technology provider jack henry is highlighting financial health training and services during April Financial Literacy Month.
Jack Henry’s financial customers can benefit from data aggregation, personal financial management, and fraud detection tools by leveraging the technology provider’s direct API connectivity. nicole harperJack Henry, Director of Corporate Strategy, said: Bank automation news.
Ban We spoke with Harper about how to approach financial literacy with strategy, technology, and data in mind. Below is an edited version of that conversation.
Bank automation news: How will Jack Henry prioritize financial literacy education in April?
Nicole Harper: Financial health is actually part of Jack Henry’s DNA, and April will emphasize that. Jack Henry aims to strengthen the connection between people and financial institutions through all the technology services and solutions we offer.
To accomplish that, Jack Henry provides in-house financial health training throughout the month to more than 7,000 employees. Training includes:
- linkedin study courses;
- In-house training by “Jack Tracks”.
- Access to financial counselors.
- Ability to update 401K postings.and
- Helps update your personal budget.
As well as prioritizing financial literacy training within the company, Jack Henry also announced its latest awards program to highlight clients and fintechs doing great work rooted in improving financial health. Award winners will be announced at: jack henry connect in autumn.
Ban: What challenges may financial institutions face in implementing a comprehensive financial strategy?
NH: There are three issues that financial institutions should consider.
1. Understand and define financial health. by financial health networkFinancial health is defined as being able to spend, save, borrow, and plan in a way that increases your resilience and improves your ability to pursue new opportunities for yourself.
A recent study from the Financial Health Network found that 71% of Americans are financially vulnerable, which presents both a challenge and an opportunity for financial institutions.
Given all the ways consumers manage their finances with 15 to 20 financial relationships, how can people get a holistic view of their finances and make better decisions? ? That’s where financial institutions come in and solve fragmentation using secure financial data aggregation.?
2. Identify the business case for prioritizing financial health. Banks are prioritizing deposit growth, lending growth and efficiency improvements, according to Jack Henry’s annual Strategic Benchmarking Survey.
These are such priorities, so where does financial health come into play when considering resources?
It may seem difficult to come up with a business use case for financial health, but in reality, banks and credit unions that prioritize the financial health of their account holders can increase deposits and improve revenue. This can have a measurable impact on your bottom line. A more resilient loan portfolio.
3. Achieve the company’s commitment to financial health. Starting an initiative is easy, but sustaining it is difficult. Commitment from the top down and laterally is essential.
Ban: How should banks address financial fragmentation? What role can data aggregation play here?
NH: We consider all the ways consumers and businesses are trying to manage their finances. Aggregation positions financial institutions as central or key financial hubs, providing account holders with data within a digital banking experience that relates not only to their relationship with the bank, but also to relationships with external partners.
This provides great benefits for account holders, as they can connect to external accounts, see everything in one place, and better manage their funds.
The best way to do this is to establish a direct API connection to your data aggregator to avoid the risk of screen scraping. Jack Henry has a direct API connection that allows you to leverage tokenization to provide secure financial data exchange and aggregation.
As consumers benefit from data aggregation, financial institutions can also see, analyze, and provide value to this data. This helps you understand where your money is flowing and what insights you can provide to your account holders. This improves the overall experience when making recommendations and providing offers to account holders.
