Branch Evolution and Digital Automation

I n C o m m u n i t y B a n k i n g

Why?

In this GAFA era, we must remain relevant. Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple continue to raise expectations for every customer experience.

Customers continue to self-select digital channels. Automation provides for a more efficient staffing model that allows employees to focus on cross sell and problem solving.

Automation shortens processing cycles and increases accuracy for an improved customer experience and greater employee satisfaction.

Our next generation of borrowers start with digital platforms to apply for loans. If we don’t play in this game, we will miss the opportunity.

When we leverage our legacy of high-touch customer service with automation, we differentiate ourselves from our big bank competitors.

In 2013, leaders at United Bank identified two chief priorities for the company: be more innovative and increase its operational efficiency. We embarked on a year of significant change that included the installation of teller cash recyclers, teller capture automation, mobile check deposit and interactive tellers.

That began a new era of continuous change for United Bank. These slides share the details of our journey.

United Bank’s Journey

At the Branch

Teller Cash Recyclers

We utilize 20 Teller Cash Recyclers in 12 of our 19 bank offices today.

Successes: Provides for greater teller efficiency. Fewer trips to the main vault under dual control. Key ingredient for open floorplans with teller pods or universal workstations.

Challenges: Require teller acceptance and demonstrate trust. Seek a more lenient review/cash count from your internal audit. Make sure the middle ware with your teller system works. WIP account balancing presents new challenges.

We test-drove various recyclers in several offices, ultimately choosing the Glory products. Today we utilize two different models, based on transaction volume and cash intensity. These are deployed in the majority of our bank offices. Our most cash intensive offices use three devices; 2 on the teller line and 1 at the drive thru window.

Our lobby tellers operating with TCRs averaged 14 trans per hour in 2019. Tellers without a TCR average 10 trans per hour.

Interactive Teller Machines We operate 30 NCR ITMs primarily in our drive thru lanes. Some operate as ATMs also.

Successes: Enables UB to offer 7am – 11pm teller service, 7 days a week. Improves the drive in experience. Key differentiator against other competitors. ITM tellers are highly efficient; as few as 6 tellers can support our network of 30 machines in slowest hours. Excellent option for an LPO or off site location.

Challenges: Cost prohibitive – go big or go home. Difficult to support without a Call Center infrastructure. Requires 3rd party partner for 1st level support issues.

1 out of every 4 teller transactions occurs at an ITM device. Our customers initiate more than 50k sessions per month.

Electronic Signatures

United Bank deployed JHA’s E-sign solution in 2018 for managing documents at the platform desks.

Document management is a key initiative for UB in 2020. Our strategy is to create the customer document as a digital file when initiated and signed – then use our document management solution for indexing and storage according to a set retention schedule.

Successes: Drives efficiency in document creation and management. Most solutions offer a digital delivery of the forms via secure email also. Allows for remote signing for customer convenience.

Challenges: It takes time to settle on the right set up and device for your bank. Signature pads are limiting. Dismissed non-Microsoft devices due to interface challenges. Surfaces are expensive.

Employees lose the stylists, fail to manage devices (reboot, sign off, clean, etc.) Many government agencies require wet signatures on forms.

Require employee adoption and report utilization rates regularly. UB has set a 2020 goal for 85% utilization; tracked on monthly performance scorecard.

Open & Interactive Lobby Floorplans

• Challenges: All employees are actively working the lobby to assist customers, so you must look for employees with high energy who enjoy engaging with customers and can multi-task effectively.

• Successes: best for a low to medium volume office. Employees operate efficiently as a teller or CSR, in one multi functional workstation. A TCR helps to secure the cash.

• Provides for a more modern and comfortable space. Consider the use of kiosks and other self serve options. Our floorplan includes a self-serve coin counter and an ITM/ATM.

United Bank designed its first open floorplan office in 2019.

Tip: Send all of your calls from published bank #s to your Call Center to optimize face-to-face interactions in the branch.

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Instant Card Issuance – Debit & Credit

Instant issue offers your customers the best user experience, hands down. Several vendors have solutions for you to consider that integrate directly to deposit platform systems.

Benefits: increases card activation and utilization, improves overall customer satisfaction, giving a ready-to-go card at account opening.

Challenges: Additional operational controls required to manage card stock, user IDs, etc. More hardware to manage.

Instant Issue vs. Batch ordering

The virtual credit card is an emerging solution. It is a temporary number that customers use to shop online or it can be used from a mobile wallet or ‘tap and go’ device. The card number is designed to have a short lifespan, as transactions post to the permanent card account number.

The issuer provides a browser extension to download so the customer can create and manage multiple virtual card numbers.

Virtual Cards

Bring Specialists to the Branch with Video Conferencing

Lacy can be available for appointments and online app

follow up.

Lacy, Mortgage Lender

CSRs can bring Kaleb into a conversation to handle complicated questions.

Kaleb, Business Solutions Specialist

Video Conferencing will allow Alicia to serve clients in multiple

markets, spending less time traveling.

