Tuesday, December 29, 2020

CU2.0 Podcast Episode 129 Steve Dow CEO Monit for Small Business

 Suddenly a lot of credit union CEO eyes are turned to small business as the financial institutions hunt for ways to bring in profitable business.

And credit unions - many of which have been especially active in PPP lending - are finding that small business is receptive to their overture. The money center banks often are indifferent to small businesses and community banks often lag in the tech tools small businesses want in a financial institution.

Monit, a new cashflow management app for small businesses, just may be the tool that helps bring in more small business members.  

Monit is not in any app stores, it is only available to members and customers of financial institutions that are Monit customers, said Steve Dow, Monit CEO. The Monit app is customized to resemble the credit union's.

Dow added that Bank of America lately has made much of its Cash Flow Monitor for small business - but Monit puts a similar tool set in the hands of small business users at credit unions and community banks.

What Monit does is monitor key financial numbers for the small business and it also forecasts cashflow.

For the credit union, additional tools are offered. For instance, a credit union can see exactly what share of wallet it has of small business members.  Note: that data is anonymized except for small businesses that explicitly opt to disclose their data.

Monit will also help a credit union find targeted lending opportunities so that more efficient and effective offers can be made.

How Monit works is that it ties into the accounting software used by the member - often Quickbooks. Monit does not require integration into the credit union's core.

In the podcast Dow explained the benefits for both the small business and the credit union with Monit.

He also talked at length about Monit's PPP related tools which will prove newly useful in the fresh wave of PPP lending.

Listen to the Dow podcast here.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

CU2.0 Episode 128 Batu Sat Mall IQ - Harnessing Location Intelligence to Better Serve Members

 Don't you wish you knew when a member is about to pop down a Chase credit card to buy a pricey pair of Nikes - especially when you are prepared to offer a $5 discount just for using your institution's credit card?

Just that is the thought that has powered the development of Mall IQ, a San Francisco and Istanbul based company that has won backing for FIS.  But Batu Sat, Mall IQ founder, acknowledged to us that the company's ambitions go way beyond malls and it wants to connect financial institutions with customers and members wherever they are - high streets, car dealerships, furniture stores, and of course malls.

Mall IQ has digitized and mapped many shopping environments so it can know your member is in a Nike store and not a GAP. "We understand the floor plan" said Sat.

A member enrolls in the Mall IQ program through the credit unions' mobile banking app.  That enables push notifications of deals, discounts, etc. when using the credit union's card to make purchases.

"This is not spray and pray marketing," said Sat.  

Mall IQ offers a one month trial of the product before a credit unions signs a contract.  

At a time when every credit union is hunting for new revenue streams, Mall IQ is coming along at an opportune time.

Check out how it works and what it does in this podcast.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Tuesday, December 15, 2020

CU2.0 Podcast Episode 127 Doug Brown NCR on 5 Big Banking Trends for 2021 Trends Forecast 2

 The pace of change at credit unions is quickening.  That's the central message from Doug Brown, senior vice president and GM of Digital Banking at NCR.

In a wide ranging conversation, Brown explores five key trends:

Channels quickly collapsed in 2020 as digital and physical experiences merged; this is only expected to accelerate next year. Experiences were ‘de-channeled’ as physical and digital experiences converged.

Banks and credit unions are now operating in a more dynamic, distributed model, causing de-channeling to occur at a rate much faster than initially expected, in some cases three or more years ahead.

Branch strategy will shift to accommodate the evolution of self-service. Branches will remain relevant, but they must adapt to become part of the larger ecosystem. There will be a continued evolution of self-service, one that includes leveraging technology to provide touchless alternatives and increased automation to enable continued access to cash.

*The ATM will remain a critical touchpoint and utilize expanded functionality. ATMs are not going away. They are just getting smarter, more capable, and more fully digital.

An increased focus on end-to-end delivery and management. Consumer behaviors will be dynamic into 2021 and beyond. Being able to quickly modify digital experiences and business structures to accommodate customer needs and provide a consistent user experience regardless of channel will be a competitive imperative moving forward. This is all part of the profound shift toward digital first banking.

Small business earns bigger focus. The pandemic disproportionately impacted small businesses and gig economy workers; they faced a drastic liquidity crisis. Small and micro businesses have experienced a heightened need for financial advice and guidance. This year, we saw many community and large regional banks step up and help businesses through PPP loans, even when the national institutions elected not to. This has caused the smaller and mid-tier institutions to win market share and gain new business accounts, a significant opportunity.

Listen up, Brown in this podcast offers a vivid picture of an existing credit union experience that blends digital with legacy banking.

Hear the Brown podcast here.

In this podcast, mention is made of the new digital bank, Lili. Story here.

