Most mid-market banks have so far only deployed minimally-capable online account opening and online loan origination software. The “personal touch” to banking was viewed as still the most comfortable way to do business and sort of a reason not to totally commit to full-spectrum/omnichannel digital banking. In the space of a few weeks, everything has changed. While the personal touch will certainly return, what’s absolutely required now and forever is “no touch” banking.
Like every crisis before, lessons are being learned now about how to be better prepared to weather the next one. It’s critically important for all businesses, banks included, to understand that not only are they adjusting to being better prepared for the next crisis, but their customers are also as well. Customer behavior may not shift on a dime, but the lessons consumers learn now will inform their choices forever, especially with such a stark and universal crisis as COVID-19.
What does that mean for mid-market banks? It means they need to step up their digital game as soon as possible. It means that online account opening for business and personal customers is a must-have, as is fully automated online lending.
So, the key question is: Should Banks Hurry up or wait?
Banks Should Hurry Up If...
If banks have any bandwidth, moving fast now has little downside. Everything done now is a requirement anyway, and those first to market will have an advantage.
- Customer-facing first. Rapidly deploy with the minimally required features to be online at any point of sale.
- Back office ops perfection and optimized automation can be filled in later.
- SaaS solutions can be fully deployed from bank and vendor staffs’ houses!
- Front of the deployment line with solution providers.
- Vendors want to make it easy – discounts and delayed invoicing are available.
Banks Should Wait If...
Many mid-market bank staffs are just swamped. It might not be feasible to fully engage now, but there are some key things that can be done now to accelerate the process when ready.
- Also customer-facing first. A cool back office is nice-to-have. Cool points of sale for new business and personal deposit account and loan origination are must-have.
- Staged feature implementation. Plan nimbly enough to adjust as conditions change because they will.
- Lock in a slot. Every bank needs to be a fully digital bank now, so get vendor commitments for deployments in 2020 and commit the bank as well.
- Discounts and staged invoicing are probably available.
MeridianLink is making its own strategic and tactical adjustments to accommodate the increased demand for its mobile account opening and loan origination software. We’re ready to help financial institutions that are ready to implement now or ready to plan now. Our mission is to help our customers help their customers. Contact us to learn how MeridianLink can get your bank into the online game.
