If the philosophy for businesses is time is money, banks would do well by helping businesses save money by saving time.
Many banks are doing just that by adopting technology, particularly the Internet, to help businesses manage their finances more efficiently.
The Internet allows banking customers to instantly access their bank accounts, transfer money between bank accounts, and verify images of paid checks.
“Personal relationship is absolutely paramount in banking,” said Susan Ten Eyck, senior vice president and manager of the commercial banking center of City National Bank, No. 9 on the San Diego Business Journal’s List of Nonlocal Banks. “Technology is a beneficial tool to enhance a bank’s offerings, but it is not to replace the high level of service,” Ten Eyck said.
– Nonlocals Ranked By Local Deposits
Nonlocal banks on The List are ranked by their local deposits in San Diego County as of Dec. 31, 2000. Because some nonlocal banks do not track local deposits, the information was obtained from the Washington, D.C.-based Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
City National Bank reported $82 million in local deposits as of Dec. 31 in its three local offices, an increase of 17 percent from the previous year. The bank had a total of $9 billion in assets and $7.4 billion in deposits companywide as of Dec. 31, 2000.
“As technology has evolved, people can check their balances through their modems,” Ten Eyck said. “This type of banking is a good management tool for any consumer or business.”
Ten Eyck said City National Bank used the Internet’s capabilities to offer Online Cash Management to its customers in January.
“OCM is a real-time product,” Ten Eyck said. “A customer can get the information from a bank right away rather than waiting till the next business day to process any information.”
Online Cash Management provides automatic e-mail alerts if an account balance moves above or below pre-selected amounts; online check imaging to view the front and back of cleared checks; and online demand account statements to view a snapshot of their account’s current statement activity.
– Service Consolidates Data On A Single Site
Last month, Los Angeles-based City National offered a free and personalized account aggregation service, which consolidates online account information from various financial institutions and other organizations into a single account on the City National’s Internet Web site at (www.cnb.com).
The program called City National MyAccounts provides a one-stop account viewing to a bank customer’s confidential account information, which can be accessed by one user name and password.
The system allows clients to view recent transactions and account balances for online banking and brokerage accounts, calculate assets and liabilities, consolidate e-mails and track frequent-flier miles.
“You can track all of your account information under one screen,” Ten Eyck said. “We bring all the information to you at your fingertips.”
MyAccounts program is developed by Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Yodlee, an account aggregation services provider. Many other financial institutions adopted Yodlee’s technology, including New York-based Citigroup, FleetBoston Financial Corp. of Boston, New York-based Chase Manhattan Corp. and New York-based Merrill Lynch & Co.
The MyAccounts is very secured for the client’s protection, she said. The financial information is transferred with a 128-bit encryption, which scrambles and reassembles information between the Web site to a client’s computer. In addition, there is an automatic time-out system, in which the Web site terminates the session if there is no activity for a defined period of time.
– E-Firm Among Satisfied Customers
Curt Nelson, CEO of San Diego-based Silicon Space, Inc., said the Internet applications helps his company tremendously by manipulating its cash management on a real-time basis. Silicon Space is an e-business professional services firm.
As a spokesman for an Internet-related firm, Nelson said cash management capabilities are important to companies.
“For firms like ours, we’re built on internal funding and profits, which are reinvested back into the company,” Nelson said. “I want to manage my business without worrying about the cash management activities.”
Steve Berkowitz, Silicon Space’s controller, said the company previously used dial-up services to check on monthly statements. However, the bank’s Web site can show real-time activities for deposits, money transfers, checks cleared and even allows stop-payment options.
“Cash management on the Internet allows us to receive better information to make better decisions,” Berkowitz said. “It’s a huge timesaver for us and let us put the money to work.”
A new trend in Internet banking is setting up banks completely on the Internet without any local branches.
– Bank Of Internet Recently Established
San Diego-based Bank of Internet USA, No. 19 on The List of Area Banks, was founded July 4 of last year at (www.BofI.com). As of Dec. 31, the bank reported $61 million in total assets and $50 in total deposits.
However, Gary Lewis Evans, president and CEO of Bank of Internet USA, reported the bank’s assets are now over $100 million and it has 2,700 accounts in its first eight months of operations.
Area banks are ranked by its total assets as of Dec. 31. On The List of Area Banks, an area bank is considered headquartered in San Diego County if its subsidiary or parent operations are located here.
Evans said there are less than a dozen Internet-only banks and Bank of Internet USA is the only one based in San Diego County. The bank has customers in 48 of the 50 states and continues to grow rapidly, according to Evans.
“Everything is done on the Internet since the time a customer opens their accounts online,” Evans said.
Its Internet banking services include account management, transference of funds, bill payments, check orders, ordering mail deposit envelopes, an online record of checks, and downloadable options to Quickbooks or other money-management software.
Evans said the Internet bank advertised on Web sites that are banking oriented.
According to Evans, customers range in ages and have different backgrounds. He said a 10-year-old girl in San Jose opened a savings account online with her parents’ permission, and an elderly couple in Boston opened a no-fee senior checking account.
“Our customers like seeing all their information online,” he said.
He said there will always be people who would want to have the personal banking service at a local branch, but 90 percent of America would support Internet banking.
“We’re not trying to change the world,” Evans said. “We just want to be the bank that’s there for your convenience at anywhere and at anytime.”
