Bai Banking Strategies

The flipside of superior customer experience is a strong fraud program, even if it's not the sexiest thing for banks to promote. Still, you can't have the former without the latter, and getting the balance just right challenges even the most innovative financial institutions. Debbie Peace, co-founder and CEO of ACH Alert, gets to the heart of how the two forces work in tandem and win customer loyalty.

Despite a newfound fascination with customer engagement, banks know it's a constantly moving target that doesn't reward indecision or momentary distractions. It takes strong resolve and concentration to stay on top of it—and strategy that leverages all that data and high tech have to offer. Carrie Stapp, SVP of product management at Harland Clarke, sees the key to customer engagement as enabling the easy use of the products consumers value most. On this podcast, she discusses how banks can achieve this goal through a smart mix of personal interaction and harnessing valuable customer data.

Considering that smartphone apps are just a dozen years old, the technology has exploded far beyond anything Steve Jobs might've imagined when he unveiled the first iPhone. Now in 2019, the reality of mobile-centric banking has arrived, with Varo Money already delighting customers to the tune of 13,000-plus five star reviews on the App Store and Google Play. Colin Walsh, Varo's CEO and co-founder, describes the journey from blueprint to charter, and how Varo hopes to help millions of customers improve their financial lives.

Compliance has always presented a set of thorny challenges for banks, and at this point there's no going back to simpler times. Enter "regtech," a subset of fintech that aims to handle how regulations are met and requirements satisfied. But there is more: So far as customers are concerned, regtech helps financial institutions to become more transparent and trustworthy. Shiran Weitzman, CEO and co-founder of Shield FC, talks about the digital developments that have led us to this point, and how banks can harness all regtech has to offer to move themselves forward.

While the fight for tighter cybersecurity keeps financial institutions scrambling, it means much more than keeping firewalls strong and hackers out. Miscues with data can destroy customer trust, while the demand for high-tech talent has banks competing not just with each other but every other business sector as well. Sundeep Nehra of EY's financial services office practice draws on decades of experience to share how financial institutions can best handle a changing security landscape, win the talent war—and build modern systems to repel today's worst cyber threats.

Creating organic growth boils down to a seeming paradox: developing intelligent digital tech that meets customers where they live. BAI Global Innovation Awards judge Alex Sion of Citi's D10X program explains how financial institutions can apply the latest technology to rapid changes in family life and consumer behavioral patterns.

Making consumer bank strategy stick ranks among the hottest topics in financial services today. But to get there, financial institutions must figure out how to balance a host of channels, from branches to call centers to mobile and its next wave. Ben Hopper of First Tennessee Bank shares his insights on achieving the optimal digital-physical combination to benefit customers and bolster banks in 2019.

Artificial intelligence, BAI's Trend of the Year in 2018, looks set to have another banner run in 2019. But many financial institutions still haven't figured out the best uses of AI or how to find the right high-tech mix. Daniel Faggella, founder and CEO of Emerj, lays out how AI can transform banks in areas from automation to risk forecasting and monitoring.

Getting to the heart of serving small- and medium-sized businesses has been a heartache for banks, as they struggle to make many work-intensive transactions into a large, meaningful chunk of volume. Charles Wendel, owner of Financial Institutions Consulting, highlights the steps banks can take to build relationships and revenue with SMBs.

Whatever the months ahead hold for technology in financial services—from open banking to closing the gaps between fintechs and banks—the future is coming faster than ever. Sue Britton, CEO and founder of the FinTech Growth Syndicate and BAI Global Innovation Awards Judge, gives us a glimpse on the most exciting developments on the banking horizon.

In an age when so much stress is placed on customer experience, financial institutions need to keep an eye on the safeguards that guarantee success. Terry Ammons, partner at PKM, explains how savvy banks can take security measures to the next level.

For all the noise surrounding customer experience, dialing in to the best practices and effective strategies is another story. Kerim Tumay, vice president of marketing for Kiran Analytics (a Verint company), explains how outstanding in-person interactions can drive an overall customer experience that ensures loyalty and gives banks an edge in the marketplace.

While financial institutions know data holds the key to success, many haven't figured out how to collect it or what exactly to do with it. Kunal Chopra, leader of Gradient Ascent's financial services practice, sheds light on how banks can move forward with data, artificial intelligence and more.

As the financial services industry begins a new year, three topics are sure to dominate the agendas of many banks. How can institutions win the talent war? How can they use data and analytics to give consumers the experiences they want? And how can banks leverage customer empathy to stand out from the competition? Join BAI president and CEO Debbie Bianucci, managing director Karl Dahlgren and chief marketing officer Holly Hughes for a special year-ahead podcast that addresses these topics and sets the stage for what promises to be a watershed year in financial services.

Are branches here to stay or going away? Is more high tech a good thing or an obstacle to human connection? The questions won't go away; smart answers are hard to find. Enter David Kerstein, president of Peak Performance Consulting Group, who shares with us his equally nuanced and no-nonsense views on what’s ahead for branch banking.

If you’ve ever wondered why banks should teach employees serious content in amusing and engaging ways, consider the bottom-line effect it can have on customer interaction and experience. John Findlay, founder and CEO of Launchfire, walks listeners through the benefits of gamification and how it takes talent management to the next level.

Many banks now believe it’s a great idea to work with fintechs. Yet smart caution and compliance don’t always square with life in the high-tech fast lane. Likewise, fintechs often lack the needed experience to make bank partnerships work. Ben Schack, leader of U.S. digital partnerships at BMO Financial Group, shares how banks can guide and mentor fintechs to maturity and achieve mutual victory.

Big data is huge—literally—as a game changer in the financial services industry. Yet the smart use of data comes with a host of concerns, ranging from best security practices to getting it out of the silos where it too often hides in plain sight. Clark Richey, chief technology officer at FactGem, shares his top strategies to collect, protect and leverage the data banks have at their disposal.

The Faster Payments Task Force has worked tirelessly to lay the foundation for a U.S. system that promotes the quick, seamless movement of money. Now comes the challenging part: making it happen. Connie Theien, senior vice president, industry relations program for the Federal Reserve System, brings listeners up to date and explains how private industry will play a key role in the payments revolution.

More than ever, banks need to combine the physical and the digital into an omnichannel experience that exemplifies customer experience at its finest. Consumers expect no less, so how can banks cross the finish line first? Tom McDermott, the co-founder and managing partner of Inver Consulting Group, during an interview at BAI Beacon 2018 in Orlando, built the case for and steps to this winning integration.