08/07/2018

AFT Remains Highly Interactive and Committed to Sharing Ideas and Information

in·ter·ac·tive adj. 1. Acting or capable of acting on each other. 2. Characterized by immediate two-way communication between a source of information and a user, who can initiate or respond to queries.

You do not get this kind of collaboration at any other trade conferences. Sharing and informing, two long-time essential ingredients of association events, is the very spirit of the phrase “interactive” at these sessions as demonstrated once again at the 2018 AFT Spring Summit at the California’s Ojai Valley Inn.

Digital adoption, open banking, Generation Z, bank growth restraints, De Novo banks, the underbanked/underserved market, trade shows, consultants, and RFPs, were among the topics presented this time around as summit attendees participated in two separate interactive sessions in addition to tabletop discussions.

Roger Amador, VP Strategic Alliances, Q2ebanking, and Jeff Harper, President, BSG Financial Group; moderated a general interactive session; and Paige Barry, VP Alliance Management, Fiserv; and Cara Hayward, Director of Business Development, CBANC Network; moderated a separate business development group.

Here at some topics and comments heard at the session:

Driving Digital Adoption

• “You have this amazing behavioral data set but mobile event data is not in any way connected.”
• “We need better engagement.”

Open Banking

• “Look at acquisition strategies.”
• “It’s easier said than done.”
• “Lenders want their customers educated.”

Trade Shows

• “A huge part of our budget is trade shows.”

Consultants/RFPs

• “We get a lot of RFP requests”
• “All consultants are different and all have a slightly different approach but we work with them all the time”

Trends and State Association Endorsements

• “It’s up to you to make the association work for you. You need to build a relationship with open communication so they know what you need from the relationship.”