Independent Banker - October 2021 - 27

Next: The fraud scheme taking advantage of your customers 
have more complex business models
should consider adding specialized
core experts for business lines that are
particularly critical for the institution,
in addition to having an expert serve
as a liaison for more generalized
functions, says Charles Potts, ICBA
senior vice president and chief
innovation officer.
Nicolet National Bank in Green
Bay, Wis., takes a more decentralized
approach to working with its
core vendor, Fiserv Inc., based in
Brookfield, Wis. That's according to
Mike Daniels, president and CEO of
the $4.5 billion-asset community bank.
" Our thought is that the people
who are closest to the customer need
to understand and offer suggestions
on implementation, function and
communication, " he says. " Our
operations and IT teams are the ones
who stay current on product releases
and help support the products. They
work with the front lines to ensure
clear communication about potential
customer impacts. "
2. Meet regularly with
your core vendor
Community banks should be
proactive in working with their core
relationship executive by regularly
scheduling technology utilization
reviews, according to Deborah
Matthews Phillips, ICBA senior vice
president, payments and technology
policy. These reviews should involve
staff from both the bank and the
core provider to assess how current
systems are used and to ensure the
bank receives timely updates on
planned product roadmaps.
For Jack Henry's bank clients,
says Zengel, relationship managers
assigned to their accounts conduct
annual customer profile reviews. They
use this time to suggest new releases
that could help clients' operations
or business models or explain how
to better leverage features and
functionalities they already have but
are not using.
Nicolet National Bank's team
routinely attends training sessions
co-hosted by Fiserv and maintains
regular dialogue with Fiserv " to
ensure alignment between their
services and our strategies, " Daniels
says. The community bank's
processor, United Financial Services,
sends regular enhancement requests
to Fiserv on the bank's behalf when it
finds opportunities for improvement.
Nicolet also uses a number of
ancillary products that Fiserv offers
and receives regular communications
about new products and upcoming
releases. " This allows us to learn more
about the current offerings and also
about what is coming next on Fiserv's
roadmap, " Daniels says.
3. Participate in the core vendor's
roundtables, user groups
and conferences
Twice a year, Jack Henry conducts
" fireside chats " via WebEx or Zoom
meetings, reviewing with bankers
how to implement its products' most
popular features and functionalities,
Zengel says. At the end of each
session, bankers are encouraged
to ask questions. Clients can also
network with one another in regional
user groups, via phone or in person.
Moreover, the core vendor hosts
annual educational conferences on
its existing products and highlights
what's on tap.
4. Leverage ICBA resources
ICBA offers a Core Processor
Resource Guide (icba.org/coreguide)
that includes steps community banks
should take to evaluate their core
processor, such as assessing the
bank's business needs and use of
systems; learning the core processor's
philosophies; gauging satisfaction
with the current core relationship;
and evaluating core processor
alternatives, including innovation,
compliance, and legacy vs. nextgeneration
providers. It also offers
insights into negotiating contracts and
core conversion project management
for community banks that decide to
switch systems.
Participating in ICBA's ThinkTECH
Accelerator can also help banks " bridge
the technology gap " by learning how
they can augment or supplement their
existing cores, Potts says.
" Banks may want to move to a level
of specificity beyond what their core
vendor may be offering, " he adds. " We
also help them work with their core
vendor to support any third-party
product. This does require a bank to
have a very good relationship with
their core vendor, so they can talk
strategically about their needs. " 
Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a writer
in California.
" The people who are closest to the customer
need to understand and offer suggestions on
implementation, function and communication. "
-MIKE DANIELS, NICOLET NATIONAL BANK
independentbanker.org Q 27
http://www.icba.org/coreguide http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - October 2021
