social media — Banking.com

FI Spotlight: Pan American Bank

April 19, 2013 By Banking.com Staff 3 Comments

Banks and credit unions are making headway building their own social media presence and with the influence of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) are beginning to determine how their activities fit into company policies. Financial institutions looking to go social have a bevy of resources to learn from, whether listening to webinars from experts, talking with lawyers familiar with the guidelines or hearing from other members of their community.

For our latest FI Spotlight, we touched base with Jesse Torres, President and CEO of Pan American Bank in Los Angeles, California. Jesse recently posted an instructional video for bankers and directors on social media. To learn more, Jesse provided further insight to Banking.com on his experience with social media at Pan American.

Q: You seem to have a great perspective and experience with social media? How did Pan American Bank build its social channels, and what was your general philosophy?

Pan American Bank began using social media in late 2009 in response to the backlash against banks. As a conservative community bank, Pan American Bank never participated in subprime lending and other questionable lending practices. However, due to the broad and sensational messaging delivered by the media, Pan American Bank and other community-focused banks were painted with the same brush as those that violated public trust through questionable lending practices. Social media provided Pan American Bank with the platform to tell its story – one person at a time.

Through social media, the bank has been able to demonstrate its commitment to the community and other stakeholders. Social media is a tremendous tool for “personalizing” the institution and creating a venue for honest and transparent two-way communication.

While Pan American Bank maintains a presence on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, it has chosen to focus the majority of its social media resources on Facebook. Facebook was chosen due to its broad adoption (over 1 billion worldwide users) and its mix of tools (e.g., status updates, video, photos, the ability to create and host events). These factors allow Pan American Bank to maintain an ongoing relationship with stakeholders using information in a variety of formats.

Q: What’s your best piece of advice for a financial institution just beginning to establish their social media presence?

Institutions need to realize that social media is now a regulatory hot button. During the past five years social media has transformed from an emerging technology to a mature technology. Many institutions now believe that it is time to incorporate social media into their strategy – perhaps due to having greater familiarity with the technology or because of competitive pressure. As such, the social media space is becoming increasingly occupied by financial institutions.

Regulators have noticed the growing trend but, until recently, have been unable to focus on social. As the industry recovers and as fewer banks risk failure, regulators are returning to business as usual. Any institution pursuing social media must become adequately familiar with the regulatory expectations – governance, policies and procedures, third party due diligence, training, content monitoring, audit, and board reporting. At a minimum, institutions should address social media through a risk assessment, policy and training.

Q: What’s one unexpected difficulty that banks can prepare for when developing their social media policies?

The main challenge in developing a social media policy is the governance structure. Contrary to what many may believe, social media risk is not a technology risk. It is a human resource risk. The dangers involved with social media do not involve malfunctions of technology or similar events. The dangers arise from employees being poorly trained and unintentionally creating risk for the institution. As such, the governing individual or body should have sufficient influence to require adequate employee training. This fact is many times lost as social media is often assigned to the IT department rather than to a department with broader human resource training capabilities. Ideally, due to social media’s broad impact of an organization (compliance, legal, sales, marketing, information technology, etc.), an appropriate governing structure should include a cross-departmental team.

Q: What do you see as the next trend for financial institutions on social media?

While adoption has increased over the past five years within the banking industry, the recent January 2013 FFIEC draft social media issuance and pending final regulations will slow adoption as the regulatory process works itself out. Once adoption resumes, financial institutions will increase their use of social media as a customer service channel. More progressive institutions, with greater risk appetites, will consider its use in completing financial transactions (think Chirpify). Others may utilize the platform for underwriting, using the social networks as an indicator of credit risk (good credit risks beget, or befriend, good credit risks). However, most institutions will limit its use to community building and brand differentiation due to their conservative nature and the rise of hacking incidents of both bank and social media platforms coupled with regulatory skepticism over the security afforded to bank customers through social media channels.

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Filed Under Financial Institution Spotlights Tagged With banks, FFIEC, FI Spotlight, Pan American Bank, policies, social media

What We’re Reading: Malware, Fees and Tablets

April 18, 2013 By Banking.com Staff 3 Comments

Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.

Prepaid Cards Still Have Lots of Fees: Survey

American Banker

A survey by Bankrate.com compares 24 prepaid cards based on the fees they charge consumers. For example, the 2012 survey found that 14 of 18 prepaid cards charged customers a balance inquiry fee on at least some automatic teller machines. This year, 18 of 24 cards charged such a fee on at least some ATMs. In last year’s survey six out of 18 prepaid cards charged fees for at least some declined transactions. This year, nine out of 24 cards did.

FDIC on Social Media Risks

Bank Info Security

As the use of social media grows among banking institutions, federal banking regulators warn those institutions need to be mindful of phishing and spoofing schemes. Drafted guidance issued by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council now details how banks and credit unions can prepare to mitigate the new and emerging risks social media poses. The drafted guidance, issued in January, references applicable laws and regulations banking institutions should consider when planning and conducting their activities related to social media, says Elizabeth Khalil, of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which is part of the FFIEC.

Creating A Customized Banking Experience With Big Data

Bank Systems & Technology

Big data opens the door for banks to group their customers according to their banking preferences, which can make customers more satisfied and more profitable. Banks have been increasingly focused on customer experience in recent years, but they’ve been taking an approach that is too broad, says Dean Nicolackis, a partner at PwC’s banking and capital markets practice. While many banks are trying to configure a customer experience that is consistent for every customer across every channel, the key to a really great customer experience is providing a different personalized experience that fits different customer segments, Nicolackis contends. Different customers just want different things – and are willing to pay for different things – from their bank.

Are Tablets Their Own Channel And Does It Matter?

Business 2 Community

The latest research from Javelin Strategy and Research indicates that the tablet users are older; between the ages of 35 to 54, have an average household income of $75,000, and half of them consider themselves to be early adopters. When compared with mobile banking, statistics show that users spend more time on tablets. The question though is not whether it should be considered a separate channel. However, whether separate or not, the bottom line, from a customer experience point of view, the service has to be consistent, and that is the key – it has to be fully integrated into all the other channels and the interchange between the channels has to be seamless.

SaveUp Program, Other Tools Target Millenials

Credit Union Journal

Frankenmuth Credit Union CEO Vickie Schmitzer is continually focused on implementing industry innovations to attract members of all ages, but especially Millenials. That focus stems from the credit union’s work in the field. “We work as much as we possibly can with our local public and parochial schools at every grade level,” said Schmitzer. “We know they are our credit union’s future and that new technology is what attracts them to a financial institution or business of any kind, for that matter,” said Schmitzer.

First Tech Also First CU to Launch Windows App

Credit Union Journal

First Tech FCU, the credit union for Microsoft Corp., said it has introduced a new Windows Phone mobile banking application, the first credit union in the U.S. to introduce a native Windows Phone mobile banking app complete with integrated mobile deposit and bill pay functionality. First Tech launched its new Windows phone app on-site at the main Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash., giving employees of Microsoft an in-depth look at this new platform. Microsoft employees and First Tech members will be able to view the app on a giant Microtile phone display, chat with First Tech App experts and personalize their Windows Phone at a laser engraving station.

Malware Attacks Growing, Getting Smarter, Targeting Android: Report

eWEEK

In 2012, 95 percent of malware threats targeted Android, says a new report. Malware attacks are increasing, getting smarter and targeting Google’s Android mobile operating system, according to a new report from NQ Mobile, a mobile security solutions provider that based the report on the findings of its Security Lab. Mobile malware threats increased by 163 percent in 2012, and 95 percent of all threats were targeted at Android, said the report. The firm estimates that 32.8 million Android devices were infected in 2012, an increase of 200 percent from the 10.8 million infected in 2011.

Banks Are Designing Branches to Look Like Apple Stores In a Struggle to Remain Relevant

Go Banking Rates

There are a few regional banks, like Umpaqua, that fully embraced “smart banking” years ago. For major, national banks, it was Citi that sparked the trend. In 2008, beginning with its Singapore location, the bank began constructing futuristic branch prototypes that swapped tellers for touchscreens, size with efficiency, and gave locations the overall look and feel of Apple stores.. Rather than reinventing the wheel when it came to modern design, Citi actually hired the services of Eight, Inc., the architectural and strategic design firm behind Apple, according to The Financial Brand.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With app, data, malware, mobile, security, social media, tablet, what we're reading

What We’re Reading: Digital Wallet, Social Media and Data

April 11, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.

Digital Wallet Race Is Far From Over

American Banker

Payments players with digital wallet aspirations — including Visa, MasterCard, Google, PayPal, Apple and Isis — are all vying for customers’ virtual pocket books in a race to truly electronic transactions. Yet none have had much luck, so far. There have been delays in launches (e.g. Isis’s delays on launching in its two pilot cities); changes in the way at least one major, digital wallet innovator processes its transactions (think: Google Wallet); and, most importantly, a lack of features appealing enough to spur widespread adoption. “Mobile wallets have been around for a while, and even for us, in the industry, we are only just starting to adopt these technologies,” says Philip Philliou, a payments consultant. “I don’t think anyone is far ahead in terms of disruption. We are still early on.”

