My Articles
How to Find Success in Any Market with Just 10 Long-Term MegaTre
Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels
![]()
SMB Accounts Are the Bullseye for Growth
With growing competition from megabanks and big regionals, community FIs need to leverage their ability to attract new retail and commercial customers.
We hear this all the time and understand the challenges of going up against these Goliaths with just a sling and stone.
But as in the original story of David and Goliath, it’s also possible for community FIs to take advantage of their historic value drivers with a unique, focused strategy that expands SMB and retail business.
The Current Cha...
We hear this all the time and understand the challenges of going up against these Goliaths with just a sling and stone.
But as in the original story of David and Goliath, it’s also possible for community FIs to take advantage of their historic value drivers with a unique, focused strategy that expands SMB and retail business.
The Current Cha...
Photo by maitree rimthong on Pexels
![]()
Checks Don’t Matter, Primary Checking Accounts Do
The Federal Reserve says check writing has declined almost 75% in the last 25 years. There were more than 4 billion checks written in 2000. Today, that number is around 750 million.
And recently we’ve started to see both banks and retailers start to cool on accepting these standards of a bygone era. Giant retailer Target announced it’s going to stop taking personal checks at its stores. And megabank JPMorgan Chase has also had some troubles managing checks in as a paper check deposit scam went...
And recently we’ve started to see both banks and retailers start to cool on accepting these standards of a bygone era. Giant retailer Target announced it’s going to stop taking personal checks at its stores. And megabank JPMorgan Chase has also had some troubles managing checks in as a paper check deposit scam went...
Take Financial Wellness Beyond “Nice to Have” Features
The last fintech wave was decidedly driven, like today’s burst of interest in AI, by the follow-on effects of the new digital age that has altered the entire marketplace in the past 20 years.
We saw it hit retail first. And now it has landed squarely in retail and SMB banking.
While that wave was moving slowly for many years, it still managed to take many community banks and credit unions by surprise.
One of the biggest attractions of neobanks and digital banks has been their focus on providing...
We saw it hit retail first. And now it has landed squarely in retail and SMB banking.
While that wave was moving slowly for many years, it still managed to take many community banks and credit unions by surprise.
One of the biggest attractions of neobanks and digital banks has been their focus on providing...
How to Win More SMB Business in This Market
According to a recent Jack Henry article, the top 25 banks in the US account for 84% of primary banking relationships with SMBs.
And community and regional FIs’ share of primary SMB banking relationships are declining due to megabanks and digital banks expanding their market share - from 28% in 2018 to 16% in 2022. That’s a 43% drop, and that should be a clear signal that community FIs need to rethink and revitalize their SMB checking products before it’s too late.
The biggest challenge is comm...
And community and regional FIs’ share of primary SMB banking relationships are declining due to megabanks and digital banks expanding their market share - from 28% in 2018 to 16% in 2022. That’s a 43% drop, and that should be a clear signal that community FIs need to rethink and revitalize their SMB checking products before it’s too late.
The biggest challenge is comm...
The Great Deposit Race: Optimizing the “Less is More Strategy”
Flat Fee Checking Risk and Rewards
And one proven way to do this is using flat fee checking accounts that offer a subscription model with value-added benefits. But changing checking products to a simplified system with flat fee products and possibly a free product and a high-interest one, may mean losing some accounts.
For example, on average 34% of checking accounts at the typical community FI are non-performing and that has a significant effect on overall performance, especially when new depo...
And one proven way to do this is using flat fee checking accounts that offer a subscription model with value-added benefits. But changing checking products to a simplified system with flat fee products and possibly a free product and a high-interest one, may mean losing some accounts.
For example, on average 34% of checking accounts at the typical community FI are non-performing and that has a significant effect on overall performance, especially when new depo...
Remember Who Won David vs Goliath
Channel the Power of Organic Growth
by Gregg Early
Let’s not talk about the past year.
Let’s take the long view and talk about the past decade and a half.
For nearly all of that time we lived in a “next normal” of quantitative easing, which brought along with it easy money and sustained low interest rates.
It was a bit of shock to begin with, like inducing a coma to save a patient. But after a while, as it always does, the market finds a way to turn challenges into opportunities.
The pandemic...
by Gregg Early
Let’s not talk about the past year.
Let’s take the long view and talk about the past decade and a half.
