Independent Banker - March 2022 - 77

transactions, but I can still get money
from a machine.
" Innovation is process-driven. It
doesn't have to be some big, massive
thing. It's small things every day that
help our customer experience. "
- KIMBERLY KIRK,
QUEENSBOROUGH NATIONAL BANK AND TRUST CO.
flatfooted, " she says. " They didn't
have the infrastructure; they didn't
have the know-how; and they weren't
able to pivot on a dime. And there
was radio silence from our big bank.
Absolutely nothing. "
Murph knew she needed a
reliable bank partner to support
her payroll needs through the
Paycheck Protection Program
(PPP), so she reached out to
Queensborough.
Kathryn Murph: I had a
personal banking relationship at
Queensborough and reached out to
their management team. We got our
PPP application filed within two to
three days, and that basically kept us
afloat. We had our PPP money before
we ever heard back from the big bank.
In fact, thanks to Queensborough, we
had brought all our employees back
by the time our former bank finally
reached out about PPP.
Kimberly Kirk: We put our
customers-and communications
with them-first. In the case of PPP,
process innovation helped our ability
to respond quickly. We had increased
our investment in robotic process
automation (RPA) to shift from
manual or repetitive processes to a
more streamlined and automated
approach. Queensborough created
an application portal on our website.
Using RPA, we were able to identify
which Queensborough lender the
application belonged to and deliver
it to the lender. We also automated
document completion, boarding of
loans and funding of loans using RPA,
allowing our teams to communicate
with customers instead of managing
the internal process.
Approaching innovation from
a process perspective has led
to many new advances for
Queensborough beyond PPP.
In fact, the team established an
internal innovation center and
test lab to encourage employee
collaborations, and to experiment
with new products and ideas.
Kirk: We go through a really intensive
testing process. For example, we
rolled out interactive teller machines
(ITMs) over a year ago. To get
to launch, we put an ITM in our
operations center that we loaded our
software on, and tested and trained
on before we installed any machines
in the live customer environment to
make it a better customer experience
when we were live.
Murph: I've been really impressed
with the investment they're putting
into technology. Thanks to their ITMs,
I can have a human interface for
The community bank's goal in
setting up the ITM experience
ties directly back to its focus on
innovation-and to putting the
customer first.
Kirk: I want to leverage technology
to create a human experience, and
that's what we did with ITMs. You still
have live Queensborough teammates
on those video screens to be able to
support our customers. In fact, early in
our launch phase, I heard a customer
I know is a native English speaker
choose the Spanish option for human
assistance. When I came to try and
help him with his choice, he told me,
" Oh, I know Tabatha; she's helping me
with my Spanish. " That's the kind of
connection we want to create.
Murph: With Queensborough ...
you feel heard, and you receive
the same service that you would
want your clients to receive. We are
long-term loyal to Queensborough
because of the support they offered,
and they are right there anytime we
need something. 
Colleen Morrison is a writer
in Maryland.
ThinkTECH at
ICBA LIVE
Attending ICBA LIVE in San
Antonio? Check out the
ICBA ThinkTECH Showcase
on Feb. 28 from 12:30 to
2:30 p.m. The entire ICBA
ThinkTECH Accelerator cohort
will present their pitches to
community bankers.
icba.org/accelerator
independentbanker.org Q 75
http://www.icba.org/accelerator http://www.independentbanker.org
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