Seven Hot Opportunities for Software Sales to Banks: Part 1
Posted by jack lamb on Mon, Apr 26, 2010 @ 11:36 AM
I will be covering seven hot opportunities for software companies selling to banks. Here are the first four:
1. FRAUD
Major banks have a dilemma: They want to make it easier for customers to do wire transfers, but face the prospect of inviting fraudsters into their systems.
In 2009, fraud attacks on online business banking escalated so rapidly and with such staggering losses that the FBIi and FDICii were moved to issue multiple warnings of the dangers of online banking. Well-funded cyber criminals executed a full-scale assault on authentication, leveraging widespread infection of end-user computers with banking trojans to sneak into online banking accounts completely undetected. Additionally, they perfected methods of moving large sums of money out undetected via wire, ACH, and bill pay, often resulting in six and seven figure fraudiii . It is expected to get worse before it gets better.
2. PFM – Personal Financial Management
Most banks have just a fraction of the average consumer's wallet. According to a September 2009 report from Forrester Research, adults own an average of 8.2 financial products, but generally have no more than two or three products at any one financial institution.
PFM, which aggregates a consumer's financial information in one place, is widely perceived to be among the "stickiest" services a bank can offer. According to research from Digital Insight of Calabasas, Calif., an Intuit division that sells FinanceWorks to banks, households that use FinanceWorks tend to have higher average account balances and average one more product with their banks than other households.
PFM looks to be an ideal way for banks to improve customer experience and loyalty and to leverage their online banking platforms.
3. CRM
Software that provides customer-profitability data so that bank representatives can focus their attention on those who have a greater likelihood of buying another product is a very important area for banks to address. You can sell them the wrong products and never make a dime off of them. It's about giving the frontline personnel the ability to look at a given moment, what's in the customer's wallet today and what's missing from that wallet that can be sold profitably to that customer.
4. RISK MANAGEMENT
Banks looking to manage the risks and costs of increased lending activity are going to depend on technology -- including more-sophisticated credit risk-modeling capabilities, to do so. According to TowerGroup's 2010 consumer lending forecast, "Financial services institutions will increase IT investment for integrated credit risk management, and new loan collections and portfolio risk management solutions.”
i FBI Alert, Fraudulent Automated Clearing House (ACH) Transfers Connected to Malware and Work-at-Home Scams, Oct 2009
ii FDIC Special Alerts, August and October 2009
iii Washington Post, Security Fix – Small Business Victims, 2009