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Reading Room Articles
Web-based banks can offer their customers a lot of great benefits that your corner
branch office just can't afford, including low or no fee services and higher rates
of return on deposits thanks, in part, to not having as many physical facilities
to maintain. Also on the plus side, their services are typically designed from
the start with the web in mind, making online account access and arrangement of
regular bill payment a snap. Unfortunately, the intangible nature of online banks
seems to be keeping most consumers away. Most of the world still needs to be able
to make paper deposits easily; occasionally get their hands on hard, cold cash;
and sometimes address an issue with a real live teller or bank officer. That's
precisely why some online banks are now moving back into the real world by creating
a physical presence. The strategy of building both an online an offline branded
presence is commonly referred to as "click and mortar", a hybrid of
the old fashioned "brick and mortar" physical presence of traditional
businesses, designed to offer consumers the best of both worlds: online convenience
with offline accessibility; and it seems that Net Banks are discovering that all
click and no brick isn't necessarily the way to go.
Last May, the largest Net bank, E*Trade Bank (www.etradebank.com), announced
that it would purchase a major national ATM network, allowing its customers access
to cash at more than 8,800 E*Trade branded ATMs to be found in the same sorts
of places where we typically find our real-world banks' off-site ATMs… groceries,
convenience stores, malls, hotels, gas stations, and more. National InterBank
(www.nationalinterbank.com), another Net Banking leader, followed suit by announcing
a deal with Mail Boxes Etc. that would allow its customers to make free non-cash
deposits at any of Mail Boxes Etc.'s 3,400 locations nationwide.
Technology market research firm IDC (www.idc.com) predicts that almost 23 million
American households will make the move to online banking by 2004*, and the click
and mortar approach is expected to strongly support that transition.
What does that mean to us as Apartment Professionals? Look for more residents
and future residents (and not just your most Net savvy ones) to show interest
in automated rental payment as just one way of making best use of the services
that their new (or newly online) bank is actively selling to them. Look also to
a future where your own company's or community's online bank manages and reports
rental receipts from your residents; and don't overlook the automated rental payment
services that are presently available to our industry from companies like RentUtopia
(www.rentutopia.com), NetZee (www.netzee.com) who are redefining the idea of how
rent should be paid now.
Automated banking and rental payment will certainly bring its own unique challenges,
but it certainly provides an efficiency-enhancing degree of predictability and
convenience. Besides, you won't spend another hour chasing down Mr. Smith in 3C
who "forgot" to sign his check again.
· Banking in Reality, bLink Magazine
As Chief Operating Officer of The Sales & Marketing Magic Companies,
Tami Siewruk shares more than 20 years of experience in multifamily housing,
encompassing leasing, marketing, management, training, authoring, consulting,
developing, and Brainstorming! For more information on Tami's newsletter, Sales
& Marketing Magic for Apartment Managers; the latest Tools & Forms Catalogue;
The 12th Annual Multifamily Housing Brainstorming Sessions™; or to receive Tami's
top ideas Too Great To Wait, FREE, via e-mail, please call 727-784-9469 or visit
www.SMMOnline.com.
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Equal Housing Opportunity.