Banks today have a great number of customer experience pain points. There's the trust factor to consider, on whether customers feel their bank actually care about them and their financial struggles. But there's also the fact that customers expect a seamless experience across multiple channels, whether that's in the branch, mobile or at the branch.

In today's episode of the Bank Customer Experience podcast, Brian McEvoy, chief retail banking officer at Webster Five, joined Bradley Cooper to discuss how banks can navigate these customer pain points.

He said during the podcast that "people process technology in unison." In other words, the various platforms have to work together. It's not enough to have a fancy mobile app that doesn't integrate well with your other bank platforms or doesn't integrate with third party apps.

McEvoy added that the hardest part for banks is: "How do you make a frictionless experience for the customer?" This is a particularly big problem as customers have far less patience for any frustration in the experience.

"If there's any pain point in the experience, our tolerance and patience is less than it used to be."

So how do banks address this? McEvoy pointed to a few important elements:

• Refocus branches to have a custom experience for guests.
• Use AI to automate simpler tasks.
• Use a mobile-first strategy to ensure all your bank's features are accessible.

During the discussion, McEvoy addressed several subtopics such as:

• Identifying pain points.
• Making a good branch experience.
• Keeping the personal touch while also using AI.

Listen to the full discussion above.

Banks are embracing AI for several different purposes. Some are using it for fraud detection, loan origination and handling basic customer interactions. While big banks have a great deal of resources for AI, community banks can also take advantage of AI tools; however, there's a danger here that banks will over-rely on AI, or not give bankers the ability to override AI decisions and in turn lose that personal touch.

Mack Turner, marketing and insights analyst at Mack Turner Marketing Consulting and Insights LLC joined Bradley Cooper to discuss how banks are using and how they should be using AI in today's episode of the Bank Customer Experience podcast.

For larger banks, Turner said that "banks increasingly use AI to forecast customer behavior in the credit decisioning and predictive modeling space. Large banks use AI to scale what humans can do, especially where data is voluminous and patterns subtle."

On the community banking side, he discussed how can use AI for fraud or check detection, as well as screening small business lending.

On the banker side, this has led to bankers increasingly moving away from routine transactions to high emotion, stressful conversations with customers such as fraud events or mortgages. Turner said that due to this shift banks need to make sure employees are well supported to avoid burnout.

Other topics discussed during the podcast included:

• The importance of empathy for the customer and the employee.
• Enabling employees to override AI decisions.
• Using AI to support rather than replace humans.

Listen to the podcast in its entirety above.

It's not easy installing and maintaining an ATM or ITM. It takes a large team to handle the installation, software configuration, security and many other factors. As a result, many financial institutions are outsourcing these tasks to other vendors who provide professional ATM services.

In today's episode of the Bank Customer Experience podcast, Jeshua Buchanan, director of fintech solutions at Cook Solutions Group and Wade Fieber, director of strategic verticals at Cook Solutions Group joined Bradley Cooper, editor of ATM Marketplace, to discuss what professional services entail for banks.

During the podcast, Fieber and Buchanan discussed how professional services can help with both initial and ongoing ATM services including:

• ITM deployment.
• Server migrations.
• Check-imaging solutions.
• Testing software and products.

Fieber and Buchanan also spoke on how Cook Solutions Group provides ongoing marketing support for ATMs through its Professional Services Team, such as crafting digital signage content to be used on the machines.

Check out the full conversation above.

ATM crimes aren't slowing down in intensity. If anything, they are increasing, and banks need to be able to contact law enforcement quickly and have them arrive on the scene fast enough to stop the crime.

However, traditional security systems can cause big problems for ATM and branch security, especially due to false positives.

In some jurisdictions, police departments are requiring video verification to prevent false positives, such as a faulty sensor triggering, an animal or some other issue.

In this episode of the Bank Customer Experience Podcast, Joey Parrillo, director of security solutions at Cook Solutions Group, and Michael Strange, director of technology services at Cook Solutions Group, discuss key benefits of video verification.

Strange pointed out in the podcast, which was moderated by Bradley Cooper, that false positives don't just waste time, they can also waste money.

He said many police departments will hit banks with a $500 fine for the first false positive, with increasing fines for each subsequent infraction such as $750 to $1,000. In addition, these departments will be far less likely to respond to alarms at banks that regularly have false positives.

He also said that many times these false positives are simply caused by employees who unknowingly trip the system. In addition, for smaller community banks or credit unions, they may not have a dedicated team to handle security events, which can cause delayed reactions.

During the podcast, Strange and Parillo share several ways video verification can solve the problem including:

• Having a dedicated team to analyze security footage 24/7.
• Saving money by preventing false positives.
• Using AI to identify common issues such as animals or faulty sensors.
• How CSG's PikoVERIFY solution works.

