Community financial institutions are no longer competing with just each other. In an increasingly all-digital world, they’re competing with every other app and service that facilitates some sort of financial transaction. If these institutions don’t innovate to stay ahead of the curve, they risk losing relevance – especially with younger generations. In this episode of the The Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Benjamin Maxim, Chief of Digital Strategy & Innovation at Michigan ...
Apr 07, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 66
Many new fintechs started out focused on a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model. They’re not accustomed to many of the technological constraints of the banking industry and, just as important, they’re unfamiliar with the language of the industry. This can lead to break-downs in communication between fintechs and FIs, even though they very much need each other right now. In this episode of The Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Lisa Gold Schier, the Chief Strategy Officer at ASA Technolo...
Mar 24, 2023•58 min•Ep. 65
Collaboration and cooperation in the face of competition. It’s a concept that both financial institutions and fintechs must embrace to survive. In this episode of The Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar was joined by Danny Payne of Jack Henry. The two discussed how competing fintechs can share a common forum and learn from each other to meet their users' specific needs. Payne and DeTar also discussed digital transformation and the challenges community financial institutions face in approach...
Mar 10, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 64
It’s easy to think of banking as a numbers industry. After all, that’s what a dollar is: a numerical representation of buying power. However, as our guest in this episode of The Digital Banking Podcast made clear, banking is really a people industry. It’s people working at financial institutions helping the people who bank there to better their financial lives. In this episode of The Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Kareem Refaay, the managing director of The London Institute of...
Feb 24, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 63
The reason it’s so hard to define digital transformation is because it means – or should mean – something different to every financial institution. In other words, the finish line may be the same for everyone, but the starting line will always be different. Sometimes simply adding a new layer of technology will work. Other times, you’ll need to step back and consider completely reengineering a process based on the availability of new technology. The key is to always be mindful of your accounthol...
Feb 08, 2023•59 min•Ep. 62
There are many ways for financial institutions to communicate with their accountholders in the digital age. With so many options, it’s easy mistake quantity for quality. Effective communication is still a matter of listening mindfully to the people you serve and intelligently providing them with the information that’s pertinent to them. The only thing that’s changed is how that’s accomplished. In this episode of The Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Gregg Hammerman, the CEO of La...
Jan 27, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 61
During his 30+ years marketing technology of all sorts, Don MacDonald worked for Intel, Qualcomm, Fiserv, and MX. As a result, the insights he shared on this episode of The Digital Banking Podcast are beyond valuable as they help banking professionals mitigate fear and embrace change. MacDonald shared Andy Grove's philosophy and how it shaped his thinking, the lessons he learned from bees and believes could benefit everyone, and how taking the customer-first approach and providing a personalized...
Jan 13, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 60
Do financial institutions still need branches? Is digital transformation more of a cultural shift than a technological shift? According to one industry insider, the answer to both questions is no . In this episode of The Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Ron Shevlin, the Chief Research Officer at Cornerstone Advisors. Shevlin and DeTar explored the world of fintech and tech trends in banking. They also discussed the digital transformation of FIs and what's going on in banking in ...
Dec 30, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 59
In this episode of The Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Brett Wooden, the SVP of Innovation at FTSI. They talked about the benefits of integrating AI into banking technology, the importance of thinking outside the box, and why you need to create a seamless and convenient digital experience for your accountholders.
Dec 16, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 58
Fintechs are no longer the enemy. They’re gradually moving into the role of trusted technology partner. The sooner you recognize and accept that, the better off your financial institution will be. In this episode of The Digital Banking Podcast, ASA founder Landon Glenn and host Josh DeTar discussed digital transformation and the vast number of fintech launches in recent years. They discuss the danger these companies present to traditional FIs, but also the challenges fintechs face when coming to...
Dec 02, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 57
Opinions are like … well, you know the saying. And that’s all customer feedback is – opinions. Some feedback is downright transformative, other feed back not so much. However, because it comes from your customers, you must respond to all of it in some measure. The trick is determining the appropriate response for any given feedback. You can’t overreact, but you can’t underreact, either. In this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Catherine Ordeman, Head of Banking Pa...
Nov 18, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 56
Traditionally, it’s always been your employees who are responsible for the “front line.” In the wake of digital transformation, has technology taken over responsibility for the front line? The short answer is no. Technology is just a new tool that can help your employees better serve your accountholders. Thus, your employees must be well-versed in the use of that technology. In this episode of The Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar was joined by John Findlay, the CEO of LemonadeLXP. The tw...
Nov 04, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 55
Each new voice on The Digital Banking Podcast brings with it a fresh perspective that adds to the conversation, and this installment is no different. In this episode of The Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Dan Black, Strategic Partnerships and Accounts at Boost.ai. The two discussed open banking and the age of conversational AI. They also covered the conversion to digital banking, ways of communicating with users, and the evolution of fraud in financial services....
Oct 21, 2022•56 min•Ep. 54
Are fintechs your financial institution’s enemy or its savior. Or something in between. The correct answer is, all of the above. In this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Don Shafer, the co-founder and chief evangelist at Quilo. Among other things, the two discussed how fintechs generally fall into one of three different “buckets.” They also looked at people's expectations from banking and tech, as well as why you shouldn’t close your branches....
Oct 07, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 53
Think you understand cryptocurrency? More important, do you understand what it means to your community financial institution? Probably not as well as this episode’s guest, Lou Grilli, Sr. Innovation Specialist at PSCU. Host Josh DeTar dug deep as Grilli explained crypto and shared how it will revolutionize financial services.
