Insight Financial Marketing Celebrates 20th Year Anniversary

20 years of innovation, development, and trustworthy business practices mark the milestone.

IFM’s services provide financial institutions with large-scale transactional analysis and consulting identifying opportunities to help strengthen and grow their client relationships. Founded on July 16, 2002, IFM began analyzing Automated Clearing House transactions for marketing purposes and fraud detection, considered a unique capability by the financial services industry. Over the years, IFM developed an extensive and sophisticated processing methodology for translating and categorizing transactions that enhanced their ability to produce customer insights for financial institutions.  As IFM’s capabilities matured, their analysis expanded to include all bank data types.  

Most recently, IFM’s services have been leveraged to enhance A.I. and machine learning initiatives,  advanced analytical capabilities to smaller regional and community-based institutions, and product expansion providing alternative data insights that, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), can provide numerous advantages to financial institutions including enhancements to their credit lead qualification and underwriting.

The foundation of IFM’s success has been the firm’s unwavering commitment to innovation and excellent service, and the founding partners’ focus on enhancing the personal and professional well-being of all of IFM’s employees. 

 

IFM Senior Partner, Michael Uline reflected on the company’s 20th anniversary by saying,

“For several years IFM had to educate banks on how to use transactional information to provide a better product and service to their clients.  Today, banks expect to use transactional information to improve their client relationships. IFM is a pioneer in transaction analysis and over the 20 years I am most proud of our team.  We have built a core set of employees that are experts in providing a responsive and accurate result to our clients.  It is because of our team, that we have had loyal clients for more than fifteen years.”

 

John Donohoe, IFM Senior Partner, added, 

“I am ever grateful for our successful twenty years and am thankful to our customers and our employees who have not only made our twenty years successful but have provided a great environment to grow our opportunities and build on our historical success. I look forward to many additional years of achievements with our new product offerings, new distribution channels, and our adept colleagues.”

 

IFM wishes to thank all its valued customers, strategic partners, and especially those who have been loyal to IFM since its inception.

About IFM

Over the last twenty years, IFM has developed an industry-leading customer intelligence platform for the financial services industry.  From our company’s founding in 2002 IFM has grown to serve many of the largest financial services firms based in the U.S., large international institutions with U.S. operations, and regional and community-focused institutions.  Our analytical sophistication has expanded across all bank data types delivering a wide range of profitable solutions from customer knowledge and cross-marketing leads to campaign management and professional services.  Learn more about at www.infimark.com.

Contact

Rob Reale
Associate Partner and National Sales Manager
Insight Financial Marketing
rreale@infimark.com
567 Harbor Side Street • Woodbridge, VA  22191 • (703) 490-3226
2626 E 82nd St, Ste 230 • Minneapolis, MN  55425 • (952) 432-1482

 

Contact IFM
EBook: A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth

 

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[Webinar] Outlook for the Future – Bank Strategy During COVID and Beyond

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Bank Strategy During COVID

 

In 2020, At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Insight Financial Marketing held a webinar titled, Outlook for the Future: Bank Strategy During COVID-19 and Beyond. From our discussion, it was clear how big of a role technology played in economic recovery.  We also saw banks receive increased deposit balances, as CARES Act-related assistance was disbursed to consumers and businesses.

This year we felt it was only fitting to share an update regarding the same topic, looking at bank strategy amidst the continuing impact of the pandemic and beyond.

In the presentation, we put a spotlight on three topics:

  • The pandemic’s impact on the economy and the Financial Service Industry
  • The continuous impact technology has on the Financial Service Industry
  • Actions needed for Traditional Financial Institutions to survive the future business environment

 

A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth

 

COVID Impact Review

In 2020, we saw businesses close their physical offices, reopen, and for some, shut them down again. Moreover, Financial Institutions supported small businesses by rolling out PPP loans and enhanced Federal Stimulus payments quickly to help cushion these companies from the unprecedented shocks of COVID-19.

According to the Deloitte Economic Spotlight, in May 2021, there were 7.1 million fewer people in the labor force this year as opposed to February 2020. Deloitte further adds that the pandemic significantly affected employees in low-wage occupations by 5.4% compared to the higher-wage populations, which stood at 2%.

