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Most banks have upgraded their core systems on a piecemeal basis, bolting new modules on older base code. In some cases, these very enhancements have gotten in the way of a full core replacement.
August 1 -
The promise of personal financial management is to provide account data in a single view-but not all viewers are single.
January 1
Core banking software provider Computer Services Inc. (CSI) is adding personal financial management (PFM) tools to its online banking suite.
Via a new partnership with Geezeo, CSI will offer PFM services on a white-label basis to its present and future internet banking clients. Consumers will use Geezeo's mix of aggregation and budgeting tools to power a portal that will give consumers a dashboard, a cash flow calendar, net worth graphs, budgeting tools, and expense and financial goals trackers.
Financial institutions have been gradually adding such tools to their online banking products. As PFM has become more popular, institutions have sought to incorporate it into the landing page of their online banking sites.
By partnering with Geezeo, CSI can add PFM services to existing web banking platforms quickly. And on its end, Geezeo gets access to hundreds of potential clients. "[CSI] wants to see that the lines between online banking and PFM are blurred so they can make this part of the experience for end users," says Peter Glyman, Geezeo's co-founder.
Individual banks would make PFM part of their services for either a fee that the bank would charge, or as a value add, the route chosen by most banks when deploying PFM. As with all of Geezeo's deployments, the bank is able to use PFM as a branding play and a platform to expand other relationships. "You never see the Geezeo name …with most clients it will be branded as part of a product offering within online banking," Glyman says.
Geezeo has recently expanded the engine's ability to power budgeting, cash flow management, account aggregation and account alerts linked to PFM activities. Geezeo's also enabling financial firms to mine the data used for PFM to drive targeted marketing.
In a release issued on Tuesday afternoon, CSI named two banks as early adopters: Princeton, Ky.-based Farmers Bank & Trust; and Brownwood, Texas-based TexasBank, which said it plans to integrate the PFM tools with its internet and mobile banking services. CSI also plans to incorporate PFM with other online tools such as customizable loan payment options, marketing, bill payment, movable account widgets and a corporate cash management suite for business accounts.
CSI faces stiff competition from online and core banking providers such as Fiserv (FISV), Jack Henry (JKHY) and FIS (FIS). In an email to BTN on Tuesday, Fiserv said its product line includes Corrillian Online and Retail Online, which both have integrated PFM functionality. It also offers a PFM solution called Personal Money Manager. A spokesperson for Yodlee, which provides PFM technology, said the company has channel partnerships to distribute its PFM capabilities with Central 1, Q2 Software and BancVue.
