Are banks ready to go entirely paperless?

BankBeat spoke with Gerald Pettway, chief operating officer of HC3, which offers banks a platform to redesign their customer statements..How would you characterize the current state of how most community banks issue statements?Gerald Pettway: Most community banks today are operating with fragmented and outdated statement systems. Many are managing multiple vendor relationships — one for print statements and another for e-statements — resulting in inconsistent branding and customer experiences across channels.Beyond operational challenges, statements often lack visual appeal, with minimal use of color, icons or clear focal points that would make financial information more digestible.Banks are also frequently bogged down with manual processes, from printing certain communications in-house to managing separate systems that don’t effectively communicate with each other. This not only creates operational inefficiencies but also misses valuable opportunities to use statements as engagement tools.As digital banking continues to grow, these outdated statement processes are becoming increasingly problematic for community banks trying to meet customer expectations.What are some of the obstacles smaller banks might encounter when they decide to change how they issue statements?GP: Smaller banks face several obstacles. First is the integration challenge — technology integration was identified as the biggest hurdle for bank-fintech partnerships in a recent Cornerstone study. Many community banks lack dedicated technical resources or integration specialists who understand both their legacy systems and new technologies.Cost concerns also create hesitation. In-house production requires significant investment in equipment, systems, space and personnel, while outsourcing can feel like surrendering control and visibility. There’s also institutional resistance to change — many banks have operated with the same statement processes for decades.Technology solutions help overcome these obstacles by offering integration with core banking systems. Modern statement technology provides control and visibility without the burden of production. Tech solutions enable community banks to implement sophisticated statement designs and personalized marketing that would otherwise be beyond their capabilities, helping them compete with larger institutions despite resource limitations.How does all of this apply to commercial customers?GP: Commercial customers’ statement needs differ significantly from retail clients. Business customers require more detailed transaction data, often across multiple accounts.New statement technology enables the creation of consolidated statements that provide a comprehensive view of a business’s relationship with the bank across multiple accounts and services. This holistic view is particularly valuable for business owners who need to monitor their complete financial picture efficiently. Community banks can create specific settings for commercial clients, such as allowing access to CPAs or other financial and accounting professionals at those businesses to digital statements without accessing the entire account.There is going to be a set of customers who still want that paper statement. Thoughts?GP: Banks can absolutely accommodate traditional paper statement preferences while still enhancing the experience for these customers. The key is pursuing consistency across all delivery channels rather than treating paper as a legacy afterthought.The redesign principles that make digital statements more effective can and should be applied to paper statements as well. This includes implementing vibrant colors for visual identification, clear focal points with icons and images, simplified transaction formatting, and highlighted account summaries.Banks can also enhance paper statements by incorporating personalized marketing messages based on customer data, just as they would in digital channels. For example, banks can use available whitespace for client communication and cross-selling opportunities, which benefits paper statement recipients while maintaining familiarity.Banks should ensure that when customers call with questions about paper statements, staff have the same visibility and access to information as they would for digital statements.What’s the process like for a bank looking to upgrade their statement system?GP: The process of upgrading a statement system begins with a thorough assessment of the bank’s current statement production, existing core systems and customer needs. For most community banks, a phased approach works best, starting with statement production and gradually expanding to include other customer communications. This approach allows banks to build confidence in the new system while minimizing disruption.It’s crucial to have a dedicated project lead who understands the existing systems and can oversee the integration process. Once implemented, the bank should focus on staff training and measuring key performance indicators to ensure the new system meets expectations.By the way, the financial benefits are substantial. Direct cost reductions come from eliminating paper, printing and postage expenses, which can add up to significant savings. According to industry data, a mid-sized community bank can save between $1 and $3 per statement by converting to digital delivery, translating to tens of thousands of dollars annually.