Research released today from Computer Services, Inc. (CSI) (OTCQX: CSVI), a provider of end-to-end fintech and regtech solutions, suggests growing concerns among bank executives around recruiting and retaining talent as well as fighting cybercrime threats. In the company’s seventh annual Banking Priorities Survey, which collected responses from 279 executives from financial institutions across the nation, bankers ranked cybersecurity threats (26% of respondents) and recruiting/retaining employees (21% of respondents) as their top issues in 2022.
 
The results of CSI’s largest survey yet, with respondents representing diverse bank asset sizes, also provide new insight into how institutions plan to approach pressing issues like compliance, customer expectations and technological innovation. For instance, to enhance customer experience and expand market share, banks plan to prioritize digital tools, especially account opening (51% of respondents), customer relationship management (43% of respondents) and digital lending (36% of respondents).
 
“Customer expectations are raising the bar and banks must proactively respond,” said David Culbertson, CSI president and CEO. “This data, paired with bankers’ intentions to hone existing digital tools, illustrates that as the financial landscape evolves, institutions are embracing a digital-first mindset and striving for digital maturity.”
 
Notably, bank leaders also expect open banking to grow in significance, particularly for digital transformation.
 
This year’s research also reveals how bank executives perceive their own performance against the evolving financial landscape. For example, although executives on average rated their institutions a healthy 4/5 on compliance readiness, regulatory changes remain top of mind, with 14% of respondents naming it their primary concern. Considering the new administration, renewed regulatory focus and upcoming requirements, bankers ranked data privacy (39% of respondents) and CECL (20% of respondents) as the most important regulatory issues to their institution.

Bank and credit union sales practices are broken. Most branch staff are order takers or product pushers while digital channels are simply brochureware. A former big-bank sales executive details the failures and lays out the way to correct them by delivering advice and guidance at scale.

By Evan Siegel, VP Financial Services AI at eGain
(Originally posted on The Financial Brand)

Retail banking sales is in disarray. Sales practices in branch and digital channels produce poor customer experiences and undermine revenue growth. As a former megabank executive who spent 16 years in customer experience and sales strategy roles, I have seen first-hand how difficult it is to build an omnichannel sales model that delivers quality advice and guidance at scale, which is necessary to help people achieve their financial goals for the ultimate customer experience.

The situation is far from hopeless, and advances in AI powered knowledge management systems are making a difference. Yet the ingredients for meaningful change are fundamental in nature.

Before getting to those, it is essential to understand why the banking sales model is broken.

Branches — Expensive Channel Under Pressure
Branch traffic has decreased 35% over the last five years, as reported by NPR news. That lower volume makes it much more difficult for financial institutions to get value from personal bankers who cost on average cost of over $70,000 a year (salary plus benefits) and sit in expensive retail locations. Banks and credit unions justify this expense by expecting strong relationship building and cross-sell through value-add guidance. The reality, however, does not match the strategy, as my mystery shopping experience shows.

Visit The Financial Brand for the rest of this story.

Talent development leader CUES has rolled out an updated CUESNet, offering its membership base an improved user experience. CUESNet is the online community CUES members use to network with each other, post questions, share ideas and documents, and discuss industry topics. Updates to the platform include:

• A new look and feel, offering easy navigation thanks to an updated layout
• Quick Links for one-touch access to popular pages, including Build My Network, Digital Learning, and Complete My Profile
• A Member Help Center to guide CUES members in getting the most value out of their benefits

​“At CUES, we’re always looking for ways to improve our member experience and forward the membership value proposition,” said Jimese Harkley, JD, CUDE, CUES’ VP/Membership. “Our CUESNet improvements were many months in the making, and we’re excited to have them take the new journey. We’re confident our members will see how invested we are in providing a premium networking experience.”

In celebration of the updates to CUESNet, members who complete certain portions of their CUESNet profile will be entered to win a Work from Home Essentials Package. Three winners will receive an adjustable laptop table, blue light glasses, and a video conference lighting kit.

See contest details here.

To learn more about CUES Membership, visit cues.org/membership. Learn more about CUES at cues.org.

​United Federal Credit Union (United) has announced plans to significantly overhaul its overdraft and non-sufficient funds policy by eliminating Overdraft Protection and Non-Sufficient Fund fees and reducing Courtesy Pay fees for all Members. 
 
“Our motivation for eliminating and reducing fees associated with overdraft is simple – it’s the right thing to do,” said United President/CEO Terry O’Rourke. “These fee changes are consistent with our core value as a credit union of people helping people. Those who rely on courtesy pay are often the ones least able to afford it. We’re taking a stance to support our Members’ financial wellness and provide options that help them avoid fees.”
 
United’s new overdraft policy will take effect April 1, 2022 eliminating Overdraft Protection and non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees and slashing the Courtesy Pay fee from $35 to $20. Reducing and eliminating fees associated with overdraft aligns with United’s mission of enhancing their Members’ lives through a wide variety of financial tools and solutions.
 
