The title of this blog represents a real product - an 11 x 17 graphic of what a complete banking system should look like for any bank and credit union, regardless of size. It also represents an evolution of technology in three stages - 1989, 2005 and present.
Here's what I mean.
Stage 1
During the decade of the 80s, it was clear that bankers were sold on the merits of technology and embraced it with more than just lip service. They used their money to acquire technology. They wanted to use technology to overcome the high cost of employee-based
services. Later, that desire proved to be representative of great wisdom. While technology served the selfish interests of banks, it also served what has developed to become the current preference of consumers and business managers. I call it, "get out of
our way banking." But in the 80s my clients wanted to know, "When will we done with building our system?" I could think of only one way to answer, with a picture. That's when I created, "My Mythical System for a Community Bank." I called it "mythical"
at that time because there were components included in the picture that were not readily available in the marketplace.
Stage 2
In 2005, it was clear that banking technology had taken a giant step forward and that my chart needed to reflect new developments. I added them as paste-ons to the original chart so as to make them obvious. At that time, vendor resources had expanded greatly
and the myth had become a reality, thus the new name, "My Idea of a Complete Banking System."
Stage 3
In 2014, the expansion of electronic payments, mobile banking, imaging, remote capture, cloud computing, big data, analytics, business Intelligence, fraud control, risk management, tougher regulatory oversight, and increased awareness of cybercrime, contributed
increased reasons to rely more on technology for effective solutions.
Now, not only does the graphic depiction show the completeness of the system but a historical account of how it evolved in the past 26 years. An objective comparison of the 191 chart components with any bank's current system is an excellent way to reconcile
the haves and the have nots.
Next Stage
I do not know what is in store for banking during the next decade, but I do know there will be a Stage 4, and the chart will show what it is when it happens.