Miami-based Pacific National Bank is using a stand-alone digital brand called Facile to reach younger customers and position itself for long-term success.
“It’s aimed at giving the bank a peak into what we think banking is going to look like. There is certainly a change that is going on now,” said Carlos Mejia, senior vice president and chief digital executive at PNB. “When you’re dealing with some of the larger core platforms, you lack development agility. That played a really big part into our decision-making process.”
PNB, which has over $665 million in assets, launched Facile in February with the help of core provider Nymbus and its SmartLaunch solution. The bank is using Facile to cement a strong digital presence as consumers continue to transition away from brick-and-mortar channels.
Mejia said Facile has gained about 800 applications since its launch, a number the bank is happy with, given the early stage of the rollout. Facile offers many of the features typical of digital-only banks, including spending breakdowns, peer-to-peer payments, bill pay and debit cards. According to Mejia, opening an account typically takes between three and five minutes.
PNB is marketing Facile beyond its southern Florida market and gaining customers in Boston, Denver and the Washington, D.C. metro area. The bank worked with Nymbus, also based in Miami, to develop the user experience, account-opening procedure and personal finance management tools. Although Facile runs on PNB’s banking charter, Mejia is the only PNB employee with direct involvement in Facile’s day-to-day operations, which are mainly run through Nymbus.
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PNB isn’t the only community bank that has launched a digital brand to expand its reach. St. Louis-based Midwest BankCentre launched a brand called Rising Bank through Jack Henry last year that has since gained $150 million in deposits. “It’s really about being relevant in the five-, 10- or 20-year point of view,” Dale Oberkfell, president and chief financial officer at Midwest BankCentre, previously told Bank Innovation.
Nymbus offers a 24/7 call center, and Mejia said the human-digital approach to customer service is appealing for consumers frustrated by fully automated solutions. Although it is still early, he said he wouldn’t be surprised to see the Facile and PNB brands folded together in the future.
“Up-and-coming generations are more open to technology and less apt to need some of the traditional banking services, traditionally brick and mortar,” Mejia said.