Overdraft Protection is a service for Members to automatically transfer funds from one account to another to cover an overdraft. United will continue to offer this benefit, while eliminating the $10 transfer fee. NSF fees, sometimes referred to as “bounced-check” fees, are currently assessed when a transaction (like a check or preauthorized transfer) is presented for payment in an amount that exceeds the available balance in an account and the transaction isn’t paid. United will continue to deny payment in these cases, but without charging a $35 fee. Members who choose to overdraw their account using Courtesy Pay can still utilize this service for a reduced fee of $20 from $35.
 
“We have the tools to help Members avoid overdrawing their accounts,” continued O’Rourke. “We also know that life happens, and when it does, we’re here to help with affordable overdraft solutions. We want all of our Members to feel welcome and accepted at United with options to meet their unique financial needs.”
 
United Members can look forward to more details and updated overdraft and non-sufficient funds policies over the coming months.

Leading AI-powered credit decision platform provider, Scienaptic announced today that 4Front Credit Union has selected its AI-based underwriting platform to strengthen the credit union’s loan portfolio by making advanced loan decisions using artificial intelligence.

4Front Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative in Traverse City serving members across Michigan. The credit union has $898 million in assets with a member base of 94,000 and counting. 4Front aims at the financial well-being of its members and offers exclusive financial products for personal loans, business financing and wealth management.

​The credit union also aims at providing financial literacy to its members. The deployment of Scienaptic’s AI-powered loan decisioning platform will further its reach throughout the state, providing its members with better access to credit by approving more loans, faster.

“At 4Front Credit Union, we believe in simple and smart banking. Therefore, it’s imperative that we bring the latest technology to continuously serve our members better,” said Daniel Baker, SVP of Lending at 4Front Credit Union. “Scienaptic's industry leading underwriting decisioning platform will allow us to reach more members who have been affected by the pandemic in the last two years. The technology will help us know our members better and automate the loan decisioning process, allowing us to approve more loans and offer an enhanced member experience.”

“We are thrilled to have 4Front as our partner. Our motto has always been to transform lives and this partnership will do just that for the people of Michigan,” said Pankaj Jain, President of Scienaptic. “Our cutting-edge technology is made to empower borrowers so they have better access to credit but also lenders so they can lend with more confidence.”

Mahalo Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of online and mobile banking solutions for credit unions, has announced the hiring of 20-year credit union and fintech expert Ken Kondo as Vice President of Software Development. Kondo will lead the organization’s business analysts and developers, enabling them to advance their strategic initiatives. He looks to challenge processes with the practice of Kaizen to create a high performing team and environment.
 
In his new position, Kondo’s short-term goals are to help lead Mahalo’s software development practice into the future with scale, while continually modernizing the member experience. Long-term, he plans to keep the organization’s roadmap full of great ideas in collaboration with clients and continued, relentless research in the marketplace.
 
One of the many great things about Mahalo that attracted Kondo is that the company strongly believes in collaboration. With great innovative partners collaborating, he believes they can solve more financial technology problems together.
 
“The competition used to just be banks and community banks,” he says. “Today, that has grown to include neobanks, the “Big 5” (banks), and fintechs. Keeping the digital experience fresh and modern for members will do a lot to help credit unions compete well into the future.”
 
Some of the issues Kondo would like to help solve revolve around financial wellness and education. Through analytics and features that inform members, he sees these issues being accomplished in a fun and meaningful way.
 
“Ultimately, having the opportunity to work with some of my favorites like Jim Stickley, Ron Murray, Denny Howell, and Gina Kovacs made this opportunity a no brainer,” he says. “Mahalo is tightly coupled with the credit union movement and ‘People Helping People,’ which is important to me – as well as their values of being secure, transparent, innovative, agile, collaborative, and respectful that all foster the perfect work environment.”

​Alaska USA Federal Credit Union is pleased to announce the selection of a new executive, and the promotions of five current executives.
 
Dan Byron has been selected as the vice president, Payment Technologies. Byron joins Alaska USA Federal Credit Union with more than 12 years of experience in the payment and card technologies industry and holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Metropolitan State University.
 
Clinton Hess has been promoted to senior vice president, Business Intelligence. Hess has been with Alaska USA for more than 14 years, most recently as vice president, Financial Analysis. Hess holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alaska, as well as a master’s degree in business administration from Alaska Pacific University.
 
David Vanzant has been promoted to senior vice president, Enterprise Security. Vanzant has been with Alaska USA for more than five years, most recently as vice president, Enterprise Security. Vanzant holds a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from Eastern New Mexico University and a master’s degree in homeland security/strategic studies from Marine Corps University.
 
Julie Moore has been promoted to senior vice president, Mortgage Operations. Moore has been with Alaska USA for more than 12 years, most recently as vice president, Mortgage Administration and Compliance. Moore holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis on accounting, and a master’s degree from Eastern Washington University.
 
Leisa DeYarmon has been promoted to senior vice president, Special Credits. DeYarmon has been with Alaska USA for more than eight years, most recently as vice president, Special Credits Collections.
 
