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The savings in the cost of making a deposit electronically vs. in a branch can only be achieved if branches are closed. In addition, I am surprised that only 10% of the deposits are mobile. Banks need to change behaviors that are not good for the customer. That said, kudos for biting the bullet on staffing.

Based on what I am seeing and hearing, it is more likely that we will see geographic relevance before we see time relevance. The challenge for merchants, however, will be the balance between providing an incentive that drives a purchase that would not already be made vs. either time or space relevance. 

While it may be beneficial to reinforce the offer when I am shopping for a similar product/service, I run the risk of providing an offer when the customer was already going to my business (no incremental lift). But, as you mention, the offer is even more relevant if it is reinforced when I am considering going to a competing merchant.

The leveraging of data within and outside bank firewalls provides a massive opportunity that is relatively untapped. As Truaxis mentions, the ability to provide reminders for events/purchases/payments that appear to be timed consistently from period to period can enhance the customer experience. Geolocational capabilities also provide tremendous enhancements.

I will ask the panel your question during my session at BAI's PaymentsConnect conference on March 12. I think it will generate interesting dialogue. I also will dig deeper into the balancing act from the customer's perspective of leveraging the right amount of data and the big brother syndrome.

Thanks for your interest.