Home Bank in Martinsville, Indiana, was chartered in 1890 as a mutual institution owned by its depositors. Community-minded, Home Bank leads with a service-first philosophy and has allocated 10% of its profits to charity since 2012.
But among the numerous challenges the bank once faced, including evolving customer expectations and rising competition, technology was perennial. So, in 2014, the institution sought a core technology provider that could adapt to the latest digital trends and demands.
As they evaluated core providers, Home Bank took special care to select a true strategic partner to help them continue their service and community-first mindset. They examined three core providers during their research, and aimed to convert their cards and digital banking solution simultaneously.
Home Bank COO Melissa Fisher remembers making the decision after sensing something different about CSI. “It was their culture and how they treated one another. It really seemed to align with who we are and who we want to be to our customers,” she said.
Concerning NuPoint’s core technology, Fisher adds, “One of the things we really like about CSI is that everything is basically in one platform … It’s one system that works together cohesively. The reporting is pretty amazing, too.”
The Evolution of a Strategic Partnership
According to Fisher, Home Bank’s switch to CSI rapidly improved its bottom line. For starters, they saw a decrease in overall expenses. And the bank also enhanced its debit card interchange profits after converting. But that wasn’t all.
Fisher says, “We didn’t understand how broad and deep digital solutions were entrenched in our customer base. CSI came along and just partnered with us the entire time during conversion.”
Home Bank has seen tremendous value in CSI’s NuPoint core technology. The institution has used sophisticated reporting for a better view of customers and NuPoint’s transformative technology to expand its offerings.
Over the past few years, Home Bank has adopted more solutions built upon CSI’s core platform, including digital account opening, modern digital banking solutions, multiple payments solutions, P2P, mobile deposits, smart ATMs, eSignatures and numerous other customer-centric offerings.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, that ability to provide access to the latest digital banking technology became invaluable. Of particular use was Home Bank’s early adoption of IMM eSign after first learning about it at the 2019 CSI Customer Conference.
Fisher also points out that Home Bank’s systems are consistently up and functioning as expected, giving her team confidence that they can rely on their core and their bank’s viability for the future.
Not Just a Core Provider
When asked about how far they’ve come and their satisfaction with CSI’s NuPoint core, Fisher reflects on the community bank’s ability to launch new products, stay on the cutting edge and remain profitable: “We’re a better bank today because of the conversion. We have a lot of forums where we meet, so we have a great opportunity to be able to network with executives from other banks. It’s nice to be the one in the room who says, ‘We like our core. We know that our core is working hard for us and that they’re a great partner for us. Not just a core provider, but a great core partner.'”