gain steam, but it's
particularly important to younger generations of
bankers. Customers are looking for more fi nancial
education and automated fi nancial guidance.
Account aggregation and personal fi nancial management
tools are helpful but more foundational
to fi nancial health. Technological advances, such
as artifi cial intelligence and machine learning,
can be a signifi cant help to this process, and we
will see improvements in this area sooner rather
than later.
Get used to the speed of change increasing, and
make sure your bank is in tune with these key
trends and making decisions accordingly.
Independent Banker - June 2019

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