Arvest Bank Partners With Google Cloud on Digital Transformation

Community bank Arvest Bank has announced a five-year partnership with Google Cloud to accelerate its digital transformation, a press release said.

It comes after the bank also teamed with Thought Machine, a banking software FinTech, as well as its appointment of growth strategist Laura Merling to guide transformation and bank operations.

Arvest plans to revamp its technology architecture and systems. It will move its data centers to Google Cloud for a “full scale” digital transformation, also using Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools to improve customer service.

The press release said Arvest’s goals for the partnership include focusing on digital banking using tech and AI solutions; improving business agility to keep up with the changing needs of customers, for example Document AI to enhance commercial lending decisions, and using AI tools to meet regulatory requirements; offering employees training opportunities on Google Cloud tools; and improving sustainability by cutting Arvest’s data center carbon footprint.

“The rapid shifts around consumer financial needs and behaviors, along with the expectation for consistent customer engagement across channels, impose unprecedented demands for technology and speed of execution,” said Arvest CEO Kevin Sabin. “Moving to the cloud is another key component to our transformation.”

According to Merling, community banks have had to adapt to the changing times. She told Karen Webster that they have to both reexamine their digital operations, but also leverage their strength, especially the trust they have with customers over decades.

This comes as community banks might be seeing more threats now, with FinTechs and neobanks offering more updated customer services and interactions.

“The reason people are attracted to FinTechs lies with simplicity,” Merling told Webster.

See also: In the Digital World, Community Banks Must Avoid ‘Rocks in Shoes’

Merling said there’s a trend now with customers wanting their financial services providers to do more than build a product portfolio, instead wanting a “continuum” of financial solutions that anticipate needs. She said this desire is spread across all demographics.

And banks can work with AI technology to anticipate when loans are close to being paid off, presenting new opportunities to put freed-up cash back to work.