Banking Transformed with Jim Marous

"The banking industry spends billions competing for deposits, loans, and new accounts. But what if the real competition starts much earlier?

In this episode of Banking Insights, Jim Marous explores why attention has become one of the most valuable assets in banking and why many financial institutions are losing the battle without realizing it.

Using the FIFA World Cup as a lens, Jim examines how organizations earn attention, why visibility is not the same as relevance, and what banks and credit unions can learn from brands that consistently stay top of mind.

You'll discover:

• Why customer attention is the leading indicator of future growth

• How silent attrition often begins long before balances leave

• Why AI search, digital engagement, and financial insights are changing the rules of competition

• How institutions can earn attention without increasing marketing budgets

• Practical strategies to become more relevant in the moments that matter most

Before customers give you their money, they give you their attention.

The institutions that understand that difference will be positioned to win the next decade.

#Banking #DigitalBanking #CustomerExperience #Marketing #FinancialServices #BankingTransformation #RetailBanking #CreditUnions #AI #BankingInsights"

Traditional financial institutions often view the credit-underserved market as a liability. In this episode of Banking Transformed, Michael Coleman, CMO of Credit One Bank, joins me to demonstrate how that mindset is shifting. We explore the actionable strategies banks can use to reach millions of underserved households by moving from fear-based risk avoidance to purposeful risk management.We break down the pathway to inclusion:• Targeted Outreach: How to leverage pre-approved offers and data-driven insights to lower barriers to entry for millions.• Empowering Through Education: Why proactive, digital-first credit education turns potential risks into loyal, long-term card members.• Transparency as a Tool: Using clear fee structures and open communication to build trust with populations that have been historically excluded.

Download the full Digital Banking Report, The Ultimate Subscription: Fees That Unlock the System for Millions, at DigitalBankingReport.com.

This episode is sponsored by Credit One Bank

#BankingTransformed #FinancialInclusion #CreditOneBank #Fintech #RetailBanking #ConsumerFinance

Only 13% of banks and credit unions are operating at the highest level of digital maturity. They are growing revenues at 5X the rate of their less mature peers, and they are not the largest institutions.In this episode of Banking Transformed, Jim Marous draws on new research from Alkami and the Emerald Research Group to explain what digital maturity actually means today, why it no longer correlates with asset size, and the three factors separating the institutions pulling away from everyone else. He walks through the four-segment maturity model, the cost of standing still in the AI era, and what every banking executive should do Monday morning, with a closer look at one community bank that committed early and what its experience tells the rest of the industry.Take the Digital Maturity Model and Assessment Tool. Download the full research report.Banking Transformed publishes multiple times weekly. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Sixty-five million Americans cannot fully participate in the economy that most people take for granted. For many, the issue is not irresponsibility. It is a medical crisis, divorce, job loss, thin credit file, or temporary setback that pushed them outside the traditional credit system.
In this Banking Insights episode, I examine why more banks and credit unions are retreating from consumers with credit scores below 670, even as the need for responsible credit access continues to grow. Based on Digital Banking Report research, this episode challenges industry assumptions about risk, regulation, fees, and financial inclusion.
The opportunity is not simply to approve more applications. It is to build a better credit model around access, education, and financial momentum, where consumers are given the tools, transparency, and a clear path to improve their financial future.
I also share the story of Taeisha Jamison, whose credit score improved by more than 150 points after gaining access to a product that combined responsible credit, embedded education, and a clear path forward. Her story shows what happens when financial inclusion moves beyond messaging and becomes a working business model.
In this episode:
- The data behind the retreat from lower-score borrowers.
- How fees can fund responsible access.
- Why education without access, or access without education, falls short.
- How banks can create financial momentum through smarter product design, alternative data, behavioral tools, and transparency.
Download the full Digital Banking Report, The Ultimate Subscription: Fees That Unlock the System for Millions, at DigitalBankingReport.com.
This Banking Insights episode is sponsored by Credit One Bank.
#BankingInsights #CreditAccess #FinancialInclusion #FinancialHealth #CreditOneBank #BankingTransformed

How will bankers and AI agents be working side by side five years from now?

For most banks, that is no longer a hypothetical. New global research from nCino (link below) finds that 89% of banking executives expect their organization to be a combination of humans and AI agents within five years, and 84% say agentic AI has already changed how most banking roles operate.

Leaders frame this as a move toward higher-value work. 91% say AI lets their people spend more time on the customer-facing tasks that matter most.

In this episode of Banking Transformed, host Jim Marous sits down with Sean Desmond, President and CEO of nCino. Sean's view is that the real question is no longer whether to adopt AI but how to turn that activity into measurable outcomes.

The research backs him up. Four in five executives say their organization prioritizes AI adoption over return on investment. Sean walks through how nCino moved past experimentation, including a personal agent stack he scoped in a single evening, and why he believes the goal is to raise up what bankers can do rather than take work away from them.

In this conversation:

The dual workforce: how humans and AI agents are beginning to share the workload, and what shifts when they do.

Adoption to impact: why so many banks can point to AI activity but not yet to AI return, and how Sean thinks they close that gap.

Beyond the sandbox: moving AI from test environments onto live production data without breaking governance.

The data reality: why 94% of executives want one end-to-end AI solution while 93% still struggle with siloed or inconsistent data.

Sponsored by nCino:nCino's inaugural AI in Banking Benchmark surveyed 150 senior banking executives and the results tell a story of high confidence with a striking blind spot. Nearly 9 in 10 say AI agents are the future, but only 1 in 5 are tying it to revenue.

#BankingTransformed #nCino #DualWorkforce #AgenticAI #AIinBanking #FutureOfBanking #Fintech