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Graham Seel

Principal Consultant

BankTech Consulting

Member since

17 Apr 2015

Location

Concord

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Graham's opinions

Can Savings Group to Bank Linkage Really Work? A Tale of Two Banks

There has been plenty of discussion in recent years about the effectiveness of linking informal Savings Groups with formal Financial Service Providers. Some people will tell you that they are very effective in expanding the capabilities of savings groups to further benefit economic growth in the community. Others will tell you that SGs and FSPs ha...

16 July 2019 /inclusion Financial Inclusion

Technology the Answer to Savings Group Linkage

Technology is essential if linkage is to work for savings group members and for banks. But what technology? A soon-to-be-published report for World Renew documents my research on Savings Group linkages to FSPs. One of the areas I explore is the role of technology in creating sustainable, profitable and effective linkage. Technology to Redu...

27 April 2018 /inclusion Financial Inclusion

What Could Be Better Than Savings Groups?

The simple answer: Savings Groups plus access to a formal Financial Services Provider (FSP). Sometimes! A soon-to-be-published report for World Renew documents my research on Savings Group linkages to FSPs. The key question is whether, when and how to link Savings Groups (such as the CARE Village Savings and Loan model) to formal providers like ban...

21 April 2018 /inclusion Financial Inclusion

Linking Savings Groups to the Formal Financial Sector

Financial Inclusion efforts for the world’s poorest people have particularly focused on urban areas, and have had some success. But there is a tremendous relatively untapped opportunity for the formal financial sector to extend their reach to the rural poor. Millions people have joined informal savings groups in 75+ countries, with estimates r...

13 January 2018 /inclusion Financial Inclusion

Community Banks and Their Data

Everyone has heard comments like these: “Data is your greatest asset”. “If you don’t learn how to leverage your data, you’ll be left behind”. “Your number one technology challenge is to get control over your data”. But is it really true for community banks? If so, why are so few doing anything about it? What Data do Community Banks Have? This may s...

29 May 2017 Data Management 101

How Cash Management Will Become the Bank’s Greatest Asset

OK for most of us this sounds crazy. Cash management is a commodity. All the big banks do it. All the small banks offer it, even if they have to outsource it. Companies need it but there’s nothing new under the sun. Right? Wrong! Business banking is going to change. Today banks are primarily used as ways to carry out financial transactions. But in ...

10 February 2017 /wholesale Innovation in Financial Services

Should Community Banks and Credit Unions Worry About Blockchain?

There is more hype, discussion and disagreement about Blockchain than any other technology impacting financial services today. There has been a lot written about blockchain (or more generally Digital Ledger Technology). There are some good tutorials on what it is. The news media seem to always have some new application that is in pilot. All the la...

09 January 2017 Innovation in Financial Services

How Can Community Banks Keep Up With Customer Demands?

In a blog post last month, I listed some of the major challenges facing smaller financial institutions. One of them is the fact that customers are demanding more and more. It is hard enough for community banks to meet regulatory requirements and battle reducing interest margins. How on earth can they keep up with the rapid changes in customer ex...

01 December 2016 /wholesale Innovation in Financial Services

Squeezed Interest Margins - Incentive for Innovation

Because of increasing competition, and low interest rates, net interest income is going down. This isn’t what our shareholders and members want. But what can we do about it? In a previous post, I listed a number of significant challenges and opportunities for community banks. In this, and following posts, I will dig a bit deeper into innovative ap...

09 November 2016 /retail Innovation in Financial Services

OK We Need to Innovate. But Where Do We Start?

Community banks need to innovate. Most of us accept that. Too much is changing around us, too many other players are jumping on our turf. Regulators seem out to strangle us. And customers demand more and more. Community banks need to be strategic and tactical about innovation. Innovation should be driven by corporate strategy. It should be carried...

17 October 2016 /retail Innovation in Financial Services

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Graham Seel

Graham's opinions

Can Savings Group to Bank Linkage Really Work? A Tale of Two Banks

Technology the Answer to Savings Group Linkage

What Could Be Better Than Savings Groups?

Linking Savings Groups to the Formal Financial Sector

Community Banks and Their Data

How Cash Management Will Become the Bank’s Greatest Asset

Should Community Banks and Credit Unions Worry About Blockchain?

How Can Community Banks Keep Up With Customer Demands?

Squeezed Interest Margins - Incentive for Innovation

OK We Need to Innovate. But Where Do We Start?

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