Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • July 16, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 11 FOCUS demand perfection from their financial institutions, getting the service they want when and where they choose. We need to be ubiquitous, fast and flawless. Competition and disruption makes us better for customers by producing better capabilities. Our view is that all of us can live together in this ecosystem, and learn from each other. Everything we do is to give our customers choice, and we have great partners in the fintech space. Q. How will technology change the financial services industry over the next five to 10 years? A. New technologies are revolution- izing every industry, and financial ser- vices is no exception. As technology continues to transform banking and finances, we look at everything we develop at Bank of America through the lens of how it will enhance the customer experience. As we continue to advance our work on AI-driven developments like Erica, it's important that we listen to our us- ers today to further enhance every digi- tal tool we develop, to better meet and anticipate their needs for tomorrow. Q. What is B of A's current brick-and- mortar bank branch strategy? A. We feel it's important to create a seamless high-tech, high-touch experi- ence across all our channels, including our financial centers. While customers are increasingly using the bank's digital tools for day-to-day needs, like mobile check deposit, they still rely on in-per- son conversations with our team of spe- cialists for some of their more complex financial needs, like buying a house and saving for retirement or college. With close to 1 million people visiting our financial centers every day, we are investing in our financial center and ATM networks to comple- ment our digital platform to turn our centers into client destinations. We've been redesigning financial centers with new technology, furnishings and layouts and adding thousands of certified professionals. PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. UMass Amherst Data Center | Amherst, MA The facility included a 24-inch raised fl oor. This project entailed an initial build out capacity of 500 kW of computing power (approx. 56 server racks), while making accommodations for expansion to 1250 kW (approx. 126 server racks). The Uninterruptable Power Source (UPS) consisted of battery banks located adjacent to the server room and backed up by the existing building emergency generators. The data center cooling was achieved through a chilled water system that was provided by a new roof-mounted modular air chiller and supplemented from the existing central utility plant (CUP) chillers. A chilled water loop installed under the raised fl oor supplies the computer room air conditioning (CRAC) units. Total Project Size: 6,500 SF 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfi eld, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS SPOTLIGHT ON: E PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. THINK • PLAN • BUILD a partnership will Hopkinton, Mass.- based Billshark, a bill-reduction service that will be bundled with Payrailz services. With Billshark, Duggan said, an end-user can be notified, for instance, when they pay more for their cell phone bill than people in the sur- rounding area and are given the option of having their bank's behind- the-scenes fintech vendor negotiate a lower rate for them. "From the customer's per- spective, they're saying not only is my bank or credit union making it easier for me to pay my bills [through Payrailz] but they're also low- ering my bills," Duggan said. "That's a great benefit to provide customers and why we're applying the data that banks are rich in and using it to drive value." Billshark co-founder Steve McKean said the goal is to make sure con- sumers don't overpay for services. "We look forward to helping Payrailz deliver on their vision of reinventing the way the banking and financial services industry approaches the pay- ment experience," McKean said. Targeting local, regional banks As platform interfaces have be- come more advanced, fintechs have become better equipped to collabo- rate and expand joint capabilities. "The ability to integrate [services] is much easier than it used to be, so [our company] doesn't need to buy another company to get its [services] on our platform," Duggan said. "We can work out a partnership agree- ment and share the technology to provide a solution that is seamless." Those digital tools represent a big need for a banking sector that's seeing greater consolidation. In fact, implementing a transforma- tive digital program was identified by banks as the second-highest need (85 percent) in a 2018 Ernst & Young survey, falling just shy (89 percent) of data security. "If a bank is going to continue to win the younger generations who have no desire to go to a branch of- fice, they have to differentiate them- selves in an online and mobile world," Duggan said. For small local and regional banks — a targeted market for Payrailz — fintechs serve as an equalizer of sorts. Smaller banks know their customers and their data, Duggan contends, but lack the skills and resources of larger financial institu- tions to build a digital infrastructure to address an ever-expanding digital frontier. In fact, as Payrailz launches its AI bill pay technology this fall, it's already working on integrating it with smart watches and voice-acti- vated digital assistants like Google Home, Duggan says. While the company is poised for early growth, unlike many startups, Duggan, a 30-year banking and tech company veteran, says he and his investors, who are also all clients, are not looking to sell the company to a bigger fintech or financial institution. "Our goal is to have a reputation [as a fintech company] that has helped all of our clients to differentiate themselves and make the [financial management] easier for their clients," he said. Fran Duggan, CEO, Payrailz

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