Trends articles

Smart phones stacked on top of each other

How to rebuild your back office for Gen Z

Jun 01st 2020 12:06am on , , , ,

Generation Z has arrived. They’re hitting the age when they’re getting jobs, opening bank accounts and making major life decisions. But their tech-savvy and customer service‑oriented expectations for businesses may strain many banks’ back offices. Here’s how community banks are evolving their operations to keep up. By Susan Thomas Springer ■ Illustrations by Daniel Hertzberg […]

Regtech numbers

7 questions to ask before you invest in regtech

Apr 01st 2020 12:04am on , , ,

Technology can ease the complexity of regulatory compliance, but it pays to go into the buying process with your eyes open. By Cheryl Winokur Munk To say regulatory compliance is complicated and costly for banks is a no-brainer. In a recent study of the U.S. banking industry from Wolters Kluwer, 47% of respondents ranked manual […]

City illustration

How the world’s banks are using the IoT

Mar 01st 2020 12:03am on , ,

Across the globe, banks and fintechs are experimenting with web-connected devices—collectively, the Internet of Things (IoT). While some experiments have worked and some have failed, their efforts offer a glimpse into what’s possible with connected devices. By Adam Oxford Legend has it that, when traveling to the Soviet Union for a concert in 1986, Russian-born, American […]

two smart phones shaking hands

High-tech, high-touch lending

Feb 01st 2020 12:02am on , , , ,

Community bankers say they can get the best of both worlds by using the latest financial technology to meet the needs of customers—whether they want a digital banking experience or not. By Beth Mattson-Teig Community bankers are increasingly having to manage a balancing act: How do they expand their digital lending platforms to give the […]

Pocket watch

Secrets of 4 community bank–fintech partnerships

Feb 01st 2020 12:02am on , , , , ,

Community banks and fintechs are working together to boost internal efficiency and improve the customer experience. But good partnerships don’t just run like clockwork. They require close collaboration, risk-taking and the alignment of strategic visions. Here’s what some of these partnerships look like in reality. By Mary Yerkes Today’s banking industry is all about innovation. […]

Community Bank CEO Outlook 2020: How your peers plan to grow

Jan 01st 2020 12:01am on , , , , , , , ,

Independent Banker’s Community Bank CEO Outlook survey asked community bank leaders how they plan to grow their institutions this year. The results of this year’s survey reveal what community bankers have planned for 2020, from adopting new technology to growing deposits. By Kelly Pike, Illustrations by Edu Fuentes Ask any self-help guru, and they’ll tell […]

Why blockchain still has potential for banks

Nov 01st 2019 12:11am on , ,

Many financial institutions are looking to blockchain, the still-novel distributed ledger technology, as a means to create more efficient and less risky solutions to today’s—and tomorrow’s—challenges. By Karen Epper Hoffman It could be said that blockchain’s affiliation with cryptocurrency is both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. But blockchain—a digital distributed ledger platform invented […]

Are your customers ready to bank by smartwatch?

Nov 01st 2019 12:11am on , , , ,

Smart wearable devices have been on the rise in recent years. While only some banking functions may translate to these tiny, albeit advanced, devices, some community banks have already made the jump to the smartwatch. By Katie Kuehner-Hebert More and more people are using smartwatches for everyday tasks while on the go, but how many […]

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