By Amruta Dongre
Community banks are uniquely positioned to offer personal, relationship-driven banking experiences. However, they often face stiff competition from larger institutions and fintech companies that have invested heavily in digital capabilities. One critical area where community banks can gain a competitive edge is in the account opening process—specifically, automating and streamlining their bank-directed account opening approach.
Today’s landscape presents real challenges: bank-directed account opening is often limited to an entrenched, in-branch experience where the customer initiates the need to open an account. This is typically followed by a manual, paper-based process requiring multiple customer touchpoints. Compounding the issue, banks often lack the data and metrics needed to view the full scope of a customer’s relationship with the institution—making it difficult to cross-sell additional products and deepen relationships.
Modernizing this process doesn’t just streamline operations; it strengthens the personal, local touch community banks are known for, while improving compliance, operational efficiency, and scalability. In a world where digital expectations are rising—and where some banks operate with few or no traditional branches—this transformation is no longer optional, but essential.
Let’s explore how bank-directed account opening can be a strategic advantage for community banks.
What Exactly Is Bank-Directed Account Opening?
Bank-directed account opening is where the bank, rather than the customer, drives the account opening journey. Customers still provide necessary information and documentation, but the bank facilitates, manages, and guides the process. This can be done by the banker at the branch or even in a café with the customer, creating a more flexible and personalized experience. This approach typically involves:
- Proactive onboarding led by bank staff or relationship managers
- Streamlined workflows that incorporate compliance checks (KYC, KYB, AML)
- Elimination of manual paperwork and data entry
- Integrated systems that pull data directly from internal and external sources
- In contrast to self-service account opening, where the customer initiates and manages much of the process, bank-directed account opening combines high-touch service with modern efficiency which is particularly valuable for complex accounts.
Key Benefits of Bank-Directed Account Opening for Community Banks
Preserves the Personal Touch While Enhancing Efficiency
Community banks pride themselves on personal relationships and individualized service. Bank-directed account opening allows bank staff to maintain that personal connection by guiding customers through the process, offering advice, and ensuring their specific needs are met.
At the same time, digital tools streamline the process, reducing the administrative burden on both customers and staff. The result? Faster onboarding without sacrificing the personalized experience customers value.
Essential for Banks Without Branches
Many community banks today are expanding into new markets without physical branches. For these branchless institutions, bank-directed account opening is critical to replicating the white-glove experience traditionally provided in person. By leveraging relationship managers and digital tools, community banks can handle complex account setups seamlessly without the need for an in-person customer visit.
This approach allows banks to maintain high levels of service, foster trust, and provide guidance—even in a fully remote environment. Customers get a seamless, concierge-like experience no matter where they are located.
Handling Complex Commercial Accounts with Ease
For community banks focused on serving small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) or more complex commercial accounts (including businesses with complex ownership structures), a bank-directed approach is essential. These accounts often require more detailed documentation, enhanced due diligence, and tailored account structures.
Bank-directed account opening makes it easier for banks to manage these complexities efficiently, reducing errors and ensuring compliance with regulations. It positions community banks as credible partners for businesses needing more than just basic checking services.
Strengthens Compliance and Risk Management
With increasing regulatory scrutiny, ensuring compliance is non-negotiable. Bank-directed account opening processes typically include:
- Integrated KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYB (Know Your Business) checks
- Automated due diligence and risk factor assessments
- A clear audit trail for regulatory review
This comprehensive approach reduces the risk of human error and helps community banks stay compliant without bogging down staff in time-consuming manual processes.
Eliminates Inefficiencies and Redundancies
Manual account opening processes often lead to duplicated data entry, missing information, and delays. Bank-directed account opening leverages digital platforms that:
- Pre-fill information from existing databases and external sources
- Automate document verification and data validation
- Provide a single point of truth for customer information
This reduces redundancies and frees up staff time to focus on higher-value activities, like building customer relationships and identifying cross-sell opportunities.
Drives Cross-Selling Opportunities
One of the most significant advantages of bank-directed account opening is the opportunity it creates for effective cross-selling. Here’s how:
- Proactive Recommendations: With integrated core systems and analytics, banks can surface tailored product recommendations right at the point of account opening. Rather than relying on separate follow-ups, banks can offer bundled solutions immediately, increasing uptake.
- Holistic Customer Profiles: As customer data is collected during onboarding—including financial goals, business operations, and transaction needs—it becomes easier to identify relevant products and services. Whether it’s treasury management, lending, merchant services, or investment products, the data informs personalized offers.
- Deeper Customer Engagement: During the onboarding process, relationship managers or bank staff have direct interactions with customers. This creates opportunities to ask meaningful questions and understand the customer’s needs, which often leads to natural conversations about additional services.
- Builds Long-Term Relationships: By offering relevant and diverse products early in the relationship, banks set the foundation for long-term customer loyalty. A well-executed account opening process demonstrates the bank’s understanding of the customer’s needs and builds trust, leading to ongoing engagement and cross-sell opportunities down the line.
For community banks—especially those without a branch network—this proactive, relationship-driven cross-sell approach is key to growing deposits and deepening customer relationships.
Bank-directed account opening isn’t just about improving internal processes; it’s about delivering a better experience for customers and reinforcing what makes community banks special. By adopting a digital-first, bank-driven approach, community banks can streamline onboarding, strengthen compliance, and build deeper local relationships with both individuals and businesses. This is how community banks can thrive—by staying true to their values while embracing innovation.
Vikar’s platform offers community banks a comprehensive, digital-first solution designed for bank-directed onboarding. Key features include:
- Fully digital, streamlined onboarding from start to finish
- Elimination of manual steps that hinder efficiency and analytics
- Support for consumer and complex commercial accounts and SMBs
- Support for complex ownership structures
- Seamless integration with KYC, KYB, and due diligence processes
- Direct connection to core banking systems, enabling easy data retrieval and utilization
By combining these capabilities, Vikar helps community banks provide a modern, compliant, and efficient account opening experience—without losing the human touch that sets them apart.
About the Author
Amruta Dongre has over 15 years of experience in product and software development. In her current position as CTO and Founder of Vikar Technologies, she leads the overall product strategy and oversees product development and engineering. Amruta holds a Master’s Degree in Information Management from Syracuse University.