We also highlighted COVID’s impact on lending. The most notable change was the decreased rates in mortgage interests in 2020. And as of October 2021, there was a seasonal slowdown, specifically in the real estate market.

Investors Reaction to COVID-19

A review of the Nasdaq, Dow Jones, and S&P 500 indexes shows the pandemic led to a dramatic lagging of the financial market at the onset. However, in 2021, due to the multiple Federal Stimulus packages that were rolled out, the markets recovered and have increased significantly.

Outlook for the Future: How the Changing Economy Will Affect Bank Strategy and the Financial Services Industry
As for the future of retail banking, data shows that:

  • There might be an uptick in interest rates in 2022/23.
  • Due to the success of the economic assistance programs, there is an increase in the money supply.
  • Fintech and technology firms will transform how money moves.
  • As we move forward, the top 2 traditional banks will continue exerting competitive pressure.
  • Outlook for the Future: How the Changing Economy Will Affect the Financial Services Industry
  • We also discussed the changes occurring in the financial services industry, influenced by technological solutions.

FinTech companies continue to succeed because of their customized solutions that meet business and consumer needs. For instance, American Express recently established a digital business checking account for SMBs.

Decentralized finance is becoming more popular—owing to its ability to meet specific needs. With blockchain, traditional areas like saving and investments will in the future not require middlemen such as brokerage firms.

FinTech companies have become more ‘bank-like.’ For instance, Venmo has grown its offerings to include services like debit and credit cards, traditionally bank services.

There’s an increasing rise in neo-digital banks that indicates the dynamic nature of consumer behavior.

As for cryptocurrency, the number of coins and wallets continues to grow. Moreover, the terminology and technology continue to change.

Outlook for the Future: Actions FI’s Need To Make To Survive the Future Business Environment

To close the presentation, we discussed the practical steps FI’s needed to take to enable their future success and survival. First, FI’s will need to identify their value proposition. Traditionally the focus has been on financial products and services that meet customers’ desires.

However, with the advancement in technology, we’ve seen a shift in customer demands. For instance, people now expect instant solutions. And as a result, the traditional face-to-face approach is less favorable, especially from a COVID-19 standpoint. Additionally, more people want to perform basic transactions online, as it is more convenient.

Secondly, analyze your FI’s competitive edge. Once you’ve figured this out, work on implementing strategies to improve the customer experience further. Remember, while technology is the future, we certainly can’t ignore the power of good customer relationships.

Finally, your institution’s ability to stay updated on behavioral trends and lifestyle changes will provide the required customer insights that will increase your competitive edge. From payments to money transfers, leveraging data on consumers’ financial activities coupled with new technology is the most straightforward bank strategy that will deliver continued success and survival.

Contact us today to take advantage of our free, no-obligation evaluation offer to get a first-hand view of your consumer and business customers. To learn more, visit us on our website at www.infimark.com.

Contact IFM

 

Bank Strategy During COVID

 

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Financial Institutions Move to Digital – What’s Next?

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Financial Institutions & Digital Capabilities

Financial Institutions have moved swiftly to enable more digital functionality. This effort has taken on many different paths. For some, the move has been to offer a combination of the following: BaaS, Open Banking, digital loan applications, a stand-alone digital bank, faster payments, access to cryptocurrencies, P2P functionality, electronic signatures, PFM, online and mobile app B2B capabilities. All this has been occurring, while at the same time, Big Tech, FinTech, and DeFi, have been launching new capabilities that target specific needs of consumers and businesses. Many traditional financial institutions have also developed partnerships and strategic alliances with Big Tech and FinTech firms or have invested in them directly.

 

A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth

 

COVID is Driving A Shift In Behavior

The COVID crisis further amplified the need for consumers and businesses to conduct more of their financial lives online and through mobile apps. In many ways, the changes in our industry were a direct result of a shift in consumer and business preferences that have been a long time coming; a need to move money faster and with a delightfully easy experience. While consumers’ lives and business operations have not yet returned to “normal,” we have learned how to adapt to life with a deadly virus around us. This includes being more comfortable with conducting more of our financial lives virtually rather than in person.

What comes next?

