As a newly established bank, Commonwealth National Bank was looking for ways to establish itself as an attractive alternative to the ever-growing trend of bank mergers and “mega-banks.” To compete, Commonwealth National needed to provide its corporate customers with secure, state-of-the-art cash management tools that could expand as business needs grew. It chose ACI Enterprise Banker.
The Challenge
As a newly established bank, Commonwealth National Bank was looking for ways to establish itself as an attractive alternative to the ever-growing trend of bank mergers and “mega-banks.”
“Commonwealth National was started by local business leaders to serve the individual and business needs in our community, and the reaction was positive,” said Sheila Talman, vice president at Commonwealth National. “Our challenge was to cultivate a niche in the crowded and highly competitive Massachusetts banking market.”
To compete, Commonwealth National needed to provide its corporate customers with secure, state-of-the-art cash management tools that could expand as business needs grew.
“We needed a solution we could implement quickly,” Talman said. “Yet we had to make sure we could support a system that was reliable and secure.”
The Solution
Commonwealth National selected ACI Enterprise Banker for ACH (automated clearing house) and chose to access the new system through ACI On Demand.
“Enterprise Banker gives our customers a full range of ACH functionality,” Talman said. “And with ACI’s outsourcing professionals handling the back-end processes, we were able to get our customers up and running quickly in a secure environment. “We have met the competition of larger banks as a de novo,” Talman continued. “Enterprise Banker is helping us establish ourselves in the marketplace.”
Why ACI?
Commonwealth National selected ACI over other vendors based on several criteria. First, Commonwealth National wanted proven cash management software it could trust. Enterprise Banker is the gold-standard for web-based ACH origination and the product of 20 years of industry-leading innovation. Its features and customization options are unmatched in the market.
Commonwealth National also needed a product that could serve a range of customers, from small businesses to larger corporations.
“Enterprise Banker allows us to offer packages tailored to the needs of specific clients,” Talman said. “The configurable payment templates and the convenient batch management, including batch reporting, makes it easy to sell.”
Commonwealth National needed to roll out a product within a short time frame. For this reason, it chose to deploy Enterprise Banker through ACI On Demand. Outsourcing allowed Commonwealth National to bring services to the market faster and avoid delays associated with creating an in-house technical infrastructure.
“ACI has a strong track record of providing a secure and quality-assured outsourcing environment, handling over a million transactions a month,” said Martha Dean, senior vice president and chief operations officer at Commonwealth National. “The professional outsourcing staff has really served our needs as we continue to expand our customer base.”
Dealing With Tactical Challenges
Commonwealth National faced certain tactical challenges in implementing a new system. One challenge was the coordination of processing events through a third party. ACI On Demand staff worked closely with the bank and its back-end processor to implement transaction cutoff times and assure that all testing was
completed and verified.
“We were very comfortable through the process and are very happy with the results,” Dean said.
With Enterprise Banker, Commonwealth National could create package plans for small businesses, large corporate clients and those in-between. “We were able to establish product levels according to our customers’ needs, and price them accordingly,” Talman said. “This has been received very well within our market.”
Looking Forward
With its expanding ACH market, Commonwealth National would like a way to check for sufficient funds automatically.
“We’d like to give customers immediate access to the system without waiting for credit checks,” said Charles Valade, president and CEO at Commonwealth National.
ACI’s funds authorization component provides Commonwealth National with real time messages regarding
customer transactions and allows the bank to approve the release of ACH batches.
“With ACI, we can expand our capabilities to meet our fast-growing market,” Valade said.
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