You can listen to the podcast in its entirety above.

The biggest evergreen issue in the ATM industry is of course security. Criminals are always ready with innovative methods to steal cash from ATMs faster than the industry can put up protective barriers.

This is true of both the ATM hardware and software. In today's episode of the Bank Customer Experience podcast, Bradley Cooper spoke with Kit Patterson, a senior software architecture and security expert at KAL ATM Software to get an overhead view of current theft trends and ways to combat them.

One new method that Patterson discussed was the relay attack. In this attack, one device is compromised is relays card data to another machine, which can be used to steal money from a victim.

"The basic story is they use two machines. They attack two machines in parallel. They wait until a victim puts a card into that victim ATM or ticket machine or anything where a card is being used. They take over that card and they relay information from that card to the cash out machine."

He said that while this attack is difficult to pull off, it can also be challenging to detect and would require monitoring for certain types of unusual activity. For example, the software could detect that the card reader itself would take longer to transmit data in a relay attack than in a normal transaction, which should put up a red flag.

Patterson also said that this relay attack is also taking place with mobile wallet fraud, where attackers are able to steal the victim's mobile wallet and relay that information to another actor who will get the cash from an ATM.

He emphasized that criminals are willing to use as many methods as possible as "they don't follow the rules."

To respond to these threats, Patterson pointed to the importance of holistic efforts and not just viewing security as "ticking boxes."

Check out the full interview above and hear Patteron's thoughts on if AI is ready to transform ATM security.

It's no secret that banks are renegotiating how they manage branches. Many are scaling back the number of branches, but others are also transforming the spaces with technology such as digital signage.

According to research from Markets.US, the digital signage banking market is expected to grow to $9.4 billion by 2034, up from $3.5 billion in 2024. The in-branch segment currently holds 56.8% of the market share as well.

In today's episode of the Bank Customer Experience podcast, Bradley Cooper, editor and podcast host, is joined by Joseph Parrillo, director of security solutions and Scott Smith, VP of strategic solutions at Cook Solutions to discuss how banks are using digital signage today and what makes it a game changer.

For example, banks are using digital signage not just inside the branch but in the drive-thru lane. By replacing legacy signage with a display, they are providing more information to customers and an overall improved banking experience.

This extends to the ATM and ITM screens as well, as Smith discussed how some banks are partnering with local businesses to give out their coupon QR codes to customers on the displays, providing an intriguing marketing opportunity.

Listen to the full podcast discussion above.

Between evolving customer expectations and pressure from other financial providers, community banks have struggled to maintain relevance in recent years.

In today's episode of the Bank Customer Experience Podcast, Bradley Cooper, editor of ATM Marketplace, spoke with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, president of Shikatanai Lacroix Design and Marbue Brown, founder of the Customer Obsession Advantage and a former banker about how community banking is changing

When looking at challenges community banks face, Lacroix spoke about increased competition

"There's a lot more competition today with fintechs and consolidation," he shared in the podcast.

Brown agreed, stating many national banks are encroaching on community banks territory through a variety of activities even sponsoring local events.

"The natural advantage community banks have is being erased," Brown said.

The statement points to the power of community banking in general. Lacroix said one of the primary drivers of growth in banks is being able to provide relevant advice and have a strong local presence, whereas simply providing good products reduces loss.

Brown and Lacroix also discussed a number of topics related to community banking including:

• How are big banks coming into community banking spaces?
• How can employees train using AI?
• How can financial advice be credible?
• What role does community involvement play?
• What does Gen Z want from a branch?
• What role should the teller take?

Listen to the conversation in full above.

Despite the rise of digital payments, checks remain a valid form of payment, especially for businesses and individuals. With mobile deposit and ATM deposits, it's more convenient than ever to deposit a check. However, this brings with it a risk for fraud. In today's episode of the Bank Customer Experience podcast, Bradley Cooper spoke with Scott Fieber, chief strategy officer at Cook Solutions Group and Austin Smith, director of product development at Cook Solutions Group about how to prevent check imaging fraud without harming the customer experience.

In many cases, this topic is a balancing act for banks. They need to provide funds for deposited checks in a reasonable time frame, but they also have to be aware of individuals attempting to commit fraud by withdrawing cash before a check bounces.

During the podcast, Smith and Fieber discussed issues surrounding checks in detail include:

• Are ATMs seeing in an increase in check deposits?
• What are some of the ways people commit check fraud with ATM check deposits?
• How is Cook Solutions Group involved in check imaging?
• How can banks keep up with customer demands for funds availability while still preventing fraud?
• What are ways AI can help?