COMMUNITY BANKING
“ Community banks rely on knowing their local market better than a high-street bank and reinvest the deposits held with them back into the community ”
BARRY O ’ SULLIVAN HEAD OF PAYMENTS INFRASTRUCTURE , OPENPAYD
DO COMMUNITY BANKS NOW HAVE AN ADVANTAGE OVER LARGER BANKS ?
It would seem many community banks , credit unions , and building societies share a working model , to implement the latest fintech capabilities while maintaining an in-person , human element to front-end operations .
As international institutions move away from an in-person banking experience , are community banks now at an advantage ?
For O ’ Neill , the advantage is absolute . He says : “ Customer service is a core selling point for a community bank ; however , historically they may have lost out by not being able to offer the full suite of financial services that people or companies need and can get from enterprise banks .
“ By partnering with fintechs to build those offerings , bringing them to their communities and local businesses through their strong customer-centric channels , this would provide a compelling proposition .”
OpenPayd ’ s O ’ Sullivan agrees : “ Historically , community banks ’ biggest strengths – their local focus and relatively small size – has made it difficult for them to invest in technology and infrastructure as the high-street banks have done .
“ The growth of fintech companies has completely reversed that dynamic . By partnering with the right fintech infrastructure providers , community banks are now upgrading their core systems and building new digital propositions .
“ For the first time , community banks can have the best of both worlds : local knowledge and expertise , backed up by world-class underlying infrastructure .”
So , can we expect a greater migration to community banks in the near future ? Indeed , the signs look promising for your local high-street banking institution .
58 October 2023