3 Things Banks Must Do to Survive the Mobile Payments Jungle

American Banker

The mobile wallet market appears to be wide open to new entrants, with banks having a slight edge. While more than 20 percent of U.S. online consumers prefer to use their checking account for digital wallet services, 17 percent prefer PayPal, according to Gartner. That gap could quickly close in the next few years. To survive in the mobile payments landscape, banks need to do three things: Integrate mobile into existing offerings. Rebuild loyalty. Banks need to leverage emerging customer analytics techniques, coupled with geo-location services through mobile devices in order to make relevant offers at the right time. Redefine success. It’s no longer sufficient for banks to measure success by counting the number of mobile payments and online users.

All Those New Channels Affecting Accuracy of Data

Credit Union Journal

Credit unions face many challenges as channels diversify and members demand digital options. According to a recent Experian QAS survey, financial institutions are operating through an average of four different channels, the most popular being the organization’s website. While these new channels are exciting endeavors, many credit unions are experiencing problems with collecting accurate contact data. According to that same data, 91% of financial institutions suspect their customer/member and prospect data might be inaccurate in some way. On average, respondents think that as much as 18% of their data might be inaccurate. Even worse, another 27% of respondents are unsure how much of their data is inaccurate.

Introducing The Social Media Power 100 Rankings For Banks And Credit Unions

The Financial Brand

The Power 100 is an interactive list of retail banks and credit unions who have achieved the most social media traction. Components of the Power 100 score include Facebook ‘Likes,’ Facebook engagement rate, Twitter followers, tweets sent, YouTube views and YouTube subscribers. The top 15 institutions in the banking and credit union category are as follows: Chase, Capital One, ICICI Bank, E*TRADE Bank, Bank of American, Axis Bank, GT Bank, Wells Fargo, Citi, Commonwealth, FNB, Navy FCU, Bank of Nova Scotia, NAB and TD Canada.

DDoS: The Worst Case Scenario

Javelin Strategy & Research Blog

Since September of last year, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam has engaged in cyberwarfare against U.S. financial institutions, and it is a war with which they have had a great deal of apparent success if we believe that their goal was to inconvenience U.S. bank customers by rendering online banking portals inaccessible for a number of hours at a time. More than information sharing on best practices is needed – financial institutions should pool resources to ensure the availability of excess network capacity, and network operators must be involved in the effort to identify infected servers and to subsequently stop the malicious traffic its source. And while intelligence support is a good start, the Federal government must identify those responsible and cripple their ability to continue this campaign.

Facebook tries to get more in your face

Los Angeles Times

It’s hard not to detect a whiff of desperation in Facebook’s new please-don’t-go interface, which is determined to keep people within the social network as long as it can. Facebook Home is intended to dominate Android smartphones, making Facebook your first and last port of call as you traverse the wireless wonderland. It will keep Facebook features front and center, rather than require users to use an app.

Credit Union Takes an Early Lead with E-Signatures

SYS CON Media Blog

Aaron Pugh recently published a story on credit unions using e-signatures on CreditUnions.com. He writes that only eight and a half percent of credit unions larger than $20 million in assets currently offer e-signatures to their customers even though the market for e-signatures as a whole has shot up 48 percent from 2011 to 2012 according to Gartner Research. Among the early adopters in the industry is the Teachers Credit Union in Ontario, Canada. The member-owned financial organization serves employees of education and their families throughout the province. The 15,000 members conduct business through multiple branch locations, ATMs, online and via mobile banking.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With data, mobile payments, mobile wallet, rankings, social media, what we're reading

What We’re Reading: Banking Outages, Mobile Chat and Social Media

April 5, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.

Intuit Finally Lets Banks White-Label Mint

American Banker

Intuit Inc. announced Wednesday it is incorporating features from Mint, its well-known consumer-facing PFM software, into its digital banking line. The initial Mint product line for banks will combine Intuit mobile banking apps and online banking software with aspects of Mint PFM featured front and center. “We want to blur the lines between PFM tools and digital banking,” says Greg Wright, vice president, product management at Intuit Financial Services, the company’s unit that sells to banks. “This is a sign of where Intuit needs to go and wants to go. …It’s all part of this essential movement to resurrect and redefine PFM,” says Mark Schwanhausser, director multichannel financial services at Javelin Strategy & Research.

JPMorgan Chase Rides Out Online Banking Outage

American Banker

JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM) website has stumbled again roughly three weeks after a cyberattack. The nation’s biggest bank by assets took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to tell customers the website was “experiencing intermittent issues” and to recommend customers use its mobile service while the company worked “to get things up to full speed.” As of late Monday, the site had been affected for three hours.

SEC Lets Companies Provide Disclosures Over Social Media

American Banker

Companies may now handle disclosures over social media, the Securities and Exchange Commission ruled. Banks and other public companies can use outlets like Facebook and Twitter to make crucial announcements as long as they notify investors beforehand which social media platforms they’re going to use, the SEC said Tuesday. They must follow the same disclosure regulations that apply to company websites, the agency said.

