San Francisco, CA, USA
February 26, 2007 High Tech Keys to Small Business
Banking: Upgrading the Online Channel
Report Published by Celent
Online small business
banking is flourishing.
After fits and starts since the late 1990s,
online small business banking is coming into its own and is no longer
overshadowed by online retail banking. Innovative banks are addressing
shortcomings and boosting adoption rates to over 50%. The online channel
is increasingly becoming the tool to enhance small business services
without increasing cost to serve. The online channel is becoming the
financial lifeline of small business.
High touch will continue to matter to small
businesses (most banks report that over 80% of their small businesses
visit a branch at least once a week), but they are becoming swayed by high
tech as well. Small businesses are increasingly making decisions of where
to bank based on the features and usability provided by online banking
technology.
Over the past five years, small business
online banking has improved dramatically, notably in the area of
usability. In a new report, High Tech Keys to Small Business Banking:
Upgrading the Online Channel, Celent compares the range of solutions
available to financial institutions of all sizes looking to purchase a new
online small business banking solution or upgrade an existing one.
Celent
examined the online cash management offerings of nine vendors (because
most serve companies of all sizes with their offering, the term “cash
management” is used). The vendors are: Corillian (Small Business
Banking), Digital Insight (Business and Corporate Banking), Financial
Fusion (Corporate Banking Solution), Fiserv BANKLINK (iLINK), Fiserv
ITI (PremierEcorp), Fundtech (CASHplus), Metavante
(Business Internet Banking), Open Solutions (e-Commerce Banker:
Business Suite), ACI Worldwide (Enterprise Banker; formerly
P&H), and S1 (Business Banking and Postilion Business Internet
Banking). In the Breadth of features section, Celent decided to compare
the vendors to that of a leading small business bank with a proprietary
online platform: Wells Fargo (Business Online Banking). “The
small business online banking market is teeming with vendors vying for
business across a broad range of financial institutions. A handful of
vendors have emerged from the pack and have made their mark by offering a
strong combination of advanced technology, strong features, usability and
services to a large number of financial institutions,” says Alenka
Grealish, co-author of the report and managing director of the Banking
group at Celent. Banks
have been grappling with whether to direct their small business customers to
retail or corporate online banking. “There is a sweet spot that banks
need to target, one that provides a tailored offering to small businesses,”
says Jacob Jegher, co-author of the
report and senior analyst. “The focus on this small business sweet spot
is going to drive IT spending on online small business banking solutions
to US$257 million in 2007.” This
64-page report contains 19 figures and 26 tables. A table
of contents is available online.
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