Fifth Third has partnered with SpringFour on its Financial Empowerment Mobile (eBus), which brings banking products and financial health resources to underserved communities.
The partnership and relaunch of the eBus comes after a year and a half work involving a diverse range of stakeholders across the bank.
The Capital One-Discover deal may be driven by the complementary attributes of their customers, potentially leading to changes in product offerings and services to better serve consumers.
The combined entity could introduce a rewards based debit card as well as relaunch Discover's credit cards for SMBs. Beyond products however it is unlikely that the UX will change dramatically.
Earlier hopes of three rate cuts in the year are dwindling to uncertainty over whether any cuts will materialize at all.
The impact of sustained higher rates has already permeated banks’ NII as borrowing by businesses and consumers declined, coupled with higher funding costs for banks. Conversely, consumers are grappling not only with expensive borrowing costs but also with a significant portion experiencing loan rejections.
Despite the rise in digital banking adoption, consumers are reluctant to entirely abandon traditional brick-and-mortar branches and face-to-face interactions, particularly those who primarily use CUs for their financial needs.
CUs may risk losing customers, though, to banks that often have more branches and ATM networks, better online and mobile app technologies, and a wider range of products.
Jeoffrey Begin, Head of US Collections at BMO details how the bank has changed its focus in Collections away from a single transaction and towards the customer.
The customer-centric approach to Collections allows the bank to build consumers' financial health but it also requires them to be responsive to changes in their behavior due to factors such as technology.
