4 Tactics to Up Your Digital Banking GameExpert Strategies for Winning Over Small and Midsize Businesses

As start-ups and technology companies encroach on traditional business banking territory, nothing is off limits. Payments, cash flow management, lending, analytics, and wealth management are all up for grabs.

For banks to keep and expand their role as the primary financial provider to small and midsize businesses, they must offer robust digital solutions that stand out from the crowd. Here are four strategies for upping your digital banking game and staying ahead of the competition.

4 Tactics to Up Your Digital Banking GameExpert Strategies for Winning Over Small and Midsize Businesses

Build up payments services

of banking industry revenues come from payments.1

42%

To retain staying power against these niche competitors, you must offer small and midsize businesses integrated digital banking solutions – and continuously improve them as the technology and innovation curve moves forward.

Build from your core strength: payments

Payments represent 42% of bank revenues1 and are the beachhead that newer niche competitors are using to lure small and midsize businesses away from their banks. Banks that fail to innovate may end up with just transaction settlement, which will continue to have price and margin pressure as payment systems become more efficient. However, banks have a real opportunity to leverage their mission-critical role in payments to solve broader business issues for small and midsize companies.

1.

Mobile rules small business banking

Facilitate anytime/anywhere banking

Small and midsize businesses expect quick access to key financials via smartphones and tablets with a mobile-responsive design that allows for easy viewing. A digital banking solution must also offer businesses features that go beyond traditional consumer-oriented bill pay, mobile deposit, and balance checking features.

of U.S. small businesses

use smartphones to conduct business.2

2.94%

Today’s business owners expect to be able to conduct any banking activity on their mobile device:

For example:

• Make sure your digital solution includes mobile document capture, so business customers can easily upload a photo ID or business license needed to open an account.

• Align payment workflows with your online channel, so that business owners can approve a payroll file from wherever they are.

• Enable business owners to easily understand not only today’s balance but also expected cash flows when they are on the road and considering a big purchase.

More importantly, they expect their banks to provide mobile services that will help them manage their business anytime from anywhere.

Mobile rules small business banking

shop for a bank

open a new account

manage cash flow

Leverage data to help businesses grow

Expedite business insights

Often reeling from data overload, small and midsize businesses welcome easily digestible, actionable information that helps them understand their customers, business performance trends, revenue, and cash flow.

For example, provide enhanced insights and predictive trends that will help your customers benchmark themselves against others in the industry. Alert customers if a transaction appears out of the norm so that they can take action and prevent fraud.

3.

challenge

Your bank can gain a competitive edge by helping clients grow their businesses with the powerful data and analytics they are already collecting.

Growing revenue is the biggest challenge

small and midsize businesses expect

to face in 2015.3

#1

Banks are losing ground

Expand service offerings

In lending, payment, wealth management, cash flow management, and analytics, banks are losing ground to start-ups and technology companies eager to grab market share. These nimble players can focus on one specific niche and hone it, offering effective, thorough, and efficient solutions.

However, selecting narrow niche solutions for various financial services ultimately results in too much complexity for the buyer. Your business customers would prefer to have more capability in one place.

Banks have the opportunity to reverse current trends and provide more value by extending the number of services they offer. Automating and managing payments, receivables, and payrolls are distinctive digital banking services that small and midsize businesses value.

4.

of small to midsize businesses use a payments or cash

management service from a non-bank.4

Differentiate your bank by prioritizing value-added capabilities that help your clients help their clients.

62%

Use These 4 Strategies to Win Business

In a world awash with options, banks must innovate, especially in the digital arena, or risk falling behind for good. Focusing on these four key strategies will give your institution an edge against bank and non-bank competitors.

Today small and midsize businesses expect customized, innovative digital experiences. Designing killer digital business banking solutions that they fall in love with can be the key to retaining existing clients, adding new ones, and cross selling services. Use digital banking to deliver on a vision that your small and midsize business customers will turn to first, and you’ll stand a good chance of winning the digital banking race.

Take action nowFor more information about digital banking strategies to attract small and midsize businesses, contact:

Phone: 800.472.1321 Email: info@bottomline.com

Build from your core strength: payments

Facilitate anytime/anywhere banking

Expedite business insights

Expand service offerings4.

3.

2.

1.

About Bottomline TechnologiesBottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY) powers mission-critical business transactions.

We help our customers optimize financially-oriented operations and build deeper customer

and partner relationships by providing a trusted and easy-to-use set of cloud-based

digital banking, fraud prevention, payment, financial document, insurance, and healthcare

solutions. Over 10,000 corporations, financial institutions, and banks benefit from

Bottomline solutions. Headquartered in the United States, Bottomline also maintains

offices in Europe and Asia-Pacific.

SOURCES:1 McKinsey, Global Payments Report, October 2014 http://www.mckinsey.com/client_service/financial_services/latest_thinking/payments2 AT&T and Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, “Small Business Technology Poll,” 2014 http://about.att.com/mediakit/2014techpoll3 JP Morgan Chase & Co., Business Leaders Outlook 2015: Small Business, 2015 https://www.chase.com/content/dam/chasecom/en/commercial-bank/executive-connect/common/document/small-business-business-leaders-2015.pdf4 Aite Group, Monetizing the Small-Business Opportunity, 2014 http://www.aitegroup.com/report/monetizing-small-business-opportunity

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