> While it’s true local banks provide a public local benefit, they are IME just inefficient This is the central theme of the product/platform we are working on

> While it’s true local banks provide a public local benefit, they are IME just inefficient This is the central theme of the product/platform we are working on right now. The objective is to enable small US banks the ability to automate large portions of their business, enabling cheaper employees to handle the day-to-day, reduce back office size, etc, etc. Getting a small, 5-branch bank completely end-to-end with a digital onboarding workflow can cut the cost of bringing in new customers by 80% or better. Paperwork is what is still killing most of the small ones. Scanning/printing/reviewing/etc. Allowing the bankers to work outside the physical branches is another thing that is coming up a lot these days. Acquiring new business customers can be much easier when you are able to open accounts and answer complex questions directly inside their place of business. The biggest strategic challenge with all of this is the cost of deploying such a solution. The tiny bank in Nowhere, TX can't afford super shiny & expensive software/consulting/etc. We had to figure out how to squeeze a digital transformation into a low 6 figure package and do it with only a handful of people. This is the real hard shit. Saving the small banks while still getting paid enough to do it. I think this is why you see this massive gulf between Ally.com and the 1 branch specials that were created in the 1800s. The cost of the transformation itself is the barrier. Once you are across the line it's cheap. In terms of consolidation, we've seen the effects of good technology on our clients. It turns them from prey into predator pretty quickly. Every one of the small banks who has used our solution has acquired additional branches over time.