Independent Banker - November 2024 - 61

for working with our existing customers, making
it easier for them. "
A mobile chat option puts the communication
where bank customers are spending time
anyway: on their mobile devices. " In-app
mobile chat support offers bank customers the
convenience of accessing support directly within
their banking app, creating a seamless and
efficient user experience, " says Matt Phipps, chief
marketing officer at Agent IQ, the company that
powers Smart ALAC. " Customers resolve issues
or get answers to questions in real time without
needing to leave the app or call into a call center. "
Of course, banks are also exploring
AI-powered chat because it can reduce overall
support volume by providing instant responses
to common questions and easing the burden
on call centers during peak times. " A blend of
human expertise and AI efficiency allows banks
to deliver consistent, high-quality service, " says
Phipps. He also notes that if customers can
get all the answers they
need-whether human
or AI-powered-in their
mobile banking app,
it keeps them satisfied
and connected.
STRATEGY DRIVES
EVERYTHING
A community bank's
ever-growing wish list of
technology improvements
is usually met with the
realities of budget and
resource constraints.
Should a community bank
pursue the low-hanging
fruit of back-office
improvements that have
high ROI and are less
invasive? Or should you
pursue customer-facing
technology to meet the
demands of consumers
who expect banking to
be as easy as placing
an order on a slick
e-commerce platform?
Strategy should drive
everything, according to
Charles Potts, EVP and
chief innovation officer
for ICBA. " [The bank's]
goals and objectives
have to dictate the
crawl, walk, run
steps that a bank
takes, " he says. If
it's a large initiative,
he notes, that might
mean starting in
a small, piloted
way to ensure the
technology lives up
to its promise.
With whatever
The number of SARs related
to check fraud filed in 2022,
up from 350K in 2021
Source: FinCEN
strategy a bank pursues, the best technology
should enable it to do more with less. That
continues to be technology's best promise for
community banks, allowing them to stretch their
resources further while continuing to deliver
value and a personal touch to their customers.
Anna Burgess Yang is a writer in Illinois.
How to evaluate new technology
Devan Wright, VP deputy chief credit
officer at Bank of Idaho, has no
shortage of vendors trying to sell him
the latest and greatest technology. The
Idaho Falls, Idaho, community bank
has implemented a lot of technology
over the years, and Wright has
learned how to assess and select a
vendor efficiently.
He considers how many bank
employees have to be involved to
ensure the successful implementation
of a technology. " If you partner with
good technology vendors, [they] help
with the succession from 'Here's the
old way, here's the new way, and here's
the roadmap on how we're going to
get there,' " says Wright. " That's how
we've had a lot of success. "
Bank of Idaho recognizes that some
technology has intangible value that's
difficult to calculate. In other cases,
implementing systems eliminates
the need for certain roles and allows
the bank to move the employees into
different positions. " That's simple
math, and those are usually slam
dunks, " says Wright.
The community bank also assesses
its vendors annually to ensure the
technology is still meeting bank
needs and is profitable. During the
assessment, the bank also looks at
the vendor's financials to ensure
continued viability.
Wright notes that working with a
startup is a cheaper route, but you're
" going to have to deal with the kinks. "
He also acknowledges that Bank of
Idaho has occasionally implemented
new technology that didn't end up
making an impact or solving the
problem it was expected to solve.
" There's a lot of bait and switch
that you've got to avoid, " he says.
" Technology can look really good,
but the 'guts' behind it-that core
functionality-has got to be there. "
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Independent Banker - November 2024

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