A related podcast is with Octavio Marquez, a senior VP ar Diebold Nixdorf. Listen here.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com

And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

CU2.0 Podcast Episode 124 John Findlay on Digital Academy's Tools for Getting Employees, Members Ready for Digital Banking

 A dirty secret inside credit unions is that many frontline workers - and very possibly most senior staff - just do not use their institution's digital banking tools. Why bother when you work in a branch?  Just walk up to a teller and, whoosh, task handled.

And then along comes a pandemic that closes many branches, and makes many members and employees leery of setting foot in the open ones, and suddenly there is a stampede to adopt digital.  A couple problems however.  A lot of the institution's staff cannot adequately explain how to use the tools because of their own lack of familiarity and a lot of the members who are newly adopting digital are starting at ground zero and genuinely need help.

Enter John Findlay's Digital Academy, a SaaS (software as a service) tool that aims to solve both problems for credit unions.

Better still: right now there is a 90 day free trial because, says Findlay, the company wanted to do its part in helping financial institutions and their members and customers meet the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

What Digital Academy gives financial institutions is an automated way to create an instructional walkthrough that can be used by members and employees alike. How easy is it to create this? Often an institution can create a walkthrough for, say, Mobile Remote Deposit Capture in perhaps a half hour, says Findlay.

How can it be that easy? Remember, it's automated.  Basically the credit union grabs perhaps a half dozen screen shots. How simple is that?

The cost? Findlay says the company's tool kit is available for a fee correlated to asset size. An institution in the $100 million range might pay around $15,000 annually. An institution with $1 billion in assets might pay $100,000 annually.

He stresses that significant staff technical expertise is not required to create an instructional walkthrough.  The aim of the tools is to democratize the creation of learning tools.

You wish you already had it? Remember that 90 day free trial...and, says Findlay, so far every institution that has taken the trial has chosen to sign on as a customer.

Hear the podcast to find out why Findlay developed the Digital Academy tools and more details about exactly how easy they are to use.

In the podcast there is mention of a CUBroadcast show - here's the link.

There's also mention of a podcast about the CU2.0 Mastermind group - link here.

Listen here.

Get your FREE ticket to the December 9th CU2.0 Fintech Mastermind Presents Showcase Day 2020.  This is the first of its kind event where CU 2.0 has brought together the industries' top leaders form well known Credit Unions and paired them up with top Fintech experts in one place! Our subject matter expert will help you and your organization tackle the top issues we face today with unique master classes, tailored for folks just like you.

Get your ticket at Eventbrite. 
Click here.

Read up to learn more about Mastermind groups here in this CU2.0 blog post.

Hear the first CU2.0 Mastermind podcast here.  In this episode Kirk Drake and Dr. Patty Ann Tublin, who facilitates the CU2.0 Mastermind groups, talk about why and how Mastermind groups work and who will benefit from them.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com

And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

CU2.0 Podcast Episode 123 Octavio Marquez Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Global Banking Diebold Nixdorf on ATMs

 Is now the time to bury the ATM?

A few months ago the answer looked like a definite maybe but now, says Octavio Marquez, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Global Banking, Diebold Nixdorf, ATM traffic is up across much of the US and oftentimes it is higher than pre-pandemic levels had been.

What's happening, says Marquez, is that financial institutions - credit unions very much included - are rethinking their branch networks and in that process many are also rethinking the role of the ATM.  That new look at ATMs is accelerated by the reality that many of us are seeking to minimize person to person interactions.  And financial institutions are also beginning to look at the ATM as not just a piece of machinery but as a useful player in digital banking.

Along the way, Marquez talks about new uses for ATMs. They no longer are just about spitting out money and taking deposits. On many we can now pay utility bills.  Some can also perform KYC chores for a credit union. Some can print out and distribute a new debit card.

Clearly it's no longer simply your father's two note machine.

The podcast opens with a brief discussion of a new partnership of Truliant Credit Union and Diebold Nixdorf where DN All Connect Services are now available to Truliant members.  Said the press release, "The comprehensive service will increase branch and ATM channel efficiency, offer enhanced digital integration and provide members with modern and convenient self-service banking options.”

Rik Kielbasa, chief digital officer at Truliant, said: “Our expanded partnership with Diebold Nixdorf will help us anticipate future market needs and develop even stronger connections with our members. User expectations around ATM services are constantly evolving, and enhanced functionality allows us to exceed these expectations and increase service levels. Implementing DN Allconnect Managed Services offers opportunities to continuously optimize the member experience so we never miss a moment with them.”

In the same press release, Marquez said, "Together, we’re on a mission to amplify Truliant’s membership through a truly consumer-centric, highly-available ATM experience.”

Listen up.

Get your FREE ticket to the December 9th CU2.0 Fintech Mastermind Presents Showcase Day 2020.  This is the first of its kind event where CU 2.0 has brought together the industries' top leaders form well known Credit Unions and paired them up with top Fintech experts in one place! Our subject matter expert will help you and your organization tackle the top issues we face today with unique master classes, tailored for folks just like you.

Get your ticket at Eventbrite.
Click here.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com

And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto