By Mitzi McMillin
Home banking integration (HBI) shows all of a financial institution’s consumers’ financial assets, including investments, to the client on one page, accessible via a single login.
Enlisting “single sign-on” technology provides the ability for a credit union investment client to view his/her full portfolio of investments alongside deposit and loan information in home banking; a recap of investment assets through the broker-dealer is incorporated into the view of the client’s overall finances. This consolidated view is delivered using one username and password for the institution’s online banking platform.
Many suggest they offer it, but what they offer isn’t true HBI. Often they are supplying a screen scrape from a third party vendor that is simply a visual representation of static data in a screen without real time activity, reports, or even current data. If the clients have mutual fund or other financial accounts with several vendors, they would need to load their personal username/password for each of these accounts into the aggregation tool.
Every time the client changes passwords, he would need to change that data on the aggregation platform, too. Typically, account activity and historical statements are unavailable and minimal detail is given. For financial institutions, screen scrape information adds no advantage because they are unable to private-brand it.
How To Do HBI Better!
Home banking integration with fully-integrated capabilities that can be private-labeled by the financial institution and accessed by the client through single sign-on offers a better solution. All of a client’s assets, positions, and historical activity associated with a single broker-dealer (no matter whether they are held through a brokerage account, by a fund or insurance company, or in a fee-based managed account) can be pulled into the HBI platform automatically any time the member logs into online banking. Brokerage statements, confirmations and tax statements are also provided to the member to save time and frustration in finding frequently needed information.
With true HBI, the member’s account data is fully integrated in the database in nearly real-time. A platform should be designed from the outset to efficiently handle both front and backend administration, organization, and management of accounts - all electronically. With such a system, the financial advisor sees the same portfolio information for the client’s investment accounts on his/her advisor platform as the client sees on their HBI, making it easy to discuss the holdings and changes the clients might like to make. Incorporating wealth reporting and performance tools into one platform encourages customers to bring assets to your financial institution.
True HBI can be incorporated on your banking platform, privately-branded and fully accessible 24/7. Even if a member does not have an investment account with you or through a CUSO, you can place messaging or marketing information in the space where investment asset information would be reported on the screen, encouraging members to consider putting investments under management at your CU. Investment portfolio information integrated with home banking – as it was meant to be!
Mitzi McMillin is senior VP, business systems, with CUSO Financial Services. Ms. McMillin can be reached at mmcmillin@cusonet.com.