How Two Banks Are Embracing Digital

Lake City and Sterling National are the latest US banks to launch new digital banking services, targeting both consumers and businesses.

Indiana-based Lake City Bank has unveiled a “next-generation” digital banking platform to serve commercial and retail customers.

Called Lake City Bank Digital, the platform is designed to combine digital functionality for clients in one device-agnostic solution. Previously, this would have meant using four separate online and mobile solutions for both business and consumer accounts.

Customers will be able to view accounts, pay bills and transfer funds as well as manage cards and subscription services. This will also include financial management tools, with budgeting, planning and saving functions.

“Our commitment to Lake City Bank Digital connects with the relationship strategy that has driven the bank since its founding,” said David Findlay, president and CEO of Lake City Bank.

“We made this move very intentionally to ensure that we are not only competitive on the digital banking front but positioned for long-term competitiveness with competitors of all sizes, particularly those digital services offered by much larger banks. Despite the challenges inherent in rolling out this digital platform during a pandemic, it was critical that we move forward to be at the forefront of delivering this next-generation platform.”

Elsewhere, Sterling National Bank, based in New York, has entered into a partnership with cloud-based digital banking platform BrightFi.

The bank will provide banking solutions to support the BrightFi platform, following similar strategic partnerships it has recently signed with Google Pay and Rho Technologies.

“We are excited to partner with BrightFi in building and delivering an innovative set of services that bring digital banking solutions to those that need it most,” said Matthew Smith, an executive managing director at Sterling National Bank. “We see our collaboration with BrightFi as an opportunity to create and deliver seamless banking experiences to current and future clients.”

Many bank management teams have realized that offering digital banking services is a way of challenging for market share in the aftermath of the pandemic.

However, recent research by Capgemini revealed that many large and established US banks were not structured for digital shifts.

This has presented an opportunity for fintechs, with the research finding that 36% of customers had discovered a new financial provider during the crisis and had planned to continue using them post-pandemic.