Financial news

First Bank, a family-owned bank in St. Louis, has implemented Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform to boost its customer experience for retail and business banking customers.

The bank plumped for Backbase to enable the integration of multiple existing technology solutions, such as fraud management and payments, and facilitating seamless integration with new technologies adopted by the bank.

First Bank has a strong focus on full-service banking across its retail, business, wealth and lending services. Through Backbase, First Bank now operates on a unified platform catering so clients can access everything they need in one place, using a single log-in.

“This is the final step in our years-long digital transformation journey,” said Bala Nibhanupudi – EVP, chief technology and operations officer at First Bank.

“After re-architecting our entire digital ecosystem, including physical infrastructure, a core replacement, moving to the Microsoft Azure cloud, a middleware upgrade, and a CRM upgrade, we’re confidently delivering a customer-first banking experience. Right now with Backbase, the sky’s the limit on what we can do and offer.”

The integration

The Backbase Engagement Platform integrates with third-party applications and allows for customisation of customer journeys and control over the pace of innovation. Currently, 13 different systems are integrated, with additional integrations planned for future customer offerings. First Bank’s in-house developers will use Backbase’s managed hosting services for hosting, ongoing updates and upgrades.

Sam Boggs, executive VP for Backbase mid-market, also commented: “At Backbase, we’re focused on providing our customers with the capabilities to go beyond their legacy systems and point solutions, and in doing so, allow them to bring new products to market faster than ever, speeding the timeline between business decisions and launch. Ultimately, it is about achieving their mission. First Bank is the perfect example of that type of transformational financial institution.”

For a consumer client starting a business, First Bank can now guide them through the entire journey from a centralised point. Furthermore, the bank’s digital-first strategy will also let it extend its customer base nationally, even in areas where it lacks a physical presence.