Banking by Appointment…finally!

Celent Banking Blog

Banks have historically relied on a 100% walk-in model for in-branch sales and service. With branch traffic declining at most banks by more than 5% CAGR, sales leads aren’t just walking through the doors like they used to. And that traffic won’t return unless banks take proactive steps to generate those leads. Banking by appointment is one great way to do so.

Mobile Chat – Passing Fad or Key Capability?

Celent Banking Blog

Earlier this week, RBS launched a mobile chat feature, available to its business mobile banking users. RBS isn’t the only one jumping onto the mobile chat bandwagon – San Diego County Credit Union announced a similar offering. The concept is pretty straightforward, and is similar to the online chat tools that some banks have incorporated into their web sites and/or online banking. It’s a familiar experience to most mobile users and therefore could catch on.

Don’t Miss The Boat; It’s Time To Get Moving On Mobile

Credit Union Journal

If your credit union is still taking a wait-and-see approach to mobile banking, you are in danger of missing the boat if you don’t act quickly. “The boat is getting pretty dang close to leaving the dock,” said Brian Abele, SVP of product management at Q2ebanking. “It’s really critical for credit unions to make sure they start jumping into this. Not only are we seeing that mobile is becoming more of a standard across the board for every institution, but we’re starting to get to the next level of functionality and services-like mobile deposit capture-and once they’re rolled out to members they’re adapted very quickly and are some of the most engaging services for members.”

Credit Unions Ride Social Media

Credit Union Times

No longer is it a case of should a credit union be active on social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. Now, it has shifted to just how active and on exactly which channels. One of the reasons is that social media has become integrated into the lives tens of millions in America and ignoring the channels may not make strategic sense, some experts have advised. “Facebook has become instrumental in how we reach out to our members,” said Lynne O’Leary, vice president of marketing at the $4.7 billion Teachers Federal Credit Union in Hauppauge, N.Y.

The Fed: Mobile Banking Usage Soars

Credit Union Times

The numbers have it and, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve, mobile banking usage is soaring as it keeps close pace with mobile phone adoption. According to the Fed: “As of November 2012, 28% of all mobile phone users and 48% of smartphone users had used mobile banking in the past 12 months. This is a significant increase from 21% in December 2011 for mobile phone users and 42% for smartphone users.

Inside Citi’s Mobile Strategy

Digiday

A study by Compete found that 57 percent of U.S. smartphone users rely on mobile banking. And a recent Juniper Research report predicts that there will be 1 billion mobile banking users by 2017, which is equivalent to more than 15 percent of global mobile subscribers. Tracey Weber, head of Internet and mobile at Citi, says that mobile is a must have, but it does present its own set of unique challenges. For one, not all consumers are comfortable having their financial information on their mobile phone.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With chat, customer service, mobile, social media, what we're reading

What We’re Reading: Cyberattacks, Mobile Bill Pay and Social Media

March 21, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.

More Banks Hit by Cyberattacks than Initially Thought

American Banker

Last week’s cyberattacks against U.S. banks were more widespread than reported, industry experts say. Though JPMorgan Chase and BB&T are the only big banks to confirm a denial of service attack on Tuesday, roughly a half dozen institutions endured digital assaults at around the same time, according to Radware, a security firm that has investigated cyber intrusions on behalf of financial firms. Tuesday’s attacks “were the largest attacks we’ve seen to date in scale,” Carl Herberger, a vice president of security solutions at Radware, told American Banker. “The one that was advertised to the world was Chase, but I can tell you that almost on an hourly basis banks were being attacked, which is a very substantial campaign.”

Funny Ads, Social Media Can Help Small Banks Stand Out

American Banker

Small banks would attract more young customers if they embraced social media and got more creative in their advertising, according to bankers who have turned to more daring marketing. About 87% of people between 18 and 29 use social networking sites and 61% bank online, according to materials from a session called “Developing & Marketing Products Aimed at the Younger Generation.” The research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that Among those ages 30 to 49, 68% use social networking sites and 68% bank online. In contrast, only 30% of community banks use social media such as Facebook or Twitter, while 60% provide customer account alerts by email, according to a 2012 ICBA technology survey.

Should Banks Charge Fees for Mobile RDC?

Celent Banking Blog

Last week, the Chicago Tribune broke a story that PNC was considering charging fees for its mobile remote deposit capture (RDC). Hundreds of US financial institutions now offer mRDC and that number will likely double in the next year. RDC is quickly becoming a staple mobile banking capability and all but two financial institutions offer it free of charge. The revenue opportunity is uninteresting. Most mRDC users deposit just a few checks per year.

