Publications & Resources

July/August 2009
Focus: Risk Management

 

WIB Service Corporation Report
WIB Partners with uMonitor to Offer State-of-the-Art Online Account Opening and Funding Services to Community Banks

By Anne K. Scully, WIB Service Corporation President

 “Do you think that when they asked George Washington for ID that he just whipped out a quarter?”
- Steven Wright (1955-, Comedian)

A few years ago, it was an expensive, bleeding edge novelty. Today, advances in technology and significant customer demand – as reflected in a 73% preference rate to open and fund accounts online – have made online account opening and funding technology an affordable imperative for any bank.

Online account opening and funding services can also be an invaluable tool to help community banks:

  • improve profitability by raising core deposits and reducing customer acquisition costs,

  • strengthen regulatory compliance

  • mitigate risk triggered by volatile economic environments; and

  • compete with large and Internet banks

All while realizing an immediate and positive return on their investment.

More importantly, online account opening and funding services will help community banks implement a new delivery channel and the kinds of services to attract the next generation banking field – Gen Y – and keep them coming back for more.

Why is this important? Consider this: One out of three Gen Y consumers tried to open a checking account online in 2008. That’s double the rate for their elders. And interest was higher still – at 35% – among 18- to 24-year-old millennials. These young consumers have high expectations for how online transactions should work – and the checklist starts with “quick” and “simple.”

Recognizing the value of this service and the need to find a best of breed provider for WIB banks, WIB Service Corporation is pleased to announce the endorsement of uMonitor’s online account opening platform and suite of services for community banks.

uOpen & uFund is uMonitor’s fully automated account opening and funding process – online and in the branch. The service enables new and current customers to open and fund a new checking or savings account, purchase a CD or money market account, sign up for additional offers such as Online Banking and ATM/debit cards and even apply for a loan – in less than 10 minutes, 24 x 7. Customers are also presented with preapproved offers, including Online Banking and debit/credit cards. With ID verification and red flags signaled instantly during the account opening and funding process, community banks have all the information they need to proceed with additional analytics and anti-money laundering processes.

uTransfer is uMonitor’s funds transfer service. Your customers can transfer money online – 24 x 7 – between their account at your bank and other external accounts. Customers can set up transfers on demand, scheduled transfers and recurring transfers, depending on their needs. Your bank gets the highest level of security with multifactor authentication. You can also monitor transactions, detect fraud and ensure secure transactions.

uSwitch is uMonitor’s online switch kit. Your customers can transfer all of their existing financial relationships from other financial institutions over to your bank online. Customers can switch direct deposits, automatic payments, credit cards and loan relationships to your bank, making you their primary financial institution. This service can be fully integrated in the uOpen & uFund® service, the branch new account opening process, as well as may be used as a standalone service for existing customers to use as and when they wish to transfer accounts.

uView® - Premium Account Aggregation. uView is the most innovative financial technologies platform which provides the most comprehensive information aggregation from thousands of sources and allows the creation of new revenue opportunities.

Three Deployment Options

uMonitor offers three deployment options for its uOpen & uFund services which give community banks the flexibility to implement the solution that works best for their size, needs and business strategy.

  • Go-to-Market Solution (GS): The fastest and easiest to implement. It allows you to deploy the service and give the customer full online service experience taking advantage of best practices from the industry. GS will fully automate your bank’s ID verification and authentication, product offerings, cross selling and funding without incurring additional expense or investment in workflow redesign. GS also includes uMonitor's industry leading switch kit as part of standard offering.

  • Plus Solution (PS): The next step to begin back-end integrations as application volume grows and your bank begins to grow its deposit base. PS further reduces the back office re-keying of information with real-time account setup in your bank’s core processor.

  • Total Solution (TS):  Takes a highly configurable offering to next level of customization. Your bank will gain the highest level of efficiencies in the back office and integrate internal systems and services in a new work environment with unified call center and branch channels. With TS, your bank can now offer the most robust product offerings to your customers with integration into their CEP Platform, CRM System and other internal and external systems, such as loan decisioning to offer real-time loan approval.

Community banks can easily migrate from GS to PS to TS solutions over time, building onto the solution with enhancements.

uMonitor interfaces or integrates with all of the core processors. It has strategic alliances with FiServ (preferred partner), Open Solutions (endorsed), Fidelity.

WIB Member Benefit: WIB members receive 10% or more discounts on all fees.

For further information, contact: Chris Beedles, uMonitor (901-239-0067; cbeedles@umonitor.com).

Unauthorized reproduction of all or part of this material without the express written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.