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SWBC is thrilled to announce the launch of our newly redesigned website! After more than a year of strategic development, an upgraded infrastructure, hard work, teamwork, and commitment, our much improved website went live on April 1, 2018.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming a commonly used term for financial services firms around the globe. The phrase—AI—tends to make some people tremble in their shoes as they feel we’ll have an apocalyptic situation on our hands where robots take over the world. Aside from the Steven Hawking and Elon Musk doomsday predictions, AI’s place within the financial services world is meant to pull together multiple technologies to analyze data, foresee solutions, and make decisions.

When a financial institution expands its products and services in one area, the residual effect in other parts of the institution likely requires a reaction. This was the case at USALLIANCE Financial. Their team saw rapid growth as a result of increased indirect lending efforts, which required the team to react to their members' needs. The need to support these new borrowers with an effective loan pay platform became a challenge for USALLIANCE.

When it comes to any area of technology, one thing's for sure: it's ever changing and evolving. Financial technology, or fintech, is no exception. And while it can be tiring to keep up—let alone stay ahead—in the industry, we must do so, since falling behind quickly allows our competitors to gain ground. 

Every now and again, I remember the early days of computing and how important shortcuts were. I might be dating myself, but those early days behind a computer included a lot of DOS commands to search directories and copy, move, and delete files. We would write ‘batch’ files in DOS and save them to perform repetitive tasks. Windows' earliest versions delivered an interface with icons and shortcuts. Then, with the web, we got hyperlinks and bookmarks. Now, we have apps we carry around with us! Times have definitely changed, but the essence of computing is still about efficiency and organization. 

As consumers continue to move toward a completely digital life, they are embracing different forms of online billing and ways to accept payments, including EMV or chip card use, and an increase in mobile connectedness. Customers use an average of 3.6 different payment methods each month for their bills, according to the 2016 Annual Billing Household Survey. Mobile payment use increased dramatically, with 33% of online households reporting to have paid a monthly bill through their mobile phone, a 22% increase compared to last year’s survey. 

Payment processing options and consumer convenience are all the rage these days. You can barely peruse a lender trade publication or website without reading about the growth of Fintech and financial management applications and how they will ultimately affect the relationship account holders have with their financial institutions.

And, these are things we should be talking about. Technology and changing consumer expectations will have an impact on traditional financial transactions, and lenders have to be prepared to meet this consumer demand or risk losing engagement with a future generation of borrowers.

However, financial institutions should not lose sight of the implications that deploying new payment technology can have on their back-end operations, processing, and bottom line.

Consumers are empowered to do almost everything themselves online or via mobile—from comparing prices to checking in at the airport. Where there’s a will, consumers want a way, and that includes procuring their own customer service in the fastest, most convenient way possible. Here are a few things your financial institution can do to ensure you are meeting today’s consumer preferences and needs.

Indirect lending programs grew substantially over the last several years due to intense competition in the auto lending industry. Credit unions, in particular, saw substantial growth in their auto loan portfolios, nearly 30% since 2012, according to Forbes. That's due in part to an improved economy and can be attributed to their participation in indirect lending programs. 

As a financial institution, you may be aware of the importance of the quality of service that institutions need to offer through self-service channels. With hundreds of thousands of customers moving from larger financial institutions to smaller, more community-based institutions and vice-versa, the attention placed on institutions’ mobile and online banking capabilities has grown.

As consumers move, or consider moving, their banking relationship, they will be equating your convenient, self-service options to those of other financial institutions, and you will need to make sure you measure up in order to retain these new accountholders and lure those on the edge of making the transition.