I’ve had the great fortune in my career to work for and alongside hundreds of banks and credit unions. My role always focused on product technologies, how to stay ahead of the competition, and avoiding the seemingly unavoidable…. Technology obsolescence.
Only 1% of banks and credit unions are doing what is required to keep up with technology. The remaining 99% need to change.
Three years ago, I left a regional bank to dive into the “low-code” world because it was obvious to me that this technology was going to play a significant role in helping regional banks and credit unions stay relevant over the next decade.
If terms like "low code" and "Mendix" are unfamiliar, you're not alone. However, these technologies hold immense potential for reshaping the industry. Low-code without a doubt will be the #1 difference maker for regional banks and credit unions over the next decade
At Kinetech Cloud, we're passionate about empowering financial institutions with the latest innovations and are one of the leading Mendix practitioners in the U.S. In today's fast-paced world, staying ahead is non-negotiable. In this tech-oriented world, you are either staying ahead or you are falling behind. There is no middle ground. A majority of regional banks and credit unions are already 10 years behind the tech adoption curve and falling further behind each year.
If you are looking to just survive technology, you won’t. Technology evolves too fast.
To stay ahead of technology, a financial institution must innovate, which means solving problems in new and different ways. That translates to strategically using new technologies to stay ahead. Not only to stay ahead of the competition but to stay ahead of an even bigger enemy, which is the rapidly evolving pace of technology.
Where banks and credit unions are failing is by not having a defined program dedicated to true innovation. This innovation team’s only job is to look for new ways to solve the challenges you and your customers face. Outsourcing your innovation to 3rd party vendors will relegate your financial institution to run with the rest of the herd of thousands of banks and credit unions that will find history passing them by in the next decade.
To be a true innovator, you must not be bound by “it has always been done that way”. Innovation is not endless RFP cycles and vendor platform swaps. It can’t be “We’ll start that innovation initiative next year”. You have a “right now” problem. Doing things how it has always been, will simply not work anymore because it can not - and has not - kept up with the rapidly changing world of technology and expectations around it.
A regional bank and credit union must start to dedicate team members whose only mission is to seek out new technology and deploy new solutions in a methodical and disciplined innovation practice. To maximize efficiencies while minimizing risk and expenses. I estimate that less than 100 banks and credit unions in the U.S. currently have people dedicated to advancing their financial institutions into new technologies.
To CEOs of financial institutions, if your leadership is only introducing new technology solutions through your core provider, or “Vendor X” or “Vendor Y” then you will only have a view from the middle of the herd at best. Your leaders should have a well-defined sustainable plan on how they are enabling your team members to accomplish more each year.
When it comes to technology which are you? An Innovator who leads the way with a plan, or a survivor who just wants to hide in the herd?