Sep 23, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 52
The core philosophy of credit unions is people helping people and enabling underbanked communities that don't have access to traditional financial institutions. While technology can play an important role in effectively reaching those communities, there will inevitably be some members of the community that don’t have access to modern technology. Therein lies the rub. In this episode of Digital Banking Podcast, Kristi Kenworthy, Managing Director of Dora Financial, a CUSO of credit union USALLIAN...
Sep 09, 2022•59 min•Ep. 51
George Estrada, Principal Strategic Advisor for Credit Unions at AWS, emphasizes that listening to the needs of your accountholders and community members is very important to retain them. In this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, Estrada and host Josh DeTar considered the relationship between a credit union (CU) and its members. They discussed the importance of user experience, the positive impact of innovative external sources, and how to develop a data strategy that protects your data as...
Aug 26, 2022•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 50
It’s a constant balancing act for community financial institutions. If you use all your software ”out of the box,” you risk looking just like everybody else. If you customize your environment too heavily, you can end up with a support nightmare that none of your vendors can help with. In this episode of Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Bill Kinnelly, the CEO of KGA Advisory, LLC. They discussed the pitfalls of being on a customization island, the potential problems with developm...
Aug 12, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 49
Change is difficult for everyone – for some more than others. Communication – whether to employees or account holders – can make change much more palatable. In this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, Melissa Kopp got into the need for communication in the corporate world and pointed out the importance of fintech for increasing an FI’s speed to market. She and host Josh DeTar discussed changes in consumer payments, the risks of this process, and fintech's role in all of this.
Jul 29, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 48
In this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Sabeh Samaha, President and CEO of Samaha & Associates. They chatted about what Samaha called “the speed of impulse,” the importance of functionality, beauty, and hospitality in banking, and the future of banking in the metaverse.
Jul 15, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 47
A successful product is unique, or at least arguably better than its competitors. However, that in itself is not enough to guarantee success. And a seamless, frictionless, transparent user experience is table stakes today. To win big, you need to humanize the experience and introduce human elements into your product. In this episode of The Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Sarah Sprague Gerber, the Director of Product at MoneyLion. They talked about building trust through an erro...
Jul 01, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 46
Tom Shen boasts a long and fabled career in financial technology spanning some 40 years. Some of the companies he’s been associated with, like Software Dynamics and S1, are long forgotten. Others like Digital Insight and Maluzai Software are still fresh in our memories. Today Shen is on the board of two financial technology rising stars: Sensibill and Zsuite Technologies. In short, he can back up his opinions with plenty of experience. In this episode of The Digital Banking Podcast, Shen discuss...
Jun 17, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 45
It’s no secret that tech giants like Amazon and Apple are driving consumer expectations for all digital interactions – including digital interactions with your financial institution. The problem is that many systems still in use at community FIs are still based on what one might call “legacy technology.” Simply stated, they were architected before Amazon was even a glimmer in Jeff Bezos’ eye. This problem is not insurmountable, but it does need to be aggressively addressed. In this episode of Th...
Jun 03, 2022•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 44
Digital transformation isn’t a project – it’s a never-ending pursuit. What’s more, digital transformation is cultural as much as it is technological. There are no easy answers and there are no shortcuts. In this episode of Digital Banking Podcast, Jeff Keltner, the Senior Vice President of Business Development at Upstart, joined host Josh DeTar to discuss the impact of digital transformation on the growth of community FIs. He also explained why failures are as critical as successes and how achie...
May 20, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 43
Digital transformation is more than deploying some new technology. Effective digital transformation requires financial institutions to think differently and act differently. This fundamental shift begins at the brand level. While some institutions may see their brand as chiseled in stone, a brand must constantly evolve. That’s truer now more than ever. In this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Amy Herbig, founder and CEO of The BA Group. DeTar and Herbig discussed ...
May 06, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 42
By now it should be clear to all community financial institutions that digital transformation is both imperative and a never-ending endeavor. Technology keeps changing, which means that consumer expectations keep changing, which means that FIs must keep changing just to keep up. It’s not easy. In this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, Josh DeTar welcomed Jenn Markus, the Director of Technology Partnerships at Glia. two discussed how companies can engage consumers and lead them to successfu...
Apr 22, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 41
It’s impossible to ignore the constant beating of the digital transformation drum. Where many financial institution executives struggle is trying to figure out exactly what digital transformation means and where to start. Our guest on this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast broker digital transformation down to four manageable components: people, technology, data, and processes. In this episode of Digital Banking Podcast, we hear this and more from Mark Sievewright, the founder and CEO of Si...
Apr 08, 2022•59 min•Ep. 40
There’s general agreement that digital transformation is an imperative for forward-thinking financial institutions. Where there’s not always agreement is in what “digital transformation” actually means. Unfortunately, some FI executives conflate digital transformation with simply buying and deploying new tech products on top of their old tech products. To be clear, digital transformation is not about buying technology; it’s about a paradigm shift in how FIs view themselves and what they do. In t...
Mar 25, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 39
Community financial institutions are unique in that they have high-touch relationships and services built into their culture. But if they want to keep pace with – or even outpace – the mega banks, they must be willing to use that uniqueness to their benefit and take some risks, too. That was the message from Bryce Deeney, the co-founder and CEO of equipifi. In this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar talked to Deeney about the importance of providing an exceptional user exper...
Mar 11, 2022•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 38
Credit unions nationwide have joined forces to help raise money for kids in hospitals, and their results have been significant. Of course, this is a need that never goes away. In this special episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, Josh DeTar welcomed Nick Coleman, the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals). They discussed Credit Unions for Kids (CU4Kids), the way this mission brings credit unions together, and how CU4Kids became the fifth larg...
Feb 25, 2022•59 min•Ep. 37
