Leading the Banking Industry in Innovation With a #PeopleFirst Mindset

By Shikhar Singh, Choice Bank Chief Technology Officer

Whenever you hear about the latest technological advances in the banking industry, you’re bound to hear the word “innovation.” Innovation is essential to business, especially if you want to keep up with customer demand. But what exactly does it mean to innovate within a business?

Innovation can mean different things to different people. At Choice Bank, innovation is driven by our #PeopleFirst values that set the tone for new ideas and solutions. As an industry leader in banking, we are always working behind the scenes to enhance the level of service provided to our customers.

Why I was Drawn to Choice Bank

I was drawn to Choice Bank because of those values! I worked in a big bank before coming to Choice, and I can unequivocally say that being a smaller organization doesn’t limit innovation. Choice has the advantage of being more agile and nimble than larger banks. Decision-making processes are quicker and more streamlined. We have a closer relationship with customers, which gives us unique insights into their needs and preferences. While Choice may not have the same resources as some of the bigger banks in the country, we continuously innovate by fostering a culture of experimentation, staying up to date with technology and collaborating with our customers, other banks and fintech partners.

What Does Innovation Mean to Choice Bank?

At Choice, we believe innovation isn’t just about inventing something entirely new, but also about continuously improving the customer experience. Our customers are at the center of every decision we make, and we are constantly looking for ways to better serve them.

To achieve long-term differentiation, we take a 30,000-foot view of our customer relationships, looking for opportunities to connect the dots and provide a more comprehensive and personalized experience. One of the ways we do this is through targeted Banking as a Service (BaaS) partnerships via Choice Fin. BaaS is using banking technology to innovate the customer experience in order to disrupt the banking industry. Choice Fin’s partnerships with banking applications allow us to reach a wider audience and offer services that we may not be able to provide directly, while still maintaining control over how our members are served.

Through managing our customer relationships, we can gather valuable feedback and data that helps us improve our services and better meet our customers’ needs. By actively seeking feedback and incorporating it into our decision-making processes, we can ensure that every stakeholder in the value chain is provided with the information they need to make informed decisions.

In a nutshell, to us, innovation means continuously improving the customer experience, taking a comprehensive view of our customer relationships, leveraging targeted BaaS partnerships and actively seeking out feedback and data to inform our decision-making.

We are committed to improving and innovating the customer experience, and that means involving the customer in everything we do. We are always looking to implement value-added services to continue our #PeopleFirst mission.

Written by:

Shikhar Singh
Chief Technology Officer
Golden Valley, MN
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