For nearly all of that time we lived in a “next normal” of quantitative easing, which brought along with it easy money and sustained low interest rates.
It was a bit of shock to begin with, like inducing a coma to save a patient. But after a while, as it always does, the market finds a way to turn challenges into opportunities.
The pandemic...
2023 Proffe's Trend Portfolio: U.S. Options and Stocks
Moven adds digital wealth management tools with Atomic
There’s little doubt that the competition for deposits is heating up for community banks and credit unions. And playing the “rate game” is far different now than before non-banks and neobanks were in the mix with big banks.
Add to this, the financial challenges consumers are facing with persistent high inflation and high interest rates for loan products, and you have a serious challenge.
This is precisely when community financial institutions should be offering tools that help their account
Add to this, the financial challenges consumers are facing with persistent high inflation and high interest rates for loan products, and you have a serious challenge.
This is precisely when community financial institutions should be offering tools that help their account
Don’t Fight the Tape: Get Beyond Chasing New Deposits
While certainly an arrow in the quiver, community financial institutions can’t solely rely on growing deposits to thrive.
It has been a wild ride for banks and credit unions. The shift from a low-growth, low interest rate environment to its complete opposite in less than 12 months has created significant turmoil for the entire sector, particularly with community financial institutions (FIs).
But returning to “normal” isn’t going to look at all like the status quo we’ve been in for the past 13
It has been a wild ride for banks and credit unions. The shift from a low-growth, low interest rate environment to its complete opposite in less than 12 months has created significant turmoil for the entire sector, particularly with community financial institutions (FIs).
But returning to “normal” isn’t going to look at all like the status quo we’ve been in for the past 13
Evolution Can Be More Dangerous than Revolution: Digital Adoption for US Banks and Credit Unions
While there’s a lot of talk about industry or technology revolution, the fact is it’s generally evolution that transforms an industry and lays waste to stragglers and the stubborn.
One industry where we can see what digital evolution has done is in consumer retail. At the turn of the century, major department stores were the anchors of consumer retail.
No one would consider building a shopping mall (remember them?) without one or two major retailers to draw the crowds.
But Amazon.com changed
One industry where we can see what digital evolution has done is in consumer retail. At the turn of the century, major department stores were the anchors of consumer retail.
No one would consider building a shopping mall (remember them?) without one or two major retailers to draw the crowds.
But Amazon.com changed
Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels
![]()
Make Your Financial Institution a Financial First Responder
By Gregg Early
When we talk about first responders, we usually envision law enforcement, military, and fire and rescue workers running towards danger as everyone else is running from it.
But banks and credit unions can be financial first responders to the dangers – and opportunities – that occur in the lives of customers and members.
In the digital banking era, financial institutions (FIs) can’t afford to be reactive given an ongoing revenue recession that’s hurting earnings growth and the ris...
When we talk about first responders, we usually envision law enforcement, military, and fire and rescue workers running towards danger as everyone else is running from it.
But banks and credit unions can be financial first responders to the dangers – and opportunities – that occur in the lives of customers and members.
In the digital banking era, financial institutions (FIs) can’t afford to be reactive given an ongoing revenue recession that’s hurting earnings growth and the ris...
Lessons for Developed Market Fintechs – and Banks - in Emerging Markets
In about two generations, China has transformed from a largely agrarian country to the second largest economy in the world. That means Zoomers and millennials don’t even remember the “old” China.
The speed that this transformation of the world’s most populous country happened is staggering. In the West, it has taken nearly a century to transition from an industrialized society to a post-industrialized one.
Perhaps the speed of that transition in China had to do in some part with the fact that
The speed that this transformation of the world’s most populous country happened is staggering. In the West, it has taken nearly a century to transition from an industrialized society to a post-industrialized one.
Perhaps the speed of that transition in China had to do in some part with the fact that
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels
![]()
Bias is Content Marketing’s Enemy. Here are 7 FinTech Firms Who Got It Right.
How Community Banks and Credit Unions Remain Relevant in an Increasingly Digital-Driven Sector
There’s no doubt that there’s a significant gap between the banking industry’s long-term strategic challenges before the pandemic and after the pandemic.
When branches shut down, traditional financial institutions only had their existing digital banking infrastructure to rely upon. And sometimes, it was just the bare minimum.
