History is filled with famous underdogs, from the giant-slaying David to the iron-fisted Rocky Balboa. When things look impossible, we love to see the “little guy” succeed. Given the challenges of the past few years, it doesn’t feel at all odd to put community banks & credit unions in that underdog category and enabling success for them is at the heart of what we do at PrintMail.

Those challenges have come in many forms, from competitive credit and deposit markets to rapid advances in technology. Toss in net interest margin pressures, cyber-threats, regulatory and compliance burdens, and the ever-present need to control expenses, and one could be left looking at their proverbial slingshots or boxing gloves, wondering how they can get the job done.

One resource that has consistently produced positive results for financial institutions is outsourcing. At its core, outsourcing services, such as communications, frees up space for institutions to focus on what they do best, often with the additional benefits of improved functionality, quality, and accuracy.

While there isn’t an easy solution for every challenge in community banking, outsourcing can make a swift and positive impact on your bank’s bottom line while freeing up your internal resources to focus on your core competencies. Many financial institutions already outsource core administrative functions like payroll. In this article, we’ll focus on the primary benefits of outsourcing core operations such as statement printing and mailing.

What Services Can I Outsource for My Financial Institution?

If it’s been a while since you’ve investigated outsourcing services, you might be surprised at the variety of areas PrintMail can offer assistance. While our history and our name speak to more traditional aspects of the industry, our commitment to innovation has led us to develop solutions that go well beyond the basics.

PrintMail makes it possible for smaller institutions to say, “we do that, too,” leveling the playing field and empowering them to leverage many of the same tools as the biggest names in the banking world.

Some of the most popular solutions include:

Financial Statement Outsourcing, Processing and Statement Redesign
E-Statements: Review our case study for insights on boosting adoption rates.
Tax Form Processing
Mail Marketing and Digital Marketing Solutions
Compliance Communications

The Benefits of Outsourcing Your Communications Efforts

Cost Savings

Community banks and credit unions are competing with bigger banks and online-only banks for new deposit accounts in a relatively stagnant market. At the same time, net interest margin continues to be “seen as the top external risk”. These factors, along with the pressure to invest in expensive technology such as multi-function ATMs, mobile apps and remote-deposit capture, make cost control a top priority of any local bank president. Luckily, partnering with a service bureau to outsource core operations can reap savings for your bank.

We find that banks can save 20 percent or more through outsourcing by purchasing the broad expertise of a company that has mastered the services they perform every day. For example, outsourcing printing and mailing allows banks to save money on the costs of postage, equipment, personnel, and processing. Outsourcing print communication services also makes your monthly costs predictable and eliminates the expense of long-term equipment leases and depreciation.

You can also outsource your bank’s digital marketing and direct mail marketing needs to reduce operating costs. Instead of hiring your own marketers and IT employees, let an outsourcing company optimize the design of your monthly statements, eStatements, website, and other communication materials.

Increased Quality Control

Loss of control is a common fear when it comes to outsourcing in the financial industry. However, working with a company like PrintMail Solutions actually increases the amount of control a bank has over its operations. This is because an outsourcing company (or managed service provider) focuses on a small set of services and can invest in the latest technology to make the process as smooth and efficient as possible. Service bureaus also have the flexibility to increase staffing during high volume times to make sure mailings arrive on time, no matter the time of year (think annual tax form processing).

For example, banks that print and mail statements in-house do not have all of the security and verification features that a company like PrintMail can offer. When you outsource to us, you get piece-level tracking on all of your mailings. With that kind of audit trail, you can find out what happened if a customer calls to say their statement never arrived.

Here are a few more reasons why outsourcing critical communications is more efficient, accurate, and secure than doing it in-house:

Every checkpoint, work order, and job is inspected by quality control specialists.
Multi-point inspection of printed output after insertion on all mailings.
QC work order to record every stage of inspection and multiple checkpoint signoffs required of each operator.
Every paper jam or pulled statement is tracked by a unique sequence number, ensuring no errors.

Security

This is an obvious top concern for banks. Your customers need to have complete confidence in your bank, so your vendor management program must ensure that the company you select for outsourcing bank operations is trustworthy. At PrintMail, we are passionate about security. Our multi-checkpoint process ensures integrity, while our auditing and security measures earn us the most critical security certifications. We are constantly refining our process and upgrading software to maintain our 99.9 percent accuracy rating.

Technology

It simply isn’t cost-effective for local financial institutions to invest in purchasing and maintaining the latest printing and operations machinery. Instead, outsourcing can give you access to the best equipment and software.

Cutting-edge design on print and electronic materials

For many community banks, the marketing department consists of only one, maybe two, people. That means their to-do list is always overflowing. Outsourcing some of your marketing needs can be a huge relief, freeing up time to focus on core competencies.

Looking to standout in the mailbox and inbox? We offer tools to help redesign your print and electronic statements with full color, white space management, and marketing messages. Increase eStatement adoption with our mobile-friendly designs and incorporate targeted click-through ads.

Drive revenue with direct mail marketing. When current and potential customers need financing to renovate their house, you want your community bank or credit union to be the first one they think of. An outsourcing company can use data-targeted marketing to make sure your bank’s messages and offers reach the customers who will be most interested in them.

Digital Marketing and Web Design

IT outsourcing for banks will help your business strategy as well as your bottom line. An outsourcing company with skilled IT professionals can take care of the daily work of running a website for you. They can also provide cutting-edge techniques in cybersecurity to ensure that your bank’s data and customer information are safe from hackers.

Because of our exclusive focus on the financial industry, PrintMail can provide attractive and compliant websites, engaging member communications services and digital marketing campaigns designed to help you meet your customer acquisition goals. We know what banks want and need because we’ve been working with them for more than 30 years.

Why Partner with PrintMail for Your Outsourcing Needs?

More than 300 banks trust PrintMail to deliver safe and secure communications to their customers. With our exclusive focus on banks, rigorous quality control, consistent on-time delivery, and proven cost savings, we can be more nimble and responsive than larger core providers, while delivering more expertise.

Industry Leader: Long-term industry experience and expertise working with financial institutions: Servicing over 10% of the country’s $500M+ financial institutions.
Accuracy: 9+ million pieces processed and mailed monthly.
Ease of Access: Integration with 50+ Tech Platforms including Bank Core Systems.
Integrated Marketing Solutions: PrintMail provides multiple services for FI’s, offering direct mail and digital marketing services (through BankBound) to boost growth and customer engagement.
High Efficiency: Average turnaround time for most projects is next business day. Same Day available for critical notices, such as Loans, NSF, etc.

Partner with PrintMail for Strategic Outsourcing

For so many financial institutions, outsourcing has proven to be a viable, cost-effective solution in meeting their evolving communication needs. A cost-analysis consultation is the ideal way to uncover opportunities and begin building your own internal case for outsourcing. Contact us to start a conversation.