The pandemic caused an unprecedented shift in technology adoption among banks and credit unions across the country. Lenders were forced to seek digital loan offerings for their small business customers, so they could quickly receive the Paycheck Protection Plan funding they desperately needed. As lenders return to normal and plan for the new year, they are reflecting on their strengths from PPP, and evaluating how they can continue to enhance their digital offerings.
This month, we’ve gathered four articles that highlight how lenders are adapting to the new normal and continuing to build on the technology advancements developed during PPP.
Reimagining Lending With the Power Of Technology by Andrew Beatty, Finextra
PPP permanently altered customer expectations for banks and credit unions. Borrowers now expect the ability to interact with their financial institutions digitally. If lenders want to see continued growth in 2022, they should focus on improving their digital offerings and ensure that they provide customers with a seamless digital experience. In this article, Andrew Beatty, Head of Global Next Generation Banking at FIS, shares how technology continues to impact the banking industry and what lenders can do to stay ahead.
Banks count on PPP goodwill to win hearts of small-business owners by Jon Prior, American Banker
During PPP, banks and credit unions financed close to $800 billion in loans for small businesses across the U.S. As these businesses begin to return to normal, many will be in search of a trusted lender for new financing needs. It’s important that lenders focus on how they can continue to build the relationships with their PPP borrowers to ensure that they will remain top of mind as they begin to search for additional financing options. This American Banker article highlights how banks are leveraging the relationships they built to convert PPP borrowers into long-term customers.
How credit unions can get the most out of their digital banking platforms by Eric Marks and Kaila McDonnell, West Monroe
The pandemic forced credit unions to adopt technology at a rapid pace in order to better serve customers digitally. According to this report from West Monroe, more than half of credit unions showed no digital progress between 2014 and 2018. If credit unions want to remain successful in the future, this needs to change. This report identifies the urgent need for digital transformation in credit unions, challenges they may encounter while making the shift to digital, and how they can overcome these challenges. Some strategies mentioned include: focusing on building out your technology architecture, discovering and delivering on your customers’ priorities, listening to your customers and iterating on your ideal state, and prioritizing partners aligned to your goals and values.
How the 'New Normal' is Driving Change in Small Business Lending by Derek Corcoran, The Financial Brand
Many financial institutions were led to rapidly adopt new technologies to serve customers more efficiently during the pandemic. As lockdown restrictions subside and we begin to return to a ‘new normal’, the importance of the need for digital in small business lending continues to grow. Because of this, financial institutions are searching for technology that supports a simplified digital loan application to continue to remain competitive. In this article for the Financial Brand, Numerated’s Chief Strategy Officer Derek Corcoran shares insights on the current state of the market, the SBA lending opportunity post-PPP, and the crawl-walk-run approach that financial institutions should take when it comes to implementing a new technology.