How to Quickly Activate Users to Accelerate Time to Valueby Mike Kuebler, Business Development Manager
Benchmark Experts Discuss the Opportunities Ahead With 2024 in the rearview mirror, what can you expect in 2025? Growth. Last year, it might have been prudent to take a wait and see approach due to high interest rates and the uncertainty of the presidential election. Twenty twenty-five, however, is the year to take decisive action to drive growth and safeguard financial stability as you face heightened competition for deposits. In fact, 58% of bank leaders expect asset growth of 5% or more.
Our experts, who advise both retail and commercial banking leaders on ways to leverage managed services to achieve key business outcomes, offer unique insights that can help you make the right moves to lead in your market. How to Align Your Resources for Successful RDC Program Administration
Transform your RDC program with specialized treasury services from a proven partner.In today's rapidly evolving competitive landscape, treasury departments must stay ahead of the curve by retaining and growing their business members or commercial customers. One segment that has proven to be particularly valuable is the RDC client base. Supporting an RDC program is often thought of as a sunk cost. However, investing in the seamless administration of your RDC services can be an investment in your financial institution’s future. Business members or customers who use RDC tend to be exceptionally loyal and open to using additional services and solutions from their banks. By improving your RDC program, you can bring in more deposits from this valuable segment. The Need for Efficient Onboarding RDC services are easier to sell than they are to implement. Once a client signs up, the race to onboard them begins. How much time will it take to get a new or refurbished scanner to the client’s office, schedule a software installation appointment, complete the implementation (which includes user training and testing) so the client can start making deposits? When your treasury team is juggling a myriad of tasks and projects, the time to the first deposit can take weeks or months, especially if internal systems and processes are not aligned to enable seamless client journeys. A managed services partner can reduce the average time to the first deposit to just a few days.
By John ManganielloDirector, Project Services, Benchmark Technology Group, Inc.  As industry veterans predict a year of mergers and acquisitions, many financial institutions are taking steps to improve their resilience and agility as they contend with reduced deposits and higher interest rates. Many of them seek to become more agile to take advantage of emerging tech and growth opportunities.
From an operational standpoint, technology strategy and device management are crucial to productivity. From an employee standpoint, very little defines a bank more than the effectiveness of its provided hardware and software infrastructure. Thus, it’s crucial to have comprehensive device management capabilities in addition to a flexible and forward-looking technology strategy. With this infrastructure in place, banks and credit unions can ensure that their employees and customers have access to the technology and support they demand while also minimizing downtime. Harnessing their technology (including hardware, software, and mobile devices), financial institutions can better address security and fraud prevention, while providing a more robust online banking experience to their customer base. Benchmark's Predictions, From Interest Rates to Services and Devices 2023 proved tough for financial institution (FI) leaders. As banks and credit unions faced mounting pressures due to inflation, regulatory considerations, and higher interest rates, it got more challenging to stay on course with technology investments. However, we believe bankers will find 2024 to be a much better environment, particularly if they act strategically to leverage the right partners and resources. Here are a few things our Benchmark team members have seen in their crystal ball for the upcoming year: “The banking industry faced significant challenges in executing larger projects, many of which were deferred to 2024 or strategically divided between the two years. With the surge in bank mergers, the need for hardware and services standardization became paramount, compelling financial institutions to seek comprehensive solutions. Recognizing the value of partnerships, banks are now actively engaging with companies offering full-service packages. These encompass everything from sourcing new equipment at competitive prices to providing repair options, facilitating installations and implementing buy-back programs for retired hardware. An interesting trend observed in the past 12 months is banks’ and credit unions’ willingness to invest in refurbished hardware, marking a departure from traditional preferences. Looking ahead, the industry anticipates the continuation of mergers and acquisitions in 2024, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and collaboration. The spotlight on fraud prevention is set to intensify, with manufacturers actively developing innovative products geared towards safeguarding branches from emerging threats.”
Stephanie Johnson, Senior Account Executive  Banks and credit unions need better ways to manage cash. It's true: the number of cash transactions has declined, but with fewer personnel, there's still too much cash to keep up with when using manual processes or antiquated cash automation systems that don’t operate seamlessly. Also, higher turnover means there may be fewer people with expert cash handling skills to process currency accurately and efficiently.
Cash management can account for 5-10% of a branch's costs. The reporting required to understand and control it within the branch can take hours as managers gather data from different systems or paper logs. The risk of inaccuracy is high; and the tedium of this work can increase attrition rates. Forty-five percent of bank executives say they're using outdated solutions. Upgrading tech has become a priority. Yet, many financial institutions have no plans to replace or optimize outdated cash automation solutions and, as a result, miss out on systems that offer a range of benefits and increase cash visibility across the organization. Today, there's good news. With the rise of advanced cash automation solutions, financial institutions can attain greater control of cash operations than ever before.  Predictions for 2023 are in. From the rise of chatbots to tougher consumer privacy regulations and embedded finance, these predictions point to one thing—the need for banks and credit unions to be nimble in the face of certain change. Without the optimal level of operational and technological readiness, financial institutions will be less capable of making the right strategic moves. Banks and credit unions of all sizes need expert insights and guidance to evaluate opportunities and flawlessly execute their strategies. From understanding new technologies or business models, to choosing and implementing new technology, training staff and reallocating resources, banks and credit unions can benefit from a technology partner. This partner can offer these key services to help organizations tackle what may be on the horizon while executing on current initiatives:
The Operational Advantages Banks and Credit Unions Get from a Strategic PartnerOperational Advantage 1: Professional ServicesA technology partner who serves leading banks and credit unions can help your organization keep pace with innovation and navigate complex challenges specific to your business operations and goals. For example, the capabilities a trusted partner can bring to a large-scale technology conversion or upgrade can be very valuable. Consider the challenge facing a bank that’s upgrading teller capture systems and converting to a new core system across multiple branches and regions.
How Teller Capture Equipment Impacts Customer Experience – And Why Your Branch May Need an Upgrade12/22/2022
 Your bank or credit union needs its fleet of teller check scanners and printers to work seamlessly in the background while tellers complete transactions, get to know customers and pursue upselling opportunities. Technical glitches contribute to longer lines, associate discontent, and poor customer service.
The 30 seconds that's spent clearing a jam or restarting a scanner casts a shadow on your branch. A customer or member may wonder if the funds they’re depositing will hit their account; they may question the competence of your staff; and they may start thinking about alternatives—such as banking services offered at the big-box retailer they frequent. Purchasing Refurbished Banking Equipment: An Overlooked Best Practice of Banks and Credit Unions9/28/2022
 Many leaders at banks and credit unions have never fully explored the advantages of purchasing refurbished banking equipment. However, in today’s business environment, this option must be considered, especially as you strive to keep your branches running smoothly and stay on track with new technology rollouts, conversions or upgrades that modernize your financial institution and enhance its competitiveness.
For every bank or credit union, having the right hardware is business critical, whether it’s scanners, teller printers or signature pads. You need to make sure every device functions effectively every day so that customer interactions happen seamlessly. Malfunctioning or insufficient quantities of equipment can frustrate tellers and customers, taking the focus away from the customers’ needs and hampering operational efficiency and growth. However, with supply chain challenges caused by the ongoing pandemic and inflation, it might be harder to acquire devices that were easy to find a year ago. Plus, prices and surcharges are increasing at dizzying rates. Competition for new equipment is heating up, with some organizations hoarding equipment by acquiring a “just-in-case” supply. The good news? Buying new is not the only option. |
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