Banks introduce small business management tools to improve customer retention
2010-09-03
Financial institutions have faced harsh criticism from the media and the government since the recession hit in early 2008 for their small business lending practices. Now, FIs are looking to improve their standing with owners and stem customer attrition by launching new online tools.

Banks including U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and First Tennessee have all introduced new financial monitoring technology that - like personal financial management options in retail banking - will help provide small businesses with a mixture of performance and spending analyses, along with peer comparisons, Bank Technology News reports.

U.S. Bank's bid to increase loyalty among small business customers allows users to monitor spending while comparing card sales data to information from other firms. The program, called ScoreBoard, will be available to the bank's small business cardholders and can download reports in Excel, Quickbooks and PDF formats.

"If you're a restaurant, for example, and going though the economic crisis, you can look at other business like yours and see month-to-month data to figure out if you're doing better than your peers," Robert Kaufman, senior vice president of U.S. Bank's small business division, told the site.

ScoreBoard will be able to store up to three years' worth of data, tracking credit card transactions and payments and allowing companies to view merchant accounts and see when customers use credit cards to pay.

Wells Fargo, another bank adopting small business-specific technology, has developed a management system that allows managers to monitor employee purchase budgets and alerts them when workers are near their spending threshold, the site writes.

Richard Weeks, a senior vice president in Wells Fargo's business internet services group, explained that the main difference between online financial management tools for consumers and those for businesses is that small companies are "paying close attention to receivables."

Regional bank First Tennessee is following in the footsteps of its larger counterparts, the Memphis Business Journal writes. Earlier this week, it introduced the Business Resource Center - a free tool that provides not only tips and resources concerning banking and finance, but also general business management advice.

The site is divided into four categories - "My Business," "My People," "My Cash" and "My Industry." Each section includes tutorials and listings on related subjects. For example, the "My Cash" section teaches owners how to use a balance sheet and use various accounting methods. The "My Industry" section is tailored to provide industry-specific information on trade shows, trade associations, and certification information.

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