1 in 4 Tablet Users to Pay Bills via Their Devices by 2017, Juniper Report Finds

Fierce Mobile IT

The new Juniper report, Mobile Banking: Handset & Tablet Market Strategies 2013-2017, found that as consumer tablet adoption continues to rise, there will be significant migration of purchasing and transaction activity from laptops and desktops to tablet devices. Indeed, the development of the ‘couch commerce’ trend within the payments industry will be increasingly replicated within the banking industry.

Bitcoins and Amazon: Bringing E-Commerce to a Country Near You

Javelin Strategy & Research Blog

It is a testament to the tenacity of bitcoins that the virtual currency has managed to survive the roller coaster it has been riding for the past two years. As Javelin has documented in multiple blogs, the currency has been linked to drug trafficking, been the target of a Trojan virus, had the value of the coins plummet after being hacked by a Hong Kong-based hacker group, had nearly $250,000 worth of bitcoins stolen from the virtual currency exchange Bitfloor, faced direct criticism from the Attorney General and DEA, and was the subject of the FBI’s Intelligence Assessment report. Any one of these catastrophes alone would normally mean the decimation of a fledgling currency, but bitcoins have managed to not only survive, but to increase functionality in the wake of disaster. Consumers today can now use their bitcoins to make online transactions and have the purchases shipped throughout the globe, using Amazon’s shipping service.

Should you switch to an online-only bank? The growing appeal of Web-based checking and savings accounts

MarketWatch

With financial institutions making a push into online-only checking and savings accounts, some industry insiders say this could be a defining year for Internet banking. But does it make sense for customers to adopt a purely web-based model? Overall, online-only banks saw their deposits rise to $364 billion in 2012, up 32% from 2010 and more than 400% from 2004, according to Novantas, a research firm. More players large and small have been wooing those migrants: New Jersey-based financial firm CIT, for example, recently announced that it has landed 50,000 customers and $5 billion in deposits in less than 18 months since the launch of its internet-only CIT Bank.

Report: Tablet boost to mobile banking

Mobile World Live

A quarter of tablet PC users will use their device to pay bills by 2017. That is one of the headline findings of a new report by Juniper Research. Because of a sharp rise in tablet adoption, Juniper calculates that users of transactional tablet banking services will number almost 200 million in 2017. The research firm says this will account for around 19 per cent of total mobile banking customers in 2017, up from 9 per cent this year.

Next in Mobile Banking: Photo Bill Payments

New York Times

U.S. Bank this week introduced a mobile “photo bill pay” service, which allows its online and mobile banking customers to snap a photo of a paper bill with their phone and have the information automatically loaded into their account; Then, they can pay the bill electronically. First Financial Bank in Abilene, Tex., began offering the service earlier this year, too. U.S. Bank is offering the service as part of its mobile banking app, which is available on Android phones as well as the iPhone and iPad. Niti Badarinath, the head of mobile banking at U.S. Bank, said that only about 20 to 30 percent of active online banking customers at the biggest banks use e-bills. And those who do prefer e-bills still have to deal with merchants that don’t offer them — and it’s not just mom and pop stores, but sometimes larger companies, too.
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Social media regulatory guidance for U.S. banks: a road map for the finance industry

Reuters

In January 2013, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) addressed the risk of the use of social media without specific guidance by federally supervised banks, and certain nonbank entities (collectively, banks), called the Social Media: Consumer Risk Management Guidance (PDF). It completes the set of guidance available and confirms that all major regulators are adopting a similar risk-based approach to adaptation of traditional rules for social media. It makes two points: 1. The same traditional standards apply that have applied to pre-electronic forms of communication; 2. The financial firm must apply a risk-based approach in building a compliance program to manage the new, largely operational risks created by social media.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With ads, advertising, bill pay, cyberattacks, feeds, Juniper Research, RDC, social media, tablet, what we're reading

FI Spotlight: Star Choice Credit Union

March 13, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

In our latest FI Spotlight, Banking.com spoke with Molly McCurdy, Marketing Coordinator for Star Choice Credit Union. Molly has been the Marketing Coordinator for Star Choice Credit Union since February 2012, and has been utilizing social media to reach a younger demographic in hopes of lowering the average age of the members at Star Choice Credit Union. We connected with Molly to talk about how Star Choice is engaging members, using social media to drive more intimate customer relationships and recent social campaigns like their Minnesota Wild Hockey promotion.

Q: In a few sentences, can you tell me about Star Choice Credit Union?

What began as the Minneapolis Star Employees Credit Union in 1931 has flourished into Star Choice Credit Union, a strong, healthy, stable financial institution. We are dedicated to making sure members love what we do, and carry out the tradition of people-helping-people by helping our members build strong financial futures and achieve their financial goals.

Q: Do you find social media beneficial to interacting with members?

