ABA Banking Journal - April 2007 - (Page 30)
Community Banking Exhibit 8 Exhibit 9 Did your bank make any change in its insurance coverages because of remote capture? of a ten-bank holding company, provides remote capture as part of a companywide treasury management services group. The group offers expanded services in all of the company’s markets. “Treasury management is one of our main lines of business,” explains Butler. His own bank credits remote deposit for bringing in a great deal of new business, including accounts representing $44 million in out-of-market deposits. These are customers the bank had relationships with before, but not their accounts. “We weren’t able to bank them before,” explains Butler, “but now we can with this product.” Goldleaf’s Charles Potts argues for the cash management approach to remote capture, for two chief reasons. First, taking only a deposit-gathering viewpoint of the service limits the bank’s perspective, he believes. The bank is pushing reduced courier costs, convenience, and time savings, all good things, but not the whole picture. To a degree, the banks are getting what they ask for, a limited gain. Second, Potts says bankers trained to push cash management and treasury services come from a more aggressive mindset, typically, than bankers raised in the deposit mindset, which originates in the branch. While in-bank employees do more selling than ever, these days, Potts believes the cash management force remains more sales oriented, “and you need to What antifraud measures does your bank use before accepting a firm for remote capture?* We restrict the service only to well-known customers. 73.1% Yes 7.7% Considering changes now 15.4% No 76.9% We rely on our BSA customer identification program. 42.3% We perform a credit check. 34.6% *Banks could pick multiple reasons put this service into the hands of people who sell.” He says that among his firm’s own customers, those who run remote capture sales out of the cash management side consistently enjoy better adoption rates than others. He says this is especially the case when it comes to prospecting for new business, which amounts to taking it from others. “I do believe that there is a ‘land grab’ rush out there, to lock up those business customers,” says Potts. “If you don’t get your scanner on their desks, somebody else will put theirs there.” Selling remote capture Community banks involved in remote capture have differing philosophies and approaches to marketing remote capture. “The service sells itself,” says First Bank of Baldwin’s Bob Wurtzel. The banker doesn’t mean that literally—he’s referring to the innate appeal of remote capture. So, the bank has found it helpful to assist things along by encouraging internal referrals, using some direct mail, and putting out lists of frequently asked questions. At First Dakota, outreach includes promotion of the product through a company newsletter aimed at ag-banking customers. In Irvine, Calif., CommerceWest Bank, N.A., was already dealing with 85% of its business customers’ check deposits remotely—that is, through courier service—and the bank found that part of the appeal to customers of remote capture is getting away from having to deal with the couriers, no matter what the precise geography. “They love the fact that they don’t have to wait for the courier anymore,” am, my assistant is “with” me. It is as if I never left the office. She is able to contact me concerning any issue that she may need to address, allowing me to hear from her and address her concern. Often this is without even needing to leave a meeting, through the use of a Blackberry. If she needs me to step out of a meeting to call her, another officer, or a director, she can alert me without disturbing the others present. The efficiency with which she helps me has increased and continues to do so. 30 APRIL 2007/ABA BANKING JOURNAL The biggest evolution, as I see it, has been in the fact that there is virtually no delay in her addressing situations that need my input. This, in turn, has virtually eliminated any downtime she may have had previous to e-mails and Blackberries. In addition, voice mail and cell phones have given me the ability to hear any messages left by customers, officers, and directors, and to address them quickly, without her having to stop what she is doing to call me, give me a message, and re- lay a message for me. Let’s look at this from the viewpoint of time. My assistant’s time is not wasted at all due to technology today. She is able to work effectively and efficiently, and handle matters whether I am in the office next to her or at a meeting in California. Her tasks are not interrupted by having to wait for me to return regardless of where I am. I am fortunate that my assistant has mastered all the electronic tools at her disposal and is able to utilize them to the fullest. BJ
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