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As the need for deposits grows, financial institutions are increasingly turning to the latest technology to help them better reach customers. This episode of GroundBanking explores the benefits of digital branches and the work Data Centers Inc (DCI) is doing to help financial institutions expand their digital offerings. Listen in as guest Sarah Frankhauser (https://www.datacenterinc.com/team/detail/sarah-fankhauser), president and CEO of DCI, and host Terry Ammons (https://www.wipfli.com/about-wipfli/partners-and-associates/terry-ammons), partner at Wipfli, discuss:·        The basics of digital branches, including their benefits and potential downsides·        An introduction to cores, side cores and second cores·        How cores can enhance banks today

Does your financial institution have a niche? And does it align with current trends in banking?There are financial institutions created for specific groups, interests, careers, lifestyles and more — from specific professions to small businesses and even to pet owners — all to serve their account holders’ needs better. Your institution has an opportunity to create products that help bring their financial lives more and more in alignment to their identity.In this episode of GroundBanking, Terry Ammons (https://www.wipfli.com/about-wipfli/partners-and-associates/terry-ammons), partner at Wipfli, talks with Tim Hamilton, founder and CEO of Praxent (https://praxent.com/), about:·      How to create an experience that helps account holders align their institution with their identity·      Current trends in banking and fintech·      Ways for financial institutions to quickly meet high demandWhen it’s time to focus on a more niche targeted group and moving your institution to a new phase

The credit union industry is facing new challenges as members draw on their savings to meet the demands of inflation and job losses. To compete, credit unions have to look towards creative solutions. This episode of GroundBanking covers industry trends and how credit unions can leverage technology to eliminate friction for all members, including the underserved. Listen in as guest Sam Das, managing director of CMFG Ventures (https://www.cmfgventures.com/), and host Terry Ammons (https://www.wipfli.com/about-wipfli/partners-and-associates/terry-ammons), partner at Wipfli, discuss:·      Where can credit unions find fintech and deposit solutions?·      Can fintech solutions create a better customer experience?·      What are some current trends in the credit union space? 

It’s likely that there is more your financial institution can do to help your senior customers manage their everyday expenses. Learn more in this podcast.

Does your financial institution have the right data to drive decisionmaking? Lots of community banks and credit unions lack the information they need in these super competitive times. Measurable data can be key to building relationships and taking care of existing customers, which remains the heart of your business.In this episode of Groundbanking, Terry Ammons, partner at Wipfli (https://www.wipfli.com/about-wipfli/partners-and-associates/terry-ammons), talks with Mac Thompson, founder and president of White Clay (http://www.whiteclay.com/home.html), about the role of data in financial institutions. They discuss:·      How data leads to revenue improvement with clients·      How to obtain more reliable data about client base·      How data deepens relationships with customers

These days, for financial institutions, an increasingly critical part of brand experience is focused on digital. Institutions can no longer depend solely on branches to deliver their brand experience. But these days, an increasingly critical part of that experience is digital. Financial institutions can no longer depend solely on branches to deliver their brand experience.  How to create a positive digital experience is the topic of this episode of GroundBanking, as Terry Ammons, partner at Wipfli, talks with Craig McLaughlin, CEO of Finalytics.ai and co-founder, president and CEO of Extractable. They discuss: * How to deliver experiences digitally * How you can create a unique, individualized experience for customers with different needs * How you can retain a customer’s brand experience when moving to a digital form Listen now to learn how you can get started with digital.

Is your financial institution considering how you can begin offering digital asset and cryptocurrency-related services? Wipfli’s State of Community Banking Report found that 29% of community banks are looking to add crypto to their ecosystem — a big turnaround from just a few years ago. In this episode of GroundBanking, Terry Ammons, partner at Wipfli, talks to Justin Seidl, Founder and CEO of fintech firm Sequoir, and Seth Ollila, COO of Sequoir, about how financial institutions can approach offering crypto services. Specifically, they discuss:  * As an institution, how you can get custody of digital assets, and what are some custodial solutions * Whether institutions should be paying attention to other digital assets such as NFTs * Whether it’s better to offer a wide variety of digital assets and cryptos, or to start small Listen now to learn how to lay the foundation for offering new services to your clients. 

