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Bank in a Box

Bank in a Box

You're starting a bank.

Your reputation and financial comfort are now on the line.

You need to get this bank up and running on time and on budget. You’ll be meeting with regulators, software vendors, and hiring staff. You’ll be creating more forecasts and plans than you’ve ever had to before.

Our advice?

You should relax, or at least find a comfortable stride. This effort may take months or years depending on the complexity. Preserve your energy. This is a journey, not a sprint.

You’ll need to lean on your peers in the industry. And that's a great place to start. But if you need to get connected to more executives, let us know. We can help.

And when you're talking to other banking executives, mention Strategic Information Technology. Ask them about our track record for getting new banks up and running on time and on budget. We're not perfect—but our track record for startup banks is virtually flawless.

Why the great track record? Why so successful? Some people refer to our combination of processes and products as a "bank in a box".

Introducing "Bank in a Box"

We've been through the process of helping our customers start a bank so many times that our customers started to call it "bank in a box". We have the right banking software platform. We have a sizable network of professionals. But don't let the phrase "bank in a box" mislead you. You'll have plenty of work to do. That's a core part of our approach. We don't just take your money and say "We'll take care of it". That's a fairy tale. And we believe that is why projects end up years late and millions over budget. The secret of our success is accountability. Accountability of our staff, our customers, and our partners.

Small Town Approach. Big City Results.

We're from a small town. Reputation is everything. And we depend on word-of-mouth marketing.

To help improve our reputation we've worked hard perfecting our implementation process. So far it's working very well. The Portfolio Plus banking software platform at ING Bank of Canada was installed and running in less than three months. Same goes for Canadian Tire Bank, RBC, Equity Financial Trust, and HomEquity Bank. In some cases these banks delayed their "go live" date because of regulators, or other reasons, but the platform was ready in three months.

Please Note: If you're converting from an existing platform an implementation will most likely take longer than three months (unless there are very few products involved). But there are exceptions. We converted one multi-billion dollar portfolio of products in the course of a few months.

Because our marketing efforts are so dependant on our reputation the last thing we want to do is be part of a project that is late or over budget. As such, if we see a flaw in your plans, we'll be the first to speak up. After all, our mission statement is "To enhance the performance of our customers". It's simple, but it helps keep our eye on what's important.

Warning: OSFI is getting Tougher

We've worked with dozens of customers that are approved by OSFI. We have an idea or two about what to expect. And if you need a professional to help you through the entire OSFI process, we'll recommend one for you. The approval process is getting tougher all the time. We believe this is a good thing. We believe Canadian financial institutions will be stronger globally because of it.

Bank in a Box: The Platform.

We can't propose a platform for you without knowing your needs. So we start there. You'll help us answer questions like "Do you want your platform hosted on your premises?" And you'll help us understand your operational and marketing requirements so we can propose the specific core banking modules that delivers what you need. In many cases, the cornerstone starts with a balance of loans and term deposit functionality. But that's not always the case. Sometimes it's an RESP platform, an RDSP platform, or a virtual banking platform. The combinations are endless.

Bank in a Box: The Product Options

A simplified list of SIT products and services includes:

• Loans and Mortgages: car loans, mortgages (sub-prime, 1st, 2nd, etc.), home equity line of credit, leases, etc.
• Term Deposits (aka GIC): redeemable, non-redeemable, stepped-rate, etc.
• Investments: registered, non-registered, RRIF, RRSP, RRIA, RDSP, RESP, TFSA, etc.
• Retail Banking: chequing, savings, line of credit, teller functionality, bill payments, etc.
• Accounting: general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc.
• Disaster Recovery Setup: on-line backup, real-time replication, etc.
• Web Banking: consumer access to loans, mortgages, retail, term deposits and investments.
• Agent Web: agent, broker, or partner access to loans, mortgages, retail, term deposits and investments.
• Universal Gateway: ability to plug-in interactive voice response, Equifax, TransUnion, debit card access, Open Banking Interface, and more.

Don't worry about this list of products. Focus on your needs. We have a long list of products. We admit that. During the sales discovery process, we'll work together to ensure we address all your needs and propose the appropriate products to fulfill those needs.

Recommendation: Communicate with your Operational Employees

Let's say your executive team makes a strategic to decision to purchase our Portfolio Plus banking software platform. What's next? The most important next step is getting support from your operational staff. You need to review your decision criteria with them. You need to tell them how important this is to your future. And you need to involve them, as much as possible, in the implementation process itself. They will be an invaluable asset as the implementation project proceeds.

Introducing the Implementation Strategy Workshop

Typically, SIT recommends an Implementation Strategy Workshop (ISW) to every customer that purchases Portfolio Plus. This workshop pulls the stakeholders from SIT and your company together to drive out deliverables and dates for those deliverables. Because our employees and your employees are brought together in the same room, and real-time education can take place, the process works. And it works well. Face-to-face meetings are recommended whenever possible.

Project Management Drives the March Towards a Go-Live Date

Typically, two project managers are assigned during the ISW: one from SIT and one from your organization. These project managers help drive weekly meetings as we march towards an implementation date. Critical steps are included in the plan, like hardware installation, training, business validation, and more.

Bank in a Box. Unwrapping your Opportunity.

We're very good at getting new banks up and running on time and on budget. That's a fact. But we won't take our success for granted. We realize that each customer has different requirements. That's why an ISW is so critical. If, by chance, we haven't discovered all your requirements during the pre-sales process, we will discover anything we missed during the ISW.

Our future success depends on your success. If you'd like to explore a solution to your banking challenge, give us a call at 905-640-0808.