From IFM’s view, we see changes in consumer and business behavior daily. As a result of more digital functionality, the amount of data has grown exponentially. Some FI’s have seen their digital transaction volumes grow more than 2x-3x faster than previous years. IFM works with many of the largest banks in the U.S. and smaller FI’s that have a critical role in their communities, and all are impacted by changes in consumer and business behavior.

The movement of money has never been faster and will only become faster still. To be competitive, FI’s must be at the top of their game when utilizing data insights and predicting future customer behavior. IFM has an industry-leading customer intelligence solution to help your FI communicate more efficiently, with direct personalized content, and keep you and your enterprise informed of future behavioral changes.

Contact us today to take advantage of our free, no-obligation evaluation offer to get a first-hand view of your consumer and business customers. To learn more, visit us on our website at www.infimark.com.

 

 

Contact IFM

 

 

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Using Customer Intelligence to Compete More Effectively in the Future of Financial Services

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Like other industries in this new millennium, the financial services industry has been rapidly transformed by new technology.  With the rise of digital money, real-time money movement, and increased competition within the industry, this change is growing at an even faster pace.  But let’s face it, this industry has been one of the slowest to change compared to the Music/Movie Industry, Travel/Transportation, Communications, Engineering/IT/Cyber Security, and Shopping. 

 

How an institution prioritizes the utilization of data and information technology will largely dictate its future success.

 

One reason has been an inability for many traditional FI’s to transform their culture to prioritize data and information technology.  How an institution prioritizes the utilization of data and information technology will largely dictate its future success.  A recent article by Industry advisor Jim Marous, “How to Build a Data Culture that Supports Digital Banking Transformation” (thefinancialbrand.com), mentions the importance of implementing a data-centric strategy across the enterprise.  The article states that “Customer insight platforms and the process of information management can expand to customer service, product development, compliance, privacy governance and other key areas of the organization that need a complete and real-time view of the customer.”  

 

A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth

 

Insight Financial Marketing (IFM) recognizes the importance of customer insights and has supported financial institutions across the country for nearly twenty years.  IFM clients have implemented our customer intelligence service into their enterprise-wide data strategy and have become leaders in the industry.  IFM’s advanced technology provides new capabilities related to detecting changes in customer behavior and the ability to predict customer behavior.  

To learn more about how IFM has helped FI’s transform data to be more easily leveraged throughout an enterprise and to enable your FI to compete more effectively in the future, contact Rob Reale, Associate Partner and National Sales Manager, at rreale@infimark.com or visit our website, www.infimark.com.    

 

Contact IFM
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Help Your Customers Build Generational Wealth

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Help Your Customers Build Generational Wealth and Grow Opportunities for the Future

Interest rates continue to remain at record lows, and the recent employment numbers are showing improvement as we continue to recover from the COVID crisis.  Now that the economy is recovering, there are opportunities for financial institutions to help their customers get back on track for planning and preparing for the future.  Two of those areas include providing guidance and assistance with the planning and saving necessary to buy a home and providing the guidance, support, and services that will enable them to save for retirement.  

An article published by the US Census Bureau mentions that the most significant contributors to household wealth are home equity and retirement accounts, which accounted for 62.9% of households’ net worth.  Providing guidance and assistance in these two critical areas will help your customers build generational wealth and provide opportunities for themselves and their families in the future. 

 

A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth

 

Insight Financial Marketing® (IFM®) has an industry-leading solution that provides deep insight into customer behavior and financial activity.  Using IFM’s advanced data analytics, your financial institution can identify key characteristics about your customers in near real-time and identify the segments likely to be more receptive to specific messaging in these critical areas.  

IFM offers event-based alerts and marketing campaign files that allow you to message your customers at the right time so you can provide them with the guidance and support they need to build wealth via homeownership, investing, and saving for retirement.  

To learn more about IFM’s services, you can visit our website or communicate with me directly via email or voice at rreale@infimark.com and 703-856-4060.

 

Contact IFM
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ACH Transaction Volume Growth Indicates Rapid Shift to Digital Money Movement

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ACH Volume Soars At Record Pace

Wow!! Have you seen the new information that the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) has posted about ACH transaction volume during the second quarter of 2021?  Volume soared at a record pace.

