People are not visiting bank branches like they did before the pandemic, leading financial institutions of all sizes to consider speeding up plans for shutting branches down and scaling digital solutions.
Blockchain technology has been a hot-button topic since it was unveiled in 2008, with various camps believing it will—or won’t—completely disrupt the finance industry. Ten years later, the debate continues. Yet I believe we’re getting closer to finding an answer.
In today's technology-driven world, electronic checks are a necessary solution to the growing demand for speed, security, and simplicity in online payment transactions. It was this demand that paved the way for CheckAlt's eCheck solution.
Many financial institutions (FIs) offer their customers the ability to pay bills via an online portal; this service is called Online Bill Pay. To initiate the transaction, a consumer will typically select or key-in the company they are making the payment to (e.g., a utility, department store, homeowner’s association, etc.), and then key-in other critical pieces of information, including their account number and the dollar amount of the payment.
Financial institutions really want us to be a partner in disruptive technology. I attend a lot of conferences in the disruptive space, and bankers as well as credit union executives tell me that they are experiencing interloping companies, such as Apple, Amazon and other players, trying to take away customers by offering a host of alternative financial services. They are entering these markets, but are causing great disruption and upheaval in the process.
