Though your bank may acknowledge the need to innovate its core systems in the midst of the digital age, one department that may be hesitant to change its ways is the corporate banking department. Banks are often conservative as far as their corporate operations are concerned, and they can often be protective of the methodologies and technologies that have already won them high-value corporate clients in the past. Why risk something new when it already suffices to play it safe? If the core system for corporate banking isn’t fundamentally broken, why fix it?
It may be true that sticking to the status quo will likely work for your corporate banking program for the coming year. But for every new year that passes, the corporate banking sector is sure to become more technology-driven, more dynamic, and more competitive. Before you know it, some of the companies that you considered legacy clients in your portfolio will be jumping ship to lither and more technologically proficient banking service providers. That should be good enough reason to seize the momentum and to explore more advanced corporate banking solutions as soon as possible.
You can choose to invest in better core software for your general corporate banking operations, technology that will allow you to offer your corporate clients banking software-as-a-service (SaaS), or both. To help you envision what the right software solutions can do for your bank, here’s an overview of what your corporate banking program will look like if you onboard new virtual account management, digital payment, treasury management, and trade finance solutions among others.
It Can Help You Deliver Faster, More Efficient Corporate Banking Experiences
First, new software can help you implement the very fabric that you want your corporate banking program to run on: timely, reliable, and efficient service to your clients from end to end. New software can help you revamp your general corporate banking processes so that there are fewer points of friction when it comes to opening new accounts and fewer delays between transactions. You’ll also be able to achieve interactions of better quality, which will of course allow your corporate clients to trust you with high-value business.
The best part? The right solutions will also help you achieve all of these without draining your long-term finances. On the contrary—a highly efficient core system will allow you to save money in your quest to be of better service to your corporate clients.
It Can Help You Become Your Corporate Clients’ Payment Provider of Choice
Compared to banking payments at the retail level, banking payments at the corporate level are much more difficult to execute and to oversee. This is due to the cash value typically involved in these transactions, as well as their volume and their complexity. It’s no surprise that when banks do make the choice to upgrade their corporate banking solutions, one of the first processes they strive to improve is digital payments. Lucrative opportunities lie ahead for banks that can ensure fast, trouble-free payment services to their corporate clients.
Help your bank become more competitive in the payments game by onboarding better digital payments software. You’ll be at an even greater advantage if you can promise your corporate clients transparent, data-driven payment experiences that are fully compliant with the SWIFT ISO 20022 standard.
It Can Help You Proffer Real-Time Cash Tracking to Your Corporate Customers
Enterprises are very careful with the money they entrust to their banking providers. In exchange for business, they demand visibility over their cash positions and timely updates about the statuses of their transactions. A bank that cannot improve on its real-time cash tracking capabilities as time goes on may be doomed to fail its corporate clients’ expectations.
That makes it all the more urgent for your bank to consider upgrading its tech stack for corporate banking. The more real-time visibility you get out of your corporate banking data, the more transparent you can be about how your clients’ money is moving. For sure, that will put you in contention to be their top corporate banking provider.
It Can Help You Navigate the Complexities of Trade Finance
Lastly, if you anticipate engaging with corporate clients who want to grow their business abroad, you can equip your bank with better technology for trade finance. The trade finance sector is projected to grow by as much as 50 percent in the next ten years, due in no small part to the increased ease of doing business across borders.
The time may be ripe for your bank to offer trade finance-as-a-service to your corporate clients and help them through steps like acquiring letters of credit and processing bills of lading. Both you and your corporate partners stand to earn a significant amount of fresh revenue from international transactions if you strengthen your system for trade financing.
There’s no denying how challenging it can be to implement such big changes in your corporate banking program, especially where technology is concerned. But as illustrated in the arguments above, the risk of doing something different may yield handsome rewards. Take your corporate banking operations to the next level and deliver excellent service to your clients with the help of the right software solutions.