We have been using social media extensively, especially in the past year, to connect with our current and prospective members. It gives our members another outlet to communicate directly with us, allowing them to post questions and comments about Star Choice as well as expressing their appreciation for our array of products and member services. Social media has allowed us to create a likeable “personality” for our credit union and allows our members to interact with us in a way that isn’t strictly business-related, which they seem to really enjoy.

Q: Let’s talk social. Star Choice CU is on Facebook and Twitter. Do you view social channels as a good way to interact with customers? Do your members use one platform more heavily than another to engage with you? Do you see a difference in the demographics that use Facebook v. Twitter?

Social media is an extremely great way to interact with our members. Our Facebook page is generally more member-based, while we interact with a lot of other credit unions and business using Twitter. Our Facebook demographic seems to be younger and more actively engaged than our Twitter page. I utilize Twitter mainly to interact and get insights on what other credit unions and financial institutions are doing, while Facebook is used more heavily and primarily for interacting with current and prospective members of Star Choice.

Q: Star Choice recently launched a sweepstakes encouraging Facebook fans to send their information to win tickets to see the Minnesota Wild take on the Colorado Avalanche. How has your Minnesota Wild Hockey Ticket promotion helped encourage more engagement?

Since we started the Minnesota Wild Hockey promotion, we went from about 460 Facebook fans to around 530. Not only did we increase the number of “likes” on our Facebook page, but the promotion has sparked a lot of excitement and engagement on our page. People were liking and sharing our posts, encouraging their friends to enter into the ticket drawing, and, as a result, our reach increased dramatically from 687 people towards the beginning on February to around 1,700 this past week.

Q: Are you looking to drive engagement to your credit union within a certain demographic?

The national average age for credit unions is 47 years old, and we are currently at around 46 years old. Our goal is to continue to lower that age, and get the word out about credit unions to a younger demographic and social media is doing a great job helping us achieve that. Seventy five percent of our Facebook demographic is between the ages of 18-44, and that is ultimately the demographic we are trying to reach, so we are right on track.

Q: Let’s talk mobile. You offer mobile banking to your members. What platforms do you offer (iPhone, Android)? Have you seen a surge in mobile banking usage in the last year?

We offer mobile banking to any member who has an internet-enabled mobile device. Last year at this time we had about 1,800 members utilizing our mobile banking services, and right now we have almost 2,000 members taking advantage of our mobile banking. Our mobile banking usage is definitely continuing to increase.

Want to hear more from Star Choice Credit Union? Follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

Think your FI deserves special recognition? Submit your FI here.

Filed Under Financial Institution Spotlights Tagged With credit union, Facebook, FI Spotlight, gen x, gen y, social media, Star Choice Credit Union

Social Media Regulation – Part I: Adapting to New Policies

March 12, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

This is Part I of a two part post on American Banker’s “Banking Regulatory Update: New Social Media Rules” webinar. You can view Part II here.

Last week, the Banking.com team sat in on American Banker’s webinar, “Banking Regulatory Update: New Social Media Rules,” which detailed the current policies around social media use by financial institutions. Moderated by American Banker’s own Penny Crosman, the panel of presenters included:

Mercedes Kelley Tunstall, Of Counsel, Ballard Spahr
Carl Pry, Senior Director, Treliant Risk Advisors
Jonathan Foxx, President and Managing Director, Lenders Compliance Group

With content ranging from how to establish a corporate social media policy, general best practices for social media, and analyzing the FFIEC guidance and call for feedback on social media regulation, we wanted to take a deeper dive on the content and connect with some of the experts ourselves. We first spoke with webinar moderator, Penny Crosman, editor in chief of Bank Technology News and technology editor of American Banker.

Q: What social media policies have you seen banks and credit unions using that you think are effective?

Most of the social media policies I know of are dry, legalistic, and boilerplate. The policies drafted by large banks and Wall Street firms seem to be draconian – many don’t allow employees to even access social media sites (except for a few people who work in customer service and marketing). One reason for this is SEC rules that require banks to archive all emails – messages stored on social networks are difficult for a bank to monitor and store. The employees of these companies sometimes use their personal smartphones and tablets to access the sites. I know of Wall Street executives who have Twitter streams under aliases and protect their streams from being viewed by any but their close friends. Commonwealth Bank of Australia last year came out with a harsh policy that insisted that employees report “inappropriate or disparaging content and information stored or posted by others (including non-employees) in the social media environment” or risk being fired. These are examples of going overboard. Banks and credit unions need to find a way to comply with the necessary rules, yet encourage natural, positive engagement on social media. Citi, for one is finding success using software to identify and catch potential rule violations and route those to its legal group, while encouraging its customer services people to maintain friendly and helpful conversations with customers on Twitter and Facebook. I think more banks will turn to software to handle policy compliance, rather than expecting employees to keep all the rules in their heads.

