As 2021 comes to a close, lenders are continuing to adapt to the new digital landscape brought on by the pandemic, and plan for the new year. For banks and credit unions to have continued success in 2022, they must start identifying ways to continue their digital transformation in order to compete with online banking competitors.
This month, we’ve gathered four articles that highlight how lenders can continue to accelerate digital transformation in 2022 and beyond.
Four Articles That Highlight Digital Transformation in October
Banks losing ground to nonbanks in business lending by Allissa Kline, American Banker
It’s no surprise that non-traditional lenders saw increased success in 2020, but the amount of market share now owned by these lenders may be a bigger surprise than anticipated for banks and credit unions. The pandemic forced borrowers to seek out a more convenient online experience, and many decided to utilize fintechs instead of traditional lenders due to the ease of use that they provided in a time of necessity. According to this article from American Banker, the number of commercial and industrial loans held by nonbank lenders is almost equal to the number of C&I loans held by banks and credit unions. Because of this increase in loans held with fintechs, it has become increasingly important that digital transformation is top of mind for financial institutions if they want to remain competitive.
Credit Unions Making the Digital Push, Payments Journal
As fintechs continue to become a more popular choice for borrowers—especially among younger generations—it’s important that credit unions place their focus on providing customers with an experience that meets today's needs. When credit unions are able to achieve this, they can then leverage their one-of-a-kind customer service that can’t be replicated by fintech competitors or mega banks. In this article from Payments Journal, this is described as the “personal human touch” that credit unions provide their customers. They offer support and white-glove concierge service that simply cannot be replicated by lenders that lack a physical footprint. If credit unions combine this level of service with a new and improved user experience, they will have a strong competitive advantage against their online-only competition.
4 Real-World Lessons from Banks Wrestling with Digital Transformation by Garret Reich, The Financial Brand
To stay competitive in today’s environment, it’s important that lenders are focused on digital transformation. Digital transformation for smaller banks and credit unions looks very different than it does for larger mega banks. Smaller institutions are typically operating on lower budgets with little resources. Because of this, banks and credit unions have to focus on creating strategic plans for digital transformation that can provide customers with an exceptional experience similar to what they would expect from a larger institution. Ross Creasy, Chief Innovation Officer at Ameris Bank, and Stuart Cook, Chief Product Officer at Valley Bank explain the obstacles they faced and how they were able to digitally transform their services in this article from The Financial Brand.
Three Products Local Banking Providers Should Put On Their Road Map by Arcady Lapiro, Forbes
Over the last year, digital experiences have become not just increasingly popular but increasingly necessary as well. In fact, many borrowers now prefer to do their banking completely online. According to research conducted in May by BAI, 43 percent of respondents reported that they do all of their banking online. Of those, 84 percent reported they plan to utilize digital at the same level after the pandemic. With this in mind, lenders should continue expanding their digital offerings, if they want to retain customers. In this article, Forbes highlights three products that lenders should put on their road map to foster growth in niche areas of banking.
