I’m not one to quote Nietzsche, but he is attributed with saying “I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” And herein is one of the most important factors in Transaction Banking, trust.

Over the past ten weeks, I’ve explored a wide range of subjects that affect the Transaction Banking space; you can read them all on my Finextra blog. But the number one element that determines everything we do in our industry lives is trust. Trust is critical in building a mutually rewarding commercial relationship between a vendor and a financial institution; it’s what establishes a true partnership. Trust allows business to grow.

We are all busier than ever before, which is great because if we weren’t, then we’d have much bigger problems to worry about. However, with business growth comes greater requirements; expecting more from our suppliers than just system or service functionality.

I need someone who can help guide my thinking. I need someone who can share their experience to make sure that I don’t waste my time doing the wrong thing. And this is especially true with the IT projects that banks take on when renovating their payment systems. They need to know that what they’re getting into is not just going to work, but that it (and they) will succeed as well.

In this time of constrained budgets, we must all use our resources better; in and outside of the building. Banks that are undergoing renovation need suppliers that have experience, that understand the business, that have the wherewithal and expertise to get a project moving forward when things go wrong... and things can go wrong when you’re undertaking difficult renovation.

So don’t look at suppliers as vendors. It’s strong partnerships that are needed for us all to benefit.

Oh, and by the way. Nietzsche didn’t really say that quote, despite the 58,000 Google references that say he did. It was actually said by US Senator Robert C Byrd who changed a real Nietzsche quote. But that’s just so that I’m completely honest with you.