Rachel Koning Beals

Chicago

Senior Editor at BAI Banking Strategies

News Editor focused on the business of climate change @MarketWatch. Retweets not endorsements.

Articles

Optimizing technology across bank business lines

2 weeks ago | bai.org | Rachel Koning Beals

How do you tackle a huge question, and opportunity, like the one framing our topic in May’s BAI Executive Report: Which resources and priorities are key to optimizing technology at your banks and credit unions? In many ways, we could dedicate an entire edition just to your ongoing core integrations, and another to tech vendor relationships.
Next-generation middleware anchors smart ATMs within your service lineup

3 weeks ago | bai.org | Rachel Koning Beals

A version of this article first appeared in the March BAI Executive Report on Branches: Adapting for the modern customer. Inside the issue, you’ll find coverage on middleware upgrades to connect ATMs and branches to evolving digital platforms, smarter branch footprints overall and key considerations for branch staff management. America First Credit Union members are asked regularly how they like to bank. More and more, their answer is self-service.
Cash recycling evolves to help cost-prudent FIs and their customers

1 month ago | bai.org | Rachel Koning Beals

A version of this article first appeared in the March BAI Executive Report on Branches: Adapting for the modern customer. Inside the issue, you’ll find coverage on middleware upgrades to connect ATMs and branches to evolving digital platforms, smarter branch footprints overall and key considerations for branch staff management. Capturing operational efficiencies is a leading banking priority this year, financial services leaders reveal in the ProSight Banking Outlook:2025 Trends.
Attracting and keeping deposits with more than rates

1 month ago | bai.org | Rachel Koning Beals

The 2025 outlook for deposit growth and customer acquisition is upbeat, if cautiously so. That’s from BAI’s own research and throughout the discussions with banking leaders and industry partners contributing to the April BAI Executive Report: Growing quality deposits and customer acquisition. Even if a yield chase is dictating the flow of hot money less these days than in recent years, it doesn’t mean bankers can be caught flat footed, without a strategy to compete for quality deposits.
Corporate finance leaders can’t shake concern about bank failure risk, survey shows

1 month ago | bai.org | Rachel Koning Beals

The corporate finance leaders that place their substantial business deposits with U.S. banks hold lingering jitters about safety and soundness, and they will forgo a degree of return for greater confidence, according to one recent survey. That same survey, conducted by Milwaukee area-based treasury management firm Ampersand Inc., also showed a heightened interest in liquidity and other flexibility features.
Deposit snapshot: Money-in-motion comes to a rest, but the Fed watch heightens

2 months ago | bai.org | Isio Nelson |Tom Hoscheidt |Rachel Koning Beals

Key takeaways: Cautiously optimistic. The BAI State of U.S. Deposits reveals a steady to modestly upbeat landscape, considering that interest rates are still elevated by historical comparisons. The detailed picture is mixed: business deposits in recent months remained higher, while consumer deposits were shy of expectations, in part because bonus payouts were softer. Money-in-motion settles down. There is deposit improvement from valuable higher wealth accounts.
Branches are about specialized service. Sometimes that’s self-service.

2 months ago | bai.org | Rachel Koning Beals

When customers and members walk into their bank or credit union, the surroundings should be welcoming and flexible, the technology convenient and functional, and the staff approachable and well-trained. Physical banking spaces are most effective when they reflect their modern place in a broader banking ecosystem.
Can AI give financial advice?

Jan 16, 2025 | bai.org | Rachel Koning Beals

A version of this article first appeared in the November BAI Executive Report: Harnessing the power of AI in banking. Find more insight within on careful adoption of artificial intelligence, automation and machine learning, from SMB examples to creating core efficiencies, expanding lending use cases and more.
Can AI’s impact in the bank boost human significance?

Dec 4, 2024 | bai.org | Rachel Koning Beals

In preparing our range of articles for our BAI Executive Report: Harnessing the power of AI in banking, a few takeaways remain with me. First, that AI is already, or soon will be, impacting nearly every department of a financial institution, its staff and its customers to varying degrees. And second, the experts tapped for this issue to a person see a pivotal future role for human gatekeepers and growing demand for higher skills among personnel as AI reshapes financial services.
Unmasking fraud in the age of AI

Dec 3, 2024 | bai.org | Rachel Koning Beals |Diana Rothfuss

Key takeaways:Financial institutions are in the second wave of digitalization. As digital solutions adapted fast during the pandemic, security was fragmented and too often an afterthought. It’s time for digital banking to mature, and the fraud fight to grow with it. Consumers want proof their financial institution takes fraud seriously. A SAS survey shows 67% would switch providers if they experienced fraud or if a competitor offered better protection.