Banking in a Web 2.0 World
Your ability to interact with and offer services to your clients online is one of the most essential differentiating factors for any financial institution. However, building a fully functional and customized site from scratch is extremely expensive and time consuming. An alternative solution is utilizing a 3rd party site provider. While this solution is cheaper and likely updated with new features regularly, it lacks the customization that your clients are growing to expect and also lacks any differentiation from your competitor’s sites.
A third solution has recently hit the market, utilizing the incredible power of Web 2.0 technologies. A company called iThryv has launched a platform that fully integrates into your existing website and offers all the benefits of customization and differentiation with none of the drawbacks of building your own solution.
The iThryv platform has plug-in components as well as additional customizable widgets which adds desired functionality. In addition to the financial institution’s ability to customize solutions for its clients, the clients themselves can customize their user interface. Users have unique needs and interests and can tailor their experience with iThryv’s platform to meet those needs and interests.
In addition to creating superior banking functionality, the iThryv founders have incorporated financial education into their platform, believing that the point of a transaction is the best teaching moment. Because various age groups require different levels of sophistication, iThryv has created three different categories of educational materials: targeting 5-11 year olds, 12-17 year olds, and 18-24 year olds. Examples of financial literacy tools include differentiating between needs and wants and offering “savings scores” which rate how effectively the user is saving and budgeting. Additionally, one of my favorite tools is the “make $” section, which offers kids and young adults sample business plans in order to guide them toward entrepreneurship. An example is how to start and run an eBay business.
The bottom line for financial institutions is that they are able to develop loyal and educated clients by utilizing the iThryv platform to tailor the user experience and differentiate their brand.
And if that was not enough, iThryv also offers curriculum software to schools in order to promote and teach financial literacy. The software is free and is often sponsored by local financial institutions, creating another win-win as the institution promotes its brand and commitment to the community.
The iThryv platform is definitely the future of banking. It is extremely exciting to see what products and services they add to their platform as they grow.
Tags: banking, financial literacy, iThryv, web 2.0
