The gig economy: How FIs can find hidden revenue opportunities
In one to two years, the majority of the U.S. workforce could be comprised of independent contractors. Banks and credit unions, if they act quickly, could take advantage of this growing segment by using first-party data to effectively engage with these self-employed consumers.
In 2022, financial institutions will be especially vulnerable to losing small business banking clients to newer and sleeker fintech providers. This bold declaration came from The Financial Brand in early January and kicked off the new year with a strong call to action for banks and credit unions.
“Cash flow can be a nightmare for small businesses,” Segmint co-founder Rob Heiser and Autobooks VP of Marketing Derik Sutton agreed during a recent webinar about small business banking. “It is also a nightmare from an accounting and tax perspective, trying to aggregate all of these separate payment channels…credit cards, cash, Venmo, Zelle, Paypal, etc. It’s a lot for the individual proprietor to manage.”
This year, it will be necessary for banks and credit unions to create a small business product suite, and one necessary weapon in that arsenal will be in the form of payment services. Industry surveys reveal that a big draw to fintechs are their treasury technologies. For financial institutions, that makes investing in or partnering with technology firms to provide business account holders with access to fast, secure and low-cost payment engines a top priority.
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