Athar Nazir has been promoted to senior vice president, Consumer Lending Operations. Nazir has been with Alaska USA for more than nine years, most recently as vice president, Special Credits Operations. Nazir holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in finance.

Hanscom Federal Credit Union donated $1,000 worth of new toiletries and personal care items to the Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service (VAVS) in support of the VA Boston Healthcare System’s Brockton campus. The Brockton VA Medical Center offers both short- and long-term care to veterans, including inpatient and outpatient mental health, medical and nursing care, rehabilitation, and hospice care.

The credit union has a longstanding commitment to supporting the health and welfare of our nation’s active duty service members and veterans. Emotional, physical, and social health are all crucial parts of a person’s wellbeing, all of which are being challenged even more as the pandemic continues to cause illness and strain resources.  “Caring for someone goes far beyond just making sure their body is healthy, and these care items are one small part of that,” said John A. Delcore, Hanscom FCU’s chairman of the board. “We continue to strive to show our veterans and their families that we remember them and care about them, especially as they heal.”

Toiletries and personal items such as shaving cream, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, toothpaste, socks, shoes, and undergarments are appreciated by patients at the hospital, who often find it difficult to obtain the personal care items they need during their stay. Among the most sought after by VAVS for the Brockton VA Medical Center are clothing items as they are infrequently donated. More information about donating to the VA Boston Healthcare System is available at https://www.va.gov/boston-health-care/work-with-us/volunteer-or-donate/.

Speaker lineup for annual event includes Drew Brees and Jewel, among others

PSCU, the nation’s premier payments credit union service organization (CUSO), has announced an impressive lineup of speakers for Member Forum 2022, which will be held April 26-28 at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from NFL legend Drew Brees, singer-songwriter Jewel and author Anders Sörman-Nilsson, among other notable speakers.
 
The theme for PSCU’s Member Forum 2022, “Transforming Tomorrow Together,” encourages attendees to share ideas, insights and inspiration, while working together to better shape the future of the credit union and payments industries. Select sessions will be recorded and provided online after the event to both in-person and virtual attendees.
 
“We look forward to bringing together PSCU Owner credit unions, team members, industry partners, vendors and more for a productive, safe and fun event,” said Dean Young, EVP, chief experience officer at PSCU. “Following two years of virtual Member Forum events, we are eager to share insights and diverse perspectives to help inform the decisions credit union leaders are making today that will transform the future of our industry. From entertainment to world-class restaurants, Las Vegas offers something for everyone, and we cannot wait to see everyone there.”
 
PSCU Member Forum 2022 is scheduled to include:
 

• CEO Keynote Presentation: PSCU President and CEO Chuck Fagan will share updates on how PSCU’s accelerated transformation and ongoing investments have helped its credit unions deliver a world-class member experience in this dynamic pandemic environment, as we work to transform tomorrow together.
• Keynote Presentations:
• Drew Brees is the former quarterback of the New Orleans Saints and MVP of Super Bowl XLIV. In his 20 seasons in the NFL, Brees was elected to 13 Pro Bowls and named 2006 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. In 2003, he and his wife Brittany established the Brees Dream Foundation, which has contributed $50 million to improve the quality of life for cancer patients and provide care, education and opportunities for children and families in need. Currently, Brees is an analyst for NBC Sunday Night Football.
• Jewel is an award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist who has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and earned 26 music award nominations, including The Grammys, American Music Awards, MTV Awards, VH1 Awards, Billboard Music Awards and Country Music Awards, winning eight total awards. Her lifelong passion for mental health and mindfulness have led her to offer free mindfulness exercises and an online mental health community.
• Anders Sörman-Nilsson, author of “Seamless,” “Digilogue” and “Thinque Funky,” is a global futurist and innovation strategist who helps leaders decode trends, decipher what is next and turn provocative questions into proactive strategies. He has advised clients such as Apple, Cisco, Mercedes-Benz, Hilton and more to help turn research into foresight and business impact.
• Linda Kirkpatrick is president of North America for Mastercard, overseeing the company’s customer-facing activities in the U.S. and Canada. Having held several leadership roles at the company since she joined in 1997, Kirkpatrick is a key spokesperson and thought leader in the payments technology space.
• Credit Union Executive Panel: Financial services veteran Mark Sievewright, founder and CEO of Sievewright & Associates, will moderate a panel of credit union executives who will share their insights on the latest industry trends. 
• Breakout Sessions: Gain valuable insights from PSCU thought leaders and industry experts on topics ranging from digital strategies, fraud trends and risk mitigation, faster payments, digital and data convergence, portfolio growth and optimization and more.
• Solution Showcase: Experience on-demand demonstrations of PSCU’s innovative product and solution portfolio.

 
Registration for Member Forum 2022 is now open. An “early bird” rate is available through Jan. 28, with general registration scheduled to close on April 1 at 5 p.m. ET. For more information or to register for Member Forum 2022, visit pscu.com/memberforum2022.
 
The safety of all Member Forum 2022 attendees is a top priority and PSCU will be following all local and federal safety guidelines in place at the time of the event.