Alicia, Wealth Advisor

Bring business lending expertise into all your offices, no matter the

size or location.

Yetta, Commercial Lender

The Call Center

Tip: Centralize your specialists in the Call Center: fraud, digital banking support, internal user support.

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Customize queues based on need. United Bank’s Call Center handled 637k incoming calls in 2019.

• Route common calls for balances and transfers to level I employees or outsource to a trusted partner.

• Staff a digital banking support team for the technical calls to support your mobile, OLB and cash management users. UB’s team also reviews online applications for new accounts.

• Consider a fraud team to hand-hold customers reporting card fraud who need extra assistance with mitigating further loss of funds.

UB’s Call Center is also home for its ITM Tellers. More than 90 employees work together in the Call Center space.

Texts and Chats

Yesterday: Text Notifications

Today: Two-Way Texts, Auto Responses, Live Chat

Tomorrow: Chat Bots and AI

Changing customer behavior takes time. We constantly strategize on how to teach customers to self-serve for every day, simple transactions and inquiries. In 2019:

• UB customers received more than 11 million text notifications.

• UB customers used 2-way automated texts for more than 1 million inquiries.

• UB customers sent 55k free-form texts or secure chats to agents.

40% of UB’s incoming calls to agents are customers simply asking for an account balance.

A 2019 initiative was to educate our customers on all of the various ways they can get their current account balance.

Employees can request assistance for everyday needs such as printer set ups, Windows 10 issues, network password resets, browser capability, etc.

The hUB team places important communications here: policy changes, scheduled maintenance reminders, annual shareholder letter, are recent examples.

Our employee directory is the most used tool on the HUB. You can search by name, see photo and find contact information.

Employee recognition is an important part of balancing constant change. Create a culture of celebration and support for teammates.

User Education & Support C o n t i n u o u s c h a n g e c r e a t e s s t r e s s w i t h i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n . W h a t c a n w e d o t o e a s e i t ?

In late 2019, United Bank implemented a new intranet solution coupled with a knowledgebase library for quick access to how-to guides and reminders.

The hUB serves as the dashboard for company communications, celebrations, a search option for policies and procedures, plus forms to request non-urgent support.

A small staff of procedure and application experts staff the User Support Desk to assist users via phone, when they call 567-HELP. Hand off to 2nd level Tech Support when needed.

Digital Solutions

Customer should be able to conduct everyday banking transactions: deposit checks, transfer funds, review transactions, and pay bills. Allow customers to send payments to others, via Zelle or another payment platform.

Give your customers control over their card functions: turn on/off card to guard against fraud; limit the type of transactions by MCC codes; customize alerts for transactions completed or attempted.

Provide quick links to your website where customers can get what they need: your branch, ATM, ITM locations; easy access to apply for mortgages, consumer loans and credit cards. Provide a quick link for text or call to get a live person when needed.

Consider adding a financial management tool. It needs to have a fun component to it – and bring real value to the typical mobile app user.

The Mobile App T h e m o s t c r i t i c a l p i e c e o f y o u r b a n k s t r a t e g y t o d a y .

This generation of customers will not choose your bank because of your interest rates or your products. It will be your app that wins the business.

This is a key focus for UB in 2020. As community banks, we cannot rest on offering only mobile check deposit and bill payment.

Here are our non-negotiables for a winning community bank app.

Your Bank’s Website

• As customers choose more digital and visit your bank offices less, your website becomes more important.

• We are striving to engage more of our audience through social platforms. The goal is to lead prospects to your website to learn more and take action.

• Find a website CMS that is easy to use; change content regularly. Give customers a good reason to go to your site. Use Google Analytics to learn what customers respond to.

• Provide easy, secure apps to open deposit accounts, apply for consumer loans and mortgages.

United Bank launched a refreshed website with a custom CMS in 2019.

Digital Card Payments – Debit and Credit

A mobile wallet is an app on a mobile device that stores payment information from a credit card or debit card, then allows the customer to use the device to make purchases. The mobile wallet will only work at retailers with POS terminals equipped and enabled for mobile payments.

Challenge: local merchants in many UB markets have minimal understanding of accepting mobile wallet payments. If equipped, cashiers don’t know how to assist customers with process.

Mobile Wallet

This technology allows customers to make purchases by simply tapping their contactless-enabled payment device (a card or a device) against an enabled POS terminal. As merchants updated POS terminals to accept EMV cards, many were equipped with the contactless capability. The process employs near field communication (NFC) technology.

Negotiate your contract with VISA or MasterCard to include incentives for issuing contactless cards. Identify your most active card users and begin a reissue process targeted to them.

Contactless Payments

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Tip: Provide continuous training to branch staff to keep them in step with digital banking services.

Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Workflow Automation

Foxtrot RPA (Repetitive Process Automation)

Worth Mentioning O t h e r K e y P i e c e s o f t h e A u t o m a t i o n P u z z l e

We continue to learn how to use technology to automate processes as customers make their everyday requests.

These tools are helpful and worth mentioning.

Thank You!