Once built, tech infrastructure will inevitably become outdated as new features and capabilities become available that weren’t possible when it was built. For banks to remain competitive, then, they need to be always plugged into the innovation and changes happening in digital banking.
But even grabbing new solutions as they come out can get cumbersome as IT leaders try to integrate bandage software with legacy technology. Eventually, the system becomes disjointed and inefficient, with redundant features and disconnected processes.
The Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) model is meant to provide a more functional and cost-efficient alternative to this process. Here’s how PaaS like Blend’s composable origination platform are changing how banks keep up with digital transformation.
PaaS Is The Low-Code, Infrastructure-Light Way For Banks To Build Custom Software
Unlike Software as a Service (SaaS) which offers out-of-the-box software, PaaS gives users a platform where they can build their own solutions. This means banks have the ability to tailor their own tech stack and modify it as they go while the provider handles the storage, maintenance, and software updates.
The platform providers’ value stems from a commitment to updating their solutions with the latest features — and innovating new features — in an effort to keep their products at the forefront. As a result, platform users don’t need to constantly keep tabs on what’s happening in the banking tech space or keep tacking on new software to an increasingly cumbersome and complicated tech stack.
With Blend, for example, users can add and remove features as needed without interfering with the whole system because each component is containerized in what the platform calls “blocks.” Instead of writing code, users just drag and drop blocks to configure a custom origination and account opening experience.
This makes it easy to scale and keep up with the latest advances in banking tech without building entire new systems from scratch. As they scale and adapt, users can remove blocks or drag in new ones without causing errors in other parts of their infrastructure.
In addition to making banks more flexible and scalable, Blend can also make them more cost-efficient. By avoiding the costs of maintaining physical tech infrastructure or paying for more capacity than they need, banks can cut their tech spend without losing any of the functions or features they need.
Blend also allows a bank’s staff to do more with the same hours – automation and cloud collaboration capabilities help speed up processes and reduce manual steps so they have the ability to process more loans, onboard more customers and seamlessly cross-sell more financial products.
Blend’s PaaS Approach Is Good For Bank Customers, Too
Mobile banking, remote deposits, and even the ability to activate or disable their cards from their phone are all features that were made possible by cloud banking services and are now indispensable for many customers.
Blend takes that digital-first user-friendly experience a step further with fully digital credit, loan and deposit account applications using an intuitive interface to guide customers through the application. Pre-filled parts of the application, completed using data the customer has already provided for the bank, support a “show me you know me” approach to customer service.
There’s also an in-application co-pilot feature that allows customers to connect with a live representative who will immediately be able to see the exact part of the application the user is stuck in for fast, seamless assistance.
The flexibility provided by Blend’s PaaS services is underpinned by the Consumer Banking Suite and Mortgage Suite, out-of-the-box product foundations that enable banks to offer a single user interface across all of the bank’s financial products. Customers benefit from a cohesive experience and the flexibility to manage multiple products and services – like a deposit account, mortgage and even shopping for a new car – in one easy-to-use interface.
Featured photo by Kampus Production on Pexels.
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