Main Street Matters Blog

Community banks have long served the small-business market, but given the pandemic impact, new opportunities have emerged to support these customers’ payments needs and address areas of friction.

When I think about customer-permissioned data sharing, I am reminded of the scene from the movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off where Ferris and his best friend, Cameron, leave the keys to a Ferrari with an attendant only to discover later that the valet has taken the luxury sports car out for a joy-ride.

Well before coronavirus saturated our headlines, community banks accounted for 60 percent of small-business lending, served 58 percent of small businesses nationwide as their primary lender, and lent over $1.5 trillion to small businesses in 2019 alone.

Central Payments, the payments arm of the $238 million-asset Central Bank of Kansas City (CBKC) never imagined that a few days into their Falls Fintech accelerator program, they’d have to transition to a fully virtual experience. But due to COVID-19, that’s exactly what happened.

It’s no surprise that community banks have been financial first responders during the coronavirus pandemic. Their mission, vision and commitment to community is well-known, but research reveals the true extent of their impact.

With U.S. consumers paying approximately 15 billion bills valued at $4 trillion annually, nearly 30 percent of all consumer spending comes in the form of bill payment. This market presents significant opportunities for community banks.

Crisis response is not a new concept for community banks that have weathered economic recessions, natural and man-made disasters, and previous pandemics—all of which presented unique challenges that tested the industry’s resiliency and provided valuable lessons

The SBA and Treasury Department just publicly released loan-by-loan information about Paycheck Protection Program loans, as they said they would on June 19.

Given today’s competitive labor market and rising employee expectations, finding the right talent for your bank can be challenging. So, why not look internally and focus on the human capital that you already have?

While we have never before experienced anything quite like COVID-19, we can identify a bright spot: community banks rising to serve the needs of their communities.