As your financial institution compares tools, technologies and partnerships that will help you scale in the coming years, there are many aspects to weigh when evaluating a potential vendor. Here are five important factors to keep in mind as you consider changes for your financial institution.
Agility
As our digital and economic landscape continues to shift, financial institutions must be prepared to evolve alongside a society that expects instant results and the frictionless ease of automation. Post-pandemic, consumers are less likely than ever to go to a physical branch, so a robust online presence is a vital component to banking. With the market constantly in flux, choosing an agile vendor who can grow and adapt with you through an ever-evolving market is essential.
Efficiency
The more your technology can do for you, the more you can do for your clients with the time you’ll save by eliminating standard paper processes. Rekeying data manually with numerous handoffs increases the likelihood for error, while an efficient automated system reduces the number of errors and decreases time spent re-entering data in multiple locations. Choosing a vendor that helps increase accountability, reduce regulatory preparation time, increase staff productivity and reduce loan cycle times will benefit your financial institution’s overall profitability.
Implementation Process
A top concern when choosing a new software solution is the implementation process. What kind of training is required for your employees? How big is the learning curve? Is there a robust customer support department ready to help your team overcome any unexpected challenges? Are there additional training resources available? As you review your options, consider choosing a vendor that has additional resources post-implementation available, such as customer support services and readily available assistance to address any issues your team may face.
Reputation
Reading case studies and testimonials is vital to the selection process. These stories help you understand how the product you’re considering works, how it adds value to your institution’s daily processes and how your peers are leveraging technology in new and exciting ways. Testimonies from comparable peers are invaluable when considering the reputation of a technology vendor and how they might alleviate pain points for your institution.
Single Platform
Changing how you’ve always done things—spreadsheets, Excel files, faxing and scanning documents—can be daunting. Change is difficult, but it doesn’t have to be painful. When you review vendors, choose someone who can cut down multiple avenues of re-entry and processing. A vendor with a single end-to-end platform can save you time and money, allowing you more time with customers and less time with screens. Being able to log into once instead of in multiple platforms allows you to see the entire the lifecycle of your products and get to “yes” faster.
As you evaluate vendors, analyze technologies and look to the future of your financial institution, it’s vital to ensure that your next partner can not only meet, but exceed, your needs. These five factors are a great starting place, but they’re just the beginning.
