1. technology and computing

CAS E S TUDY :
Home Federal Bank
“GROWING THROUGH TARGETED ORGANIC PROGRAMS”
CASE STUDY:
Home Federal Bank
Home Federal Bank is a publicly held financial institution (FI) with headquarters
in South Dakota. With $1.2B in assets under management, Home Federal is the
largest publicly traded savings association headquartered in South Dakota,
HF Financial Corp. operates with 27 offices in 18 communities, throughout
Eastern South Dakota and Minnesota. Home Federal Bank has a long history
of embracing the values of being a trusted advisor, local, solid, stable and
27
OFFICES
18
COMMUNITIES
prudent partner in the communities the bank serves.
B AC KG R OU N D:
“Remote deposit capture
offers the perfect
solution, providing the
opportunity to reduce
both preparation time
and the need for keying
and encoding items”
Forces such as demographics, the recession, customer demand, and a need
Robin N. Johnson,
Cash Management Coordinator,
Home Federal Bank
corporations now have the ability to reduce or eliminate
to differentiate have propelled the advance of future technologies in the
financial institution industry. Equal parts innovation and customer focus,
the main objective is to help lower both courier and item possessing costs,
enter remote capture technology. Remote deposit capture solutions enable
institutions to deliver stronger customer service within a larger geographic
footprint of their branches.
For Home Federal Bank’s clients, the RDC service provides
additional convenience to make deposits, which allows for
increased liquidity and enhanced cash flows for both its
retail and business clientele. With Remote Deposit Capture,
80%
trips to the bank branch for deposits, and the costs associated with couriers,
saving corporations up to 80% in transportation and courier costs.
In choosing to roll out their RDC solution Home Federal Bank initially chose to
utilize the traditional “in-source” Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) technology
provided by their CORE vendor. This meant significant additional internal
resources would be required to manage the non-core function of its RDC
program. However more recently, the bank has elected to migrate from the
traditional in-house deployment of its RDC service to the turnkey outsourcing
deployment of its RDC program. This case study is about a large publically held
community bank taking a critical approach to aligning their growth strategies
with internal competencies and costs consistent with the RDC channel.
T HE P A I N -POIN T S/CHALLE NGE S :
While the benefits of RDC are clear, its effective implementation can provide challenges for FIs especially in terms of logistics,
maintenance and support activities associated with RDC hardware. In an attempt to push widespread deployment to their small
and mid-sized client base, the bank realized that its current strategy required significant platform and process preparation.
Specialized customer service, end-user training and equipment deployment models to support large volumes are just a few of
the obstacles Home Federal Bank encountered in its efforts to efficiently promote the use of RDC.
RDC equipment deployment, activation, training, technical
…In an attempt to push widespread
support, and repair are not core competencies for Financial
Institutions and Home Federal Bank expanded to a point
deployment to their small & mid-sized
where they started bursting at the seams. Not wanting
client base, the bank realized that its
decided it was time to explore non-traditional (outsource)
current strategy required significant
platform & process preparation.
to reassign additional resources to non-core functions
options. However choosing the right outsourcing partner is
as important as choosing the right RDC application. Home
Federal Bank evaluated third party RDC partners on the basis
of several factors, including cost, quality of service, training
options, marketing options, technical support and experience.
SO L UT I ON :
The decision involved a multi-month, rigorous vendor selection and after considering the half-dozen
prospective RDC suppliers, CFC Technology was selected by Home Federal Bank. With the availability of a
managed services solution that includes 100% turnkey capabilities – Home Federal Bank realized cost savings
and immediate conveniences they never possessed as evidenced by the glowing end-user praise from first-
100%
hand customer feedback during their first deployment.
CFC Technology with its “RDC Managed Services” program provided help desk support for the bank and the
0
UPFRONT
bank’s end-users, technology activation, merchant information services and asset management services.
The end result for Home Federal Bank is a complete RDC solution, with top-tier support, rapid time-to-market,
zero upfront capital investment and affordable pricing.
T HE B E N EFITS:
CFC Technology’s “RDC Managed Services” solution has allowed Home Federal Bank to extend its geographic footprint while
minimizing courier costs and meeting presentment deadlines for its customers. At the same time the organization has seen
increased opportunities for commercial deposit business, service fees and reduced document preparation costs. The overall effect
has been the extension and reinforcement of Home Federal Bank’s brand in the eyes of both its retail and commercial customers.
W H Y CFC T ECH N OL O GY?
ST RON G RETU RN ON I NV ES TME NT
The CFC Technology RDC solution allows FIs to capitalize on customer service,
streamline the transaction process and gives regional financial institutions the tools to
level the playing field with large FIs.
With the CFC Technology’s RDC solution, FIs obtain:
• Better competitive positioning
• Enhanced customer relationships
• Improved service and customer retention levels
• Reduced operations costs
For the FIs end-users/customers, CFC Technology’s RDC offering means more than
simply making deposits electronically. It means virtually eliminating the costly and
time-consuming physical transportation of items, and significantly accelerating
posting. This streamlines check management and improves check handling security.
“We think of CFC Technology’s ‘RDC Managed Services’ as an effective
treasury management service that is really easy to use for both the banks
staff and customers. CFC Technology delivers a top-tier call center support
that includes technical help desk support, configuration and training,
all of which blends seamlessly with the bank’s core values.”
Robin N. Johnson,
Cash Management Coordinator, Home Federal Bank
6110 Blue Circle Drive, Suite 110
Minnetonka, MN 55343
763.235.5300 PHONE | 763.235.5301 FAX
[email protected]