According to the post, the quarterly volume of 7.3 billion was an increase of 9.9% from the same period in 2020. The value of those payments was $18.4 trillion, reflecting a nearly 25% increase from a year earlier. Additionally, during the first quarter, a “new record was set in February when ACH volume averaged more than 118 million payments per day, the ACH Network’s highest daily average for a month. The second was in March, when ACH volume hit 2.7 billion payments, the largest monthly volume in ACH Network history. This included approximately 110 million economic impact payments by Direct Deposit from the federal government.”

 

In March, ACH volume hit 2.7 billion payments, the largest monthly volume in ACH Network history.

 

Clearly, these numbers show that the COVID pandemic has accelerated a change in behavior.

amongst consumers and businesses to adopt electronic payments and digital money movement.  Drilling down further into the Q2 numbers, we see that P2P transactions increased by 24.2% from the year-ago quarter, B2B activity increased by 28.7% and internet transactions increased by 14.3%. 

These volume numbers indicate that the rapid growth of transactions within the ACH network has not only continued to grow but are now growing at a record pace.

Question:

Why are ACH transaction volumes increasing so quickly and how will financial institutions adapt to this change in behavior from a customer intelligence perspective?

Answers: 

More and more consumers are choosing to conduct their lives online and in the mobile space. This includes entertainment, travel, paying bills, sending money to family, friends or businesses, shopping, buying digital currency, being paid by Direct Deposit, and investing. Businesses are also moving away from paper checks and adopting digital payments. From a financial institution perspective, firms will be challenged as their customers will be expecting that when moments that matter occur, their financial institution will be there for them, in near real-time with the right guidance and the financial products and services that meet their needs.

Customer Expectations Are Changing To Near Real-Time

Customers will be expecting that when moments that matter occur, their financial institution will be there for them with the proper guidance, financial products, and financial services that meet their needs.

Insight Financial Marketing has an industry-leading solution that will enable your financial institution to better understand consumer and business behavior in near real-time.  We have a proprietary analytical approach that identifies pattern changes, life events, and lifestyle changes that will help your FI to deepen relationships with your consumer and business customers. To find out how IFM can help your team better engage with your customers, visit us at our website, Infimark.com, or contact Rob Reale at rreale@infimark.com.  

 

Contact IFM
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IFM Refreshes The Website With Thought Leadership

IFM has recently updated and refreshed the content on our website at www.infimark.com. We’ve added information about our firm and the service we provide to financial institutions. Additionally, we’ve provided links to access our blog as well as our Quick Guide to Growing Bank Deposits ebook.

 

 

The customer intelligence that IFM provides is helping banks and credit unions understand pre-pandemic consumer and business behaviors as well as the change in behavior due to COVID-19 related impacts. IFM is assisting financial institutions of all sizes by providing insights that will help their customers regain their financial footing and continue to prosper during these challenging times.

If you would like information about IFM’s free trial please contact us through our website, LinkedIn page, or call Rob Reale directly at your convenience.

 

A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth
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Outlook for the Future: Bank Strategy During COVID-19 and Beyond

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Insight Financial Marketing recently presented a webinar called: Outlook for the Future: Bank Strategy During COVID-19 and Beyond.

We discussed the rapid changes to the economy as well as the impact on the financial situation of consumers and businesses. Now more than ever, financial institutions must have a deep understanding of the financial needs of their consumer and business customers. If your FI has not adopted a strategy to leverage intelligence from your bank’s data to help identify customer behavior trends, it will be more difficult to keep and retain customers because of their rapidly changing needs.

The New York Times recently reported a graphic showing how states are at different stages of reopening across the country. Some are open as normal, some are reopening, some having paused their reopening, and some have reversed and are imposing new social distancing and business closings. The graphic shows how states have proceeded with balancing the spread of COVID-19 by reopening their economies. Even within the footprint of your financial institution, your customers’ financial situation may vary depending on where they live and work.

We also shared insights on how investors have reacted to COVID-19 and economic uncertainty.

Two points here:

    1. Investors have rewarded technology firms as consumers and businesses have shifted their digital behavior.
    2. Retail investors are much more active in the markets due to technology applications that have facilitated free stock trading (driven primarily by the growth of fintech firm Robinhood).