During the pandemic, many non-traditional banks have entered the market to take advantage of consumers’ shift to digital banking. They’re blurring the lines between traditional and non-traditional providers and creating an unprecedented level of financial fragmentation.In response, community banks need to leverage cloud technology to innovate faster, differentiate strategically and compete successfully — all while serving the evolving needs of current customers.In this episode of GroundBanking, Terry Ammons, partner at Wipfli (https://www.wipfli.com/about-wipfli/partners-and-associates/terry-ammons), talks to David Foss, CEO of Jack Henry & Associates (https://www.jackhenry.com/), about how community banks can create a next-generation technology strategy. They discuss how a single, modern, open banking platform can:* Enable easy access to a broad ecosystem of solutions and high-grade, third-party fintechs.* Put banks at the center of their customers’ financial lives and fundamentally define the evolution of the industry.* Help banks build and customize digital products and experiences and incorporate leading-edge services and capabilities.* Help banks provide personal service in moments of need and relevance to sustain their competitive advantage of service and trust in the digital age.Listen now to learn how to lay the foundation for creating your digital banking strategy roadmap.

Your community bank can leverage personalized automation to increase efficiencies in your consumer and mortgage lending practices.How? In this episode of GroundBanking, Terry Ammons, partner at Wipfli, talked to Joseariel Gomez-Ortigoza, Founder & CEO of Shastic (https://shastic.com/), about the company’s cloud-based, AI learning engine. Because the most repetitive and time-consuming part of the loan process is customer communication and document collection, Shastic wanted to figure out how they could turn days into minutes, or even seconds, by drastically reducing manual work and delays. Now, the Shastic platform is saving banks up to 50% of processing costs and improving response time by 33%.Listen in to learn how Shastic:* Processes loans faster with a personalized experience at high volumes and scale* Integrates with existing systems with minimal IT involvement* Transforms time-consuming manual processes

How have financial institutions’ approach to technology changed over the course of the last decade?That’s the question explored in this episode of GroundBanking. Terry Ammons, partner at Wipfli, talks with Brendan McGowan, CTO of Safe Systems (https://www.safesystems.com/), about how technology investments have transformed dramatically in the past few years, shifting from a “necessary evil” to a strategic IT and corporate decision. They discuss:* How every financial institution, regardless of size, should be able to leverage the best technology, compliance and security solutions to serve the financial needs of their community.* How institutions can stay up to date on the current technologies, security risks, regulatory changes and FFIEC guidelines.Listen now to gain a better understanding of how to effectively unlock and leverage these solutions.

Brick and mortar bank branches are not going away any time soon. Their purpose is simply changing. By incorporating more technology into branches, community banks can create a seamless customer experience that keeps them relevant and moving forward.In this episode of GroundBanking, Terry Ammons, partner at Wipfli, and Kimberly Kirk,EVP & Chief Operations Officer at Queensborough National Bank and Trust Co., talk about why digital transformation is equally important for small community financial instructions as it is for large banks. They discuss:•How QNB’s early preparation for digital transformation paid off when the COVID-19pandemic hit.•Why it’s important to embark on digital transformation but also stay true to your roots of intimately serving your communities. •How, despite all the emphasis on digital, QNB just opened a new brick and mortar branch.Listen now to learn how your institution can start your digital transformation journey.

When the concept of digital transformation started gaining steam, many financial institutions realized they did not have the peer group analytics, data or insights into what changes were happening in their sector. How can you gain better data? Terry Ammons, partner at Wipfli, and Curry Pelot, CIO and Founder of FI Navigator, discuss how financial institutions can best allocate their resources to drive performance. In this episode, they cover:• How financial institutions can leverage industry data to identify opportunities, develop strategy and enhance performance.• How innovative analytic sallow instant insight into an institution’s strengths, weaknesses, performance themes, cost/benefit, etc.• How rich data can help institutions look ahead at offerings such as currency exchange, artificial intelligence, chatbots and more.Listen now to learn how your institution can gain a data-driven advantage.