Q: Do you think banks and credit unions are quickly learning how to adapt to these regulations?

Banks and their compliance departments are keeping a close eye on these regulations and are sure to have their own policies in place when the FFIEC publishes its final rules. They are already used to complying with the many existing consumer protection laws the FFIEC cites in its guidance. What some of them may end up doing is freezing all social media activity until they get their policies finalized and employee training conducted.

Q: What would you recommend as the first step for banks to develop social media policies and practices?

I think the logical first step would be to canvass all current social media activity – review all social media pages the bank maintains and ask employees what they’re doing on their own. The second step would be to hire or consult with a good lawyer who can parse out which aspects of the rules apply to the bank’s activities and help create a policy that would enable compliance.

Q: How do you think upcoming Facebook payments capabilities will affect banks’ interactions with social networks?

I think banks may eventually get involved with payments over social networks, but they may be the last to the party, largely because of the regulations they need to be careful of, such as the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. There are also security issues with social media payments, as social passwords are pretty easy to game. Authentication will be tricky and important. I expect banks will be very cautious about this.

Interested in hearing more? Check out Part II with our interview with Carl Pry, Senior Director, Treliant Risk Advisors who spoke to us about how he counsels financial institutions on their social media activities.

Filed Under Industry News, Social Media Tagged With American Banker, Facebook, FFIEC, payments, Penny Crosman, policy, regulation, social media

Social Media Regulation – Part II: Creating Your Social Media Policy

March 12, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

This is Part II of a two part post on American Banker’s “Banking Regulatory Update: New Social Media Rules” webinar. You can view Part I here.

Mercedes Kelley Tunstall, Of Counsel, Ballard Spahr
Carl Pry, Senior Director, Treliant Risk Advisors
Jonathan Foxx, President and Managing Director, Lenders Compliance Group

Much of the content of the webinar dissected the implications of the FFIEC’s proposed guidance and how financial institutions can comply. As regulators are looking for feedback on the guidelines by March 23, we spoke to Carl Pry, Senior Director, Treliant Risk Advisors, to hear how FIs are currently reacting to the guidance.

Q: What have you seen as the number one risk management issue for financial institutions on social? Can you elaborate on a way to avoid this situation?

The most critical risk management issue for banks regarding social media is the lack of awareness and oversight. Many institutions are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to social media, to their detriment. Institutions that don’t address this issue in the present are missing an opportunity to connect with a demographic we all want to reach: the young and technologically capable. But the risk comes when taking a hands-off approach results in the illusion that the institution is simply not participating in social media. Chances are that you are – your employees are – using social media every day. Without a clear social media policy and procedures, without guidelines on what can and cannot be said, you may be violating certain laws and regulations without even knowing it.

Avoiding this situation means getting ahead of the curve by formulating and implementing clear company-wide policies and procedures addressing social media. They should be comprehensive and deal with both company and employee usage of social media. Also, set clear guidelines for consumers and your customers who utilized your bank’s social media sites, as well.

Q: Do you think banks and credit unions should use Twitter and Facebook as customer service channels at all? Why?

Absolutely, although within limits. These are channels your customers are already using in their everyday lives, so why ignore them? They have the advantage of providing more immediate responses than snail mail, that’s for sure. But be aware of the limitations of social media, such as the 140-character limit of Twitter. Can you say what you want to say within 140 characters? For customer service usage, also understand what different social media sites do. You might not want to broadcast specific responses to the masses. Know the way these channels operate and coordinate your responses accordingly.

Q: Do you have any tips for HR policies or training for employees using social media?

Most importantly, make clear to employees what the parameters of usage are. Not how much time they spend on social media, but content of postings. If an employee is posting anything on behalf of the bank, make sure it is subject to the same control and review mechanisms you’d employ for any other sort of communication (such as email). But also be clear as to the expectations of employees posting things on their own accounts regarding their employment or the institution’s products and services. They should know the limits of what not to say, and that if they discuss the bank’s business, all appropriate legal and compliance requirements likely apply.

To hear more, check out Part I and our interview with Penny Crosman, editor in chief of Bank Technology News and technology editor of American Banker who shared her thoughts on banks adapting to new guidelines and regulation.

Filed Under Industry News, Social Media Tagged With American Banker, Carl Pry, compliance, FFIEC, lawyer, policy, regulation, social media, Social media Policy, Treliant

What We’re Reading: Retail Banking, Tech Disruptions and Vine

March 7, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.