The spending behavior of consumers has been shifting as well. The top earners have dramatically reduced spending while the lowest earners have remained the same. We discussed how the CARES Act has led to a rise in deposits, especially for the largest banks in the country.   In addition, most financial institutions have seen a more modest rise in deposit balances compared to the top 5 largest banks in the US.   The combination of reduced spending by high-income earners, and the influx of stimulus and COVID relief payments from the government will not continue for long. We believe that deposit retention and growth will continue to be important in the years ahead, especially in a low rate environment.

If you are interested in viewing the 30-minute webinar, please let us know. We will gladly provide a link to view the recording.  In the meantime, check out our latest vlog for a snapshot of the webinar content.

 

 

Insight Financial Marketing is an industry leader in helping financial institutions leverage customer insights, detect behavioral changes, and adopt a strategy to better serve the rapidly changing financial needs of its consumer and business customers. To learn more about utilizing our Intelligentsia™ technology please visit our website.

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Banking Tech – What is the new role of technology in banking?

A new age of technology exists, and things are moving very fast. Because of this, the banking sector has begun to utilize more of the modern technological advancements. Many of these advancements are leading banks to use data and artificial intelligence (AI) for higher levels of personalization and consumer fulfillment. These trends are only going to grow. Here is a look at the role new technology plays in modern banking.

Keeping Up With The Disrupters

While many in the banking sector were trying to maintain the status quo, disrupters turned up with digital banking and financial solutions utilizing modern banking tech and the mobile devices. These developments forced all banks to reevaluate and start to implement changes to how they service their customers. Now, most banks have applications that work fast and provide services people want their banks to provide.

Mobile technology is playing a significant role for banks, and fine tuning those digital offerings is something into which these banking institutions have put a lot of effort. Artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and predictive analytics are becoming the norm in the banking industry for these reasons.

Bringing Core Services Online

Along with the mobile push comes the push to put core banking services online in general. Banking portals of the past contained heavy limits and often did little to improve a customer’s experience.

Forward-thinking banks have started to utilize modern techniques to attract customers to their financial solutions, and allow customers to make banking decisions quickly and without hassle. Responsive design and a focus on turning technology towards customer service have created vast improvements for the banking industry.

Once again, a lot of this comes from investments in analyzing data and AI. This is especially true of online banking services that can help someone in real-time. By anticipating their questions, banks can provide automated and personalized solutions. Banking tech is assisting financial institutions to do more while saving money in the process.

Creating and Fostering Greater Levels of Personalization

People want to feel like their financial institutions know them, care about them, and are looking out for them. People interact with their banks and bank products all the time and with greater frequency. Each of these interactions is an opportunity for a bank to learn more about their customer.

For example, consider someone who regularly loads funds to their favorite coffee store mobile app every week for a year, from their bank account.  This transaction trend reveals one particular behavioral characteristic about the customer that, along with other data points, present your financial institution with information about the customer’s preferences and lifestyle.  Over time, as new transactions and transaction types are analyzed, and the historical amount of data available to analyze increases, new opportunities to cater to specific customer needs will be identified.

In the near future, a financial institution will be able to anticipate a customer’s needs and gain insight into what the bank can further do to retain that person and other people like them.  Advanced data analytic solutions make it easier for banks to identify trends and make individual suggestions for how to engage customers, that work on a more personal level.

AI, along with advanced data analytic capabilities, help banks learn more about their customers and how to take care of them on a personal level.  The fact that data analysis can create a more human experience for customers is one of those areas in which banks are finding a lot of value in, and is one area that will also create a healthy return on investment into the future.

Data Science and data analytics plays a crucial role for banks at every level and in every department. In this way, technology serves to unify many of the disparate banking departments so the bank can create a better, more secure, and personal experience for each of its customers. Financial Institutions who aren’t doing this, or planning to do this, will find themselves left behind. Reach out to our team at Insight Financial Marketing today to learn how your business can get started with the latest innovative solutions that will increase your bank’s ability to engage each customer with a more personalized experience.

 

A Quick Guide To Bank Deposit Growth

 

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