Welcome To
The Bottom Line

At SRM, we often receive questions about how our services can deliver cost savings without harming existing vendor relationships which have taken years to cultivate. Our answer is simple: We do not believe antagonistic, adversarial negotiations are in the best interest of anyone – be it the client, the vendor, or our firm. And we have validated this point of view with the thousands of contracts we’ve negotiated, while also adding over $3.6 billion of value to the financial institutions we have served. A recent engagement with 1^st Bank of Sea Isle City in New Jersey is an example of this conviction in action.

Top-of-wallet status is highly coveted because, once achieved, the incumbent – in this case the card issuer - has the advantage. Old habits die hard. Once a consumer develops a “go-to” card for certain types of purchases, they tend to repeat that pattern of behavior.

Those habits can be cultivated by offering benefits to the user via a rewards program. Sometimes the choice can be situational, with cardholders designating certain cards for specific types of purposes. This may extend to the type of card – e.g., debit or credit – and/or a workflow established by the merchant which makes it easier to use one card rather than another – e.g., Walgreens Express Pay.

Knowledge is power and most bankers have figured out that they’re sitting on a treasure trove of information about the consumers and businesses they serve.  However, using this information to empower their account holders and deliver services tailored to their needs has been a difficult goal for banks and credit unions to achieve. 

One of the many changes brought by COVID-19 was an acceleration in the participation of the delivery economy.  This level of participation is likely to continue to rise as more businesses develop viable online ordering and delivery offerings.  Companies such as Amazon, Google, and Apple have made personalization of offers and the anticipation of the consumers’ needs prerequisites to any successful online engagement.  So, as the delivery economy expands, successful offerings will need to reflect these same characteristics delivering the convenience and speed consumers now consider mandatory as a basis for loyalty. 

One of the notable trends to watch out for in 2020 is that financial institutions are becoming more and more comfortable partnering with fintechs, rather than seeing them as competition. Indeed, to keep pace with the tech innovations driving our society, banks and credit unions wishing to attract and retain consumers must do business with an ever-growing number of vendors – many at various stages of development corporately. This fact of life in the digital age has led to a proliferation of contract types and terms. 

Major League Baseball just completed its All-Star Break, which is traditionally seen as an opportunity to assess the season’s performances to date. We at SRM do something similar, revisiting our annual list of industry trends impacting banks and credit unions’ growth strategies and vendor contract relationships.

It’s been an action-packed first half of 2019. The trends we highlighted at the beginning of 2019 are actively shaping the financial services market and decisions being made by banks and credit unions. Here’s a quick summary to detailed analysis of the topics we’ve provided throughout the year.