I remember calling a local credit union to open a business account during that time. There was no way to apply for an account online. And when I called the bank to see ho
When branches shut down, traditional financial institutions only had their existing digital banking infrastructure to rely upon. And sometimes, it was just the bare minimum.
I remember calling a local credit union to open a business account during that time. There was no way to apply for an account online. And when I called the bank to see ho
Adapt or Die Is More Than Metaphor in This New Digital Banking World - StrategyCorps
For example, in our recent research paper Creating a Fintech Subscription Engine with Ron Shevlin and his Cornerstone Advisors’ research team, nearly 30% of Apple Pay users and 40% of Google Pay users link a debit or credit card from a provider other than their primary bank, often displacing payments to challenger banks. Square’s Cash App is displacing payments, as well. Square reported annual Cash Card payment volume of $3 billion in 2018, and the year-over-year increase in non-Bitcoin Cash App...
Photo by Luděk Maděryč on Pexels
![]()
What the Supply Chain Crisis and Inflation Reveal About Banks’ Biggest Challenge
The first half of 2022 was a wild ride to be sure. But the fact is, after major shocks to the global economy, and managing (or not) the initial bumps and breaks that come along with shifting from a slow-growth, low-interest rate environment to a high-growth, high-inflation economy after 14 years, the deeper issues take time to arise.
It was interesting that in late March, as we started into this “next normal” phase, WSJ reported that due to supply chain issues and rising inflation in the grocer
It was interesting that in late March, as we started into this “next normal” phase, WSJ reported that due to supply chain issues and rising inflation in the grocer
What the Rise of Embedded Fintech Means for Community Banks and Credit Unions - StrategyCorps
By Gregg Early
Since “The Rise of the Fintechs,” a lot of terminology has been thrown into circulation. Some doesn’t last more than a few months, some is in continual flux. And other terms start to mature and redefine themselves.
That’s where we find ourselves with “embedded fintech.”
Not so long ago, the most common version of this term was “embedded finance.”
Basically, embedded finance was part and parcel to the unbundling of financial services that fintechs have been doing for years. B...
Since “The Rise of the Fintechs,” a lot of terminology has been thrown into circulation. Some doesn’t last more than a few months, some is in continual flux. And other terms start to mature and redefine themselves.
That’s where we find ourselves with “embedded fintech.”
Not so long ago, the most common version of this term was “embedded finance.”
Basically, embedded finance was part and parcel to the unbundling of financial services that fintechs have been doing for years. B...
As Risk-Off Investors Exit Tesla Stock, Elon Musk Is Making Things Worse
The EV sector is in a state of reassessment right now, and even the flagship of the industry, 12-year-old TSLA stock, isn't safe.
Costco Stock Will Thrive as Economic Times Get Tough
Forget about all the trendy high-fliers that have been part of the market's narrative in recent years. COST stock is solid and reliable.
Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano on Pexels
![]()
New Generations Mean More Expectations from Banks and Credit Unions
An interesting article in Tearsheet discusses a recent CapitalOne study that shows how much concern there is for financial wellness within Gen Z.
It’s a significant amount.
Nearly 80% wish they were taught basic money skills at school. And 83% say they learn about finance from their families.
Let’s put this in perspective. Gen Z are people that are born between 1996 and 2002, more or less. That demographic has 86 million people in it.
The interesting thing is the baby boomers only represen
It’s a significant amount.
Nearly 80% wish they were taught basic money skills at school. And 83% say they learn about finance from their families.
Let’s put this in perspective. Gen Z are people that are born between 1996 and 2002, more or less. That demographic has 86 million people in it.
The interesting thing is the baby boomers only represen
Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels
![]()
Playing Defense Is the Best Offense
Gregg Early, executive editor of Personal Finance, says the best defense contractors offer good, steady growth at an attractive price.
The Department of Defense’s 2010 budget reduces spending on research and development (R&D) across the services, and some big programs have taken a hit, though individual pieces may still receive funding.
Many of the big defense contractors have shipyards and plants across the US; slicing into their contracts hurts American workers. That’s a tough message...
The Department of Defense’s 2010 budget reduces spending on research and development (R&D) across the services, and some big programs have taken a hit, though individual pieces may still receive funding.
Many of the big defense contractors have shipyards and plants across the US; slicing into their contracts hurts American workers. That’s a tough message...