FinXTech Intel 2023 report final 2 - Flipbook - Page 8
START WITH STRATEGY
By: Laura Alix
USAA Federal Savings Bank was among the first banks,
technology officers and the rest of the bank’s leadership, as
if not the first bank, to launch mobile deposit capture to its
well as decisions around staffing and prioritization of differ-
customer base in 2009, long before such technology was
ent problems.
widespread.
A little over a third of bankers who participated in Bank
In the years since, $111 billion USAA has invested heavily in
Director’s 2022 Technology Survey expressed concerns that
its mobile banking app, enabling its customers to complete a
their bank was unable to identify specific technologies that
range of banking transactions, open new accounts, chat with
would help achieve its strategic goals. A quarter also said
a virtual assistant, apply for a loan or start an insurance
they were concerned about an inability to identify specific
claim. The San Antonio bank earns consistently high marks
companies or resources needed to achieve those goals.
among its peers for its mobile and digital banking offerings,
often topping far larger brands like JPMorgan Chase & Co.
in customer satisfaction ratings.
“Rather than thinking of technology as a pillar or a piece of
your strategy, you should come up with those strategic objectives. And then technology is a ribbon that goes throughout
Moreover, USAA has done this in an almost entirely digital
those strategies,” says John Behringer, a financial institutions
environment. Because its core customer base — deployed mil-
leader and risk consulting partner at RSM US LLP.
itary members and their families — tends to move frequently,
the bank has barely any branches, and has poured significant
resources into its digital offerings and customer service capabilities. Its core market is a small one, but keeping their specific needs at the center of its strategy has worked to USAA’s
benefit, says Ron Shevlin, managing director and chief
research officer at Cornerstone Advisors. He likens USAA’s
strategy to a bull’s-eye, with deployed military members in
the center, and retired service members and their family comprising the outer rings.
“They designed everything about their business as if they
“A CIO or CTO, even just talking to the
executive team, has to translate the tech
speak into business operational impact
and dollars and cents: ‘What’s this going
to cost us, and what’s this going to do,’
without going into mind-numbing levels
of detail about the technology.”
were serving the active deployed military member,” Shevlin
says. “The reality is that by serving the bull’s-eye, they’re able
Ron Shevlin, Cornerstone Advisors
to attract and serve the outer rings.”
That’s why Shevlin cites USAA as an example of what it
means for a bank to have a strong digital strategy. When it
comes to financial technology, a successful strategy begins
before thinking about specific technologies or even using the
word “technology,” Shevlin and others say.
Community banks may lack the talent they need to set up
successful technology partnerships. Many community bankers
also wear multiple hats, so they may not be able to focus on
partnerships. Another crucial conversation to have around
this time is how much staff the bank can dedicate to the
Instead, banks can start by thinking about their core audi-
success of this project. Under-resourcing these projects from
ence and how they can differentiate their organization in the
the beginning can complicate the rest of the work — like due
marketplace, and using those principles as a guiding North
diligence, implementation and continued oversight — leading
Star. In turn, that can help communications between chief
to underwhelming and unsatisfactory results for the institu-
6 | FINXTECH INTELLIGENCE REPORT
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