Banking in the U.S. is a $13 trillion dollar industry. A select group of big banks are responsible for a large chunk of that number. But according to the American Banking Association, most banks in this country have less than $165 million in assets.
Like a lot of small to mid-sized companies, banking has had to stretch resources to cope with the economic downturn. Here are compelling reasons that well-designed and supported Forms software can cut costs on delivering e-statements and reduce expensive paper statements and notices.
Meeting demand with a cost-effective software solution
It’s no longer a matter of offering e-statements as a service. Customers expect them and demand them. Forms software that allows seamless integration with existing software and easy customization provides banks a way to provide e-statements that mimic the look and feel of paper statements.
A challenge for most banks is that they don’t tend to have night staff or deep IT skills in-house. Forms software is user friendly. You don’t have to be a programmer to install or run it. Forms software allows banks to bring this procedure back in-house with simple automated procedures.
Reducing Paper Cost
Estimates vary but paper statements can cost banks upwards of 50 cents to print and mail. Toner, paper, postage, and envelopes are hard costs that reoccur each month. Other costs such as assigning personnel to monitor and run the process can add to the monthly tally. Reasonably priced Forms software can pay for itself in a matter of weeks or months, depending on the size of the customer base.
Automation
Forms software offers banks a set-it and forget-it mechanism to automatically generate and email statements to customers on pre-determined days. The flexibility is enormous. Sentries to schedule jobs can be set for any day of the week, daytime or night, multiple times a day. Jobs can also be reset to run immediately. Additionally, other notices such as offers or past due statements can be formatted and scheduled by preset triggers.
Typically, bank software like Jack Henry runs end-of-day reports in late evening. Forms software fits right into your daily process with seamless integration.
Jack Henry Compatible
If you purchase Forms software that is Jack Henry compatible then the software will easily integrate with the output generated by the Jack Henry system. Jack Henry generates hundreds of reports every day. Spool file software can grab the reports and convert them to a PDF or Excel file, then file or email it internally or externally to customers. The Forms software can take the output and format into a custom form like a statement.
In non-IT language this means that when you are using the green screen interface on your Jack Henry (or other banking software like FiServ) the
Forms software runs in the background. No running back and forth between different software applications. It’s seamless to the user. One of our customers once told me the process happens “automagically.”
Support
I mentioned earlier that banks notoriously do not have deep IT help. Quite often it is a non-technical person assigned to manage the servers. IBM does a good job of making their power systems user friendly. Software vendors have to have the resources to be able to help bank staff install, implement, and quickly address any questions or issues that may arise.
Banking is now global and 24/7. There are no longer “night hours” to make important changes or adjustments. With online banking there is also no allowance for downtime. Forms software supported by excellent customer service helps banks get quick and knowledgeable help when they need it most.
As with any software purchase it is wise to look just as closely at customer service as with the actual software capability. We answer our phones live and have our programmers right down the hall. The last thing you need in an emergency is to talk to someone halfway around the world reading from a script to move you through the process.
Forms software provides banks with an extremely cost-effective tool to quickly create emailed communications to customers that are reassuringly consistent with the appearance of paper communications like statements. Plus, with the right vendor, banks benefit from an IT resource that can help them install and implement any changes.
SEP