‘Consumer Reports’ Offers Tips For Doing Taxes Online

All Things Considered

If you expect to have an adjusted gross income of $57,000 or less, the easiest thing to do is use the IRS website — it has a section called Free File. You can prepare and file your federal income taxes for free with one of 15 companies that have signed up with Free File. If you think you’re going to have an adjusted gross income that’s greater than that, you can use the search engine, type in “tax preparation,” and a number of names should come up. One that everybody might know is TurboTax.

Big Bank Breakups and Tech Disruptions: Predicting the Future of Reform

American Banker

Almost everyone in Washington finds some fault with Dodd-Frank. But rather than making smaller, incremental corrections in the short term, Congress could attempt a more comprehensive fix further down the road. To many, Dodd-Frank, which is meant to apply more regulatory pressure on the largest financial companies, tried correcting problems with Gramm-Leach-Bliley, which made it easier for multiline financial conglomerates to operate. Alternatively, the rush of technological change in financial services could serve as motivation to lawmakers to devise regulatory reforms that keep pace.

Social Media Newbie Regions Bank Aces Facebook, Considers Vine

Bank Investment Consultant

Looking further ahead, Liliana Grip, vice president of social media at Regions Bank has her eye on Vine, a Twitter-owned mobile service that lets users capture and share short looping videos. “We’re trying to figure out how to leverage Vine[…]One concern, and Twitter is addressing this, is there’s a lot of [content] that isn’t consistent with our brand. We need to get through some legal and compliance hurdles.”

Consumer Appetite for Comprehensive, Mobile PFM Grows

Bank Systems & Technology

Javelin estimates only 21 percent of U.S. consumers — or more than 49 million adults — mix and match current PFM features from software like Quicken, online banking, and various websites. However, many of those polled indicated that they wold like a way to view all their account balances in one place, with nearly half prioritizing this feature over all the other PFM services.

What Will Retail Banking Look Like in 2020?

Bank Systems & Technology

Opening a new bank branch used to be a matter of simply choosing a location and building out the structure according to a template design. But today, the definition of “bank branch” is being transformed by technology, competitive dynamics and economic pressures. As reported in Jones Lang LaSalle’s recently published Global Retail Banking 2020 study, up to 50 percent of branches in today’s U.S. bank networks may be declared obsolete — although not necessarily defunct — by 2020. Given that branches constitute 75 percent of a bank’s total retail distribution costs, according to research from Capgemini, implementing smart, technologically savvy retail strategies will be critical to driving shareholder value.

Threat of the Week: DDoS Becoming an Expensive Fact of Life

Credit Union Times

The ceasefire is over. Last week, on Feb. 25, the Cyber Fighters of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam renewed their Distributed Denial of Service attacks against U.S. financial institutions. That included again taking down the websites of two credit unions: the $1.5 billion University FCU in Austin, Texas, and Patelco, the $3.8 billion Pleasanton, Calif., institution. They issued the same demand – removal of an anti-Islam video from YouTube – and said their campaign against financial institutions would continue. What is new is that the conversation about how to respond to the industrial-grade DDoS unleashed by the Cyber Fighters is beginning to shift.

Consumers Want More Practical Online Tools, Portable Bank Account Numbers

Financial Brand

According to a study conducted by BT and YouGov, 61% of banking customers in the U.S. favor portable banking account numbers. When asked which three tools they would most like their bank to provide, customers indicated that they would like to see more sophisticated, more practical online tools — all hosted on the financial institution’s main website. The features most desired by consumers include peer review sections (32%), live chat functionality (23%) and compare-my-bank style services (29%). When asked about which three factors would be the most appealing when considering moving banks, the results were fairly consistent across all countries. Good online banking facilities (39%), the presence of a local branch (45%) and the ability to access banking services 24/7 (29%) were ranked highest.

Consumers remain resistant to digital banking aspirations

Finextra

A YouGov poll of consumer attitudes to the introduction of portable bank account numbers has unearthed an underlying distrust of social and mobile technologies and a clear preference for human-to-human interaction via the branch, the call centre and the Web. The BT-commissioned poll of 6500 adults from six countries worldwide, found that the majority of consumers in Spain (76%), Hong Kong (70%), France (64%), Germany (61%) and the UK (62%) all agree that a portable identity number – allowing them to switch banks without changing account details – would be useful.

Five High-Tech Trends Driving the Future of Banking

FOX Business

Here are some of the trends driving the future of banking. Customers will soon be gaining more mobile-banking payment and account options. “We’re going to see a lot more and different products, and a richer (banking) experience,” says Brett King, author of “Bank 3.0″ and “Branch Today, Gone Tomorrow. Banks already are rolling out banking software for iPads and tablets and thinking of new ways to structure bank accounts “that are more purpose-built,” with more options for tracking money and ways to make payments, King says.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With consolidation, DDoS, Digital, disruption, mobile, PFM, retail banking, social media, taxes, Vine, what we're reading

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