CIOReview | | 9 NOVEMBER 2021technology comes into play. Millennials wish to interaction on their terms, which means not even the perception of high-pressure sales tactics, and they aren't comfortable when a banker immediately engages and steers them into a cubicle. An appealing solution is a hybrid branch environment. Banks can deliver the desired experience by providing interactive, self-service kiosks with limited, on-premise full-service, traditional banking options. Then they can close the loop by using video technology to deliver centralized lending expertise.Even better, they can do this in a way that allows them to expand with smaller-footprint branches while simultaneously reducing staff and saving on cost. The hub-and-spoke model is an example. Here banks can deploy full-service branches farther apart with self-service micro-branches in surrounding areas. Technology provides the flexibility to tailor the size and capabilities of a chapter to the needs and demographics of the local population. In a university town, for example, you might open a micro-branch with just a kiosk or two and staff it with one person who provides a concierge service that involves pointing customers in the right direction. And depending on the environment, maybe the branch is all self-serve. With all of these possibilities, banks that ignore technology in branches are limiting the potential of one of their best assets and the changing needs of their customers. Banks need to consider the advantages that the intersection of technology and their branch footprint might create, and how they can broaden their footprint while shrinking their costs through self-service and automation.Gaining efficiencies is the name of the game in banking today, and there's a lot to think about in this space. Banks need to trend toward channel consolidation--having your mobile banking, your online banking, and your ATMs on one software stack so that customers can start and finish transactions across environments. This helps create economies of scale without significant capital investments while providing an omnichannel customer experience.Banks are also looking at core banking in the cloud to gain efficiencies, particularly when volumes are unpredictable or the processing is choppy. Core banking as a service is also an emerging trend that merits consideration, with the promise of significantly reducing the complexity of delivering one of banking's most critical systems. Of course, there's the classic rebuttal that says, "You can't put this stuff in the cloud because the regulators will never let you; it will never be as secure--you're sacrificing too much control." Regulators, however, have been open to the cloud with the right level of security and controls, and it's something banks need to take a hard look at. For small and mid-size banks where there are varying levels of robustness in information security, the cloud may be more secure. It is also expected to be more stable than what most in-house capabilities can deliver.Technology in banking today is a rocket ride. The pace of change is drastic and dramatic. Those banks that understand how to align their differentiators with the new technologies to get more efficient will survive and thrive in an often unforgiving environment. Rich Fusinski
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