Independent Banker - May 2019 - 18

PORTFOLIO
what I absolutely have to deliver to market to remain competitive, "
Giorgio explains. " And then, what are the new
innovative things that are coming? What are some of the
enhancements to my existing solutions that I can deliver
to market? "
Answering these questions leads back to the bank's corporate
strategy, naturally driving connections between
the two. And that link engenders another benefi t: it helps
achieve buy-in. By dovetailing the payments strategy with
the strategic plan, all members of the executive committee
see how payments factor into the bigger picture, which is
crucial for successful execution.
" I have seen it time and again to where a department
gets a strategy approved, and they need to work across
other departments. Those other departments don't deem
that particular project as high priority. That's what kills
most of these, that you don't have buy-in across the board, "
Morrison says. " At the end of the day, you have to have the
executive team and all of the other key players completely
in on the digital payments strategy to get it done and get it
done on time. "
Gearing up for the future
And now is the time. Today's market demonstrates that
community banks need to prioritize, establish and update
payments strategies to remain competitive in the space. In
fact, Aite Group's January report, Top 10 Trends in Retail
Banking & Payments, 2019: Disruption Is the Norm, cautions
that this is the year where faster payments will become
table stakes and alternative payments will overtake cards,
among other shake-ups. This expediting evolution makes
it all the more imperative that banks are grounded in their
payments vision.
" I think the most important thing is coming up with a
strategy that's realistic and putting together a roadmap, "
Giorgio concludes.
" There are going to be things that come along from time
to time where you have to shift gears, but for the most part,
if you can develop your strategy and stick to it, that's where
you're going to have the most success. "
Colleen Morrison is a writer in Virginia.
Next up: Which payments are right for you?
This is the first in a series of articles about building
a smart and eff ective payments strategy for your
community bank. In our June issue, we'll look at
how to decide which new payments technologies
are right for your bank-and your customers.
Your payments strategy roadmap
ICBA is partnering with Aite Group
to develop an interactive tool to
help all ICBA members create
custom payments strategies.
Grounded in a thorough market
overview, this resource will off er
a responsive Q&A format that
provides a custom approach to
support community banks' digital
payments eff orts. It will cover four
main steps:
1. Evaluate your position in the
market. Questions will identify
key environmental factors like the
size of institution and the number
of customers and branches.
2. Take stock of your existing
offerings and identify
gaps. After this initial
appraisal, the tool will
walk you through a
series of questions that
ask about your digital
payments products and
plan near-term changes.
3. Assess your current and
future customer needs. Once
current off erings are evaluated,
you will share more about your
clients and target audiences.
4. Create a realistic roadmap to
take you into the future. Based
on this input, the tool will off er
a model and identify where
you fall on the digital payments
development
spectrum. A
corresponding
report will off er
recommendations
on next steps as you
continue to build
your bank's digital
payments infrastructure.
" Community banks recognize
the need for a payments strategy,
but some don't know where to
begin, " says Tina Giorgio of ICBA
Bancard. " We're hoping this tool
will help bring some clarity to the
whole payments strategy. "
ICBA will release the tool
online soon.
18 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q May 2019
Independent Banker - May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - May 2019
