Several high-profile banks, including Capital One, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, have announced plans to either eliminate or dramatically reduce overdraft (OD) and nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees. It could be argued that these banks made this leap before regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), required them to do so.
Topics: Vendor Contract Negotiation, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management, Regulations, Deposits, Overdraft
The prolonged period of taking deposit gathering for granted seems to be nearing an end.
Financial institutions have been awash in deposits for years, flush with liquidity. According to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, deposit balances at banks have risen by 35% in the past two years alone.
The bigger challenge has been finding ways to put those deposits to use in profitable ways.
Topics: Bank Consulting, Credit Union Consulting, Deposits, bank customer acquisition, credit union customer acquisition
The Biden Administration’s Executive Order for digital assets observed that one in six adult Americans are involved with cryptocurrency, while other surveys place this figure closer to one in three. At the same time, a solid majority of Americans indicate they’d prefer to conduct crypto dealings through their financial institution.
This seems like a dream scenario for banks and credit unions looking for opportunities to deepen client relationships and pursue new sources of fee income to replace the overdraft/NSF revenue and interchange that is increasingly under threat.
Topics: Cryptocurrency, Regulations, Cryptocurrency for Banks and Credit Unions, Digital Assets, cryptocurrency consultants
As summer approaches, bank consolidation has been steady but not as brisk as many thought.
There have been 37 transactions announced by March 18, 2022. If this pace continues, it would be about 25% below last year, though many of 2021's deals were in the works before the pandemic. As with many other business transactions, they were shelved as Covid-19 took hold.
Topics: Vendor Contract Negotiation, Bank Vendor Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Expense Management, Credit Unions
![Conversational-AI-Blog-Image[90]](https://blog.srmcorp.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Conversational-AI-Blog-Image%5B90%5D.png?width=932&name=Conversational-AI-Blog-Image%5B90%5D.png)
Conversational artificial intelligence (AI) has been one of the hottest areas in fintech for nearly a decade, with an array of startups executing on a vision originating from 1950s science fiction. Initially, the “conversation” was limited to text chatbots, but more entities, including financial institutions, have implemented voice-enabled chat, offering real-time responses and support for queries made over the phone and through devices like Alexa and Google Home.
Topics: Vendor Contract Negotiation, Artificial Intelligence, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management, Conversational AI
![Crypto-WP-Blog-Image[94]](https://blog.srmcorp.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Crypto-WP-Blog-Image%5B94%5D.png?width=932&name=Crypto-WP-Blog-Image%5B94%5D.png)
Standing-room-only crowds during breakout sessions at recent industry conferences nationwide are a strong indicator of financial institutions’ growing interest in cryptocurrency and other digital assets.
Topics: Vendor Contract Negotiation, Cryptocurrency, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management, Digital Assets, Blockchain
The Biden Administration issued its anticipated executive order seeking to coordinate efforts among federal agencies to craft a national policy for digital assets.
While some pundits are worried about the impact of regulation, we assert that this effort brings digital assets, including cryptocurrency, into the mainstream, which should be a positive for financial institutions looking to operate in the space.
Topics: Vendor Contract Negotiation, Cryptocurrency, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management, Cryptocurrency for Banks and Credit Unions, Digital Assets, Blockchain
The CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference was in-person for the first time in three years, giving many credit union executives a long-overdue chance to have face-to-face meetings.
SRM made the most of the week, engaging with scores of executives, getting a sense of their challenges and opportunities, and lining up discussions to assist in crafting strategies and finding solutions for both.
Topics: Digital Banking, Vendor Contract Management, Cryptocurrency, Credit Union Vendor Management, Cryptocurrency for Banks and Credit Unions, Loan Growth, Deposits, Overdraft
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Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) has emerged as one of the most discussed and fastest-growing areas in consumer lending. What has been surprising is the unwillingness of many financial institutions to add it to their product offerings, according to a recent survey by IntraFi Network. Though BNPL upstarts like Klarna and Affirm continue to claim new territory, the survey indicates that 80% of community banks have no plans to add these services.
Topics: Digital Banking, Vendor Contract Negotiation, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management, Buy Now Pay Later, BNPL, Installment Loans
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Volatility tends to be a two-way street, so the recent price correction in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies shouldn’t come as a shock. Still, that doesn’t take the sting out of the size and speed of the recent decline in Bitcoin, which lost more than half its value between mid-November and late January.
Topics: Vendor Contract Negotiation, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management, Digital Assets
