I had a moment this week… a revelation, if you will. This moment inspired me to pitch you the top trend for banks in 2018 as I see it. In attempting to explain the current retail banking landscape to a room of marketers, our CIO, Dinesh Krishnan said:

“Banks have been conditioned to think small.”

Handcuffed by the core

I suddenly got it. Bankers and their strategies have traditionally been shackled by legacy processing and core systems. We’ve reached a point where even basic bundling, segmentation, and pricing strategies become too costly, impractical or even impossible to execute at many banks across the U.S. and the world.

Consider the following

You, as a banker operating under the notion that you want to drive certain profitable client behaviors, want to develop a product bundle. This bundle would increase, what I’ll reluctantly call, the “stickiness” of a client relationship by offering a package of financial products tailored for them. It would consist of products such as checking account, savings, credit cards, and the like.

You suspect that by providing them with incentives for jumping through a few hoops you will also be rewarded with actions like:

• Increased deposits
• Minimum credit spends
• Higher lifetime value
• Insight powered by machine learning to predict the next-best offer

Everyone wins plus, as a fringe benefit, you might also tempt some new clients into the fold as well. Don’t worry, this all does lead to my top trend for banks.

Yeah, that’s going to cost you

As you sit there, counting your digits, you can see that getting this to market is adding up. There are a number of variables to pull this off: getting the right incentives, offering a compelling set of products…the list goes on. You really need to get this right. You also have to ensure that you’re compliant and transparent.

Your brilliant idea suddenly becomes a year-long project. For an internal IT engagement alone, you’re looking at several months and likely a seven figure price tag. So you either forge ahead, fingers crossed that it all works, or your profit-driving idea dies right there on the table. I’ll borrow the line again: you’re conditioned to think small and you don’t even realize it.

There must be a better way for banks

Tacky as it may be, it’s true. There is a better way. What if you could accomplish what normally would take months in as little as a few clicks? You could:

• bring more products to market…faster
• gain the agility test what works, then act on the most profitable outcomes
• move quicker and offer bundles based on trends, seasonality, or regional demand
• provide compliant, transparent billing messages

Right now, bringing a simple bundle to market is a 12 month investment. What if it flops? We see that as a learning opportunity, and with our tools you enable you to act swiftly to bring a new one to market within days, or even change on the fly. Indulge me a little more and read further to discover the top trend for banks below.

The bottom line is your bottom line

With just this one use case (of many), Zafin Cloud enables you to design, build, and execute product bundles at your bank. This allows you to develop pricing strategies that directly impact your bottom line by growing your revenue and reduce overhead. Make more, spend less.

We live in an unprecedented era of change facilitated by digital technology. Why would you let your legacy systems hold you back.

The number one top trend for banks in 2018

As I see it, the top trend for banks is simple. Think bigger.

Not only is what I’ve described possible today, it is a reality and competitive advantage for countless Zafin clients.

Don’t limit your potential by allowing the restrictions that your legacy systems have to impact your ability to execute. Instead consider the virtually limitless possibilities an ability to spin new bundles, new variants, and new products provides. Then, imagine what you could do if you could test all those strategies for viability, drop the under performers, and double down on what resonates.

We’re thinking big at Zafin. Drop us a line and explore the possibilities with us.

About Zafin

Zafin (@zafin) is a leading financial technology provider that enables banks to form richer, more personalized client relationships. Built from the ground up for financial services, its platform empowers banks to enhance revenue and operational efficiency. Founded in 2002, Zafin sits among North America’s top FinTech companies, and is trusted by retail and corporate units at some of the largest banks worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto with global offices, Zafin has a proven track record with a 100 percent client retention rate as validation.

Don Halliwell

Don is the Senior Director, Growth Marketing & Communications at Zafin. As former editor in chief and contributor to numerous publications, Don is passionate about sharing stories. At Zafin he will drive a clear and compelling narrative focused on digital banking and innovation in FinTech. Follow him on Twitter @donnyhalliwell