Are you paying too much?

Yes! I have no doubt that your institution is paying too much for technology. There has been significant movement in the marketplace regarding new technology, and staying with your existing vendor could be more costly than you think.

1. Does your mobile banking solution require that your customer set up an internet banking account?

If the answer is yes, you are paying too much!

Not only is the vendor double charging you (internet and mobile) your customer will be constantly challenged to know two passwords, one of which they will never use and always forget.

2. Is your check capture system the same for your teller as it is for your customer (business and retail)?

If not, you are being double charged again. Why does your institution have to pay for two different systems? The key word here is “different systems.”

3. Do you have more than one log-on requirement to access your systems, and when you inquire about a single sign-on capability the answer is yes, they have it, but it is an extra charge?

Wait a minute, they want to charge you more to access all of THEIR systems? What happened to the benefits of one vendor?

4. What about charging you an interface fee to integrate their debit card processing platform into their core platform?

This is getting way out of hand here. The process should be one vendor and multiple benefits and forget the bundle. This is just another way of clouding the actual cost.

The reality is that conversions are not as hard as they used to be. Furthermore, your real cost should go down, not up, at time of renewal, and the benefits of staying with your existing vendor should be obvious. The vendor should take the position of retaining a customer is far more profitable than losing one and replacing them.

Finally, having to pay extra for integrated systems is contrary to the marketplace. We are in the mobile-centric era. One system, many access points. They should be independent of, not dependent on, each other.

Pricing and integration should be simplified and standard. Paying extra or an additional charge because the vendor needs both systems for one to work is duplicative and unnecessary.

And it indicates they are offering you outdated technology.

Sharpen your pencil

Maybe it’s time to stop paying extra to the vendor that is not keeping up and take some extra time doing some homework. The savings on new technology with a new vendor could bring extra money to your institution in the neighborhood of six figures—if not more—and gain you a large number of extra happy customers.

Stop paying too much and put the extra to work for your institution!

—The Wombat!