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As a business and community focused bank working all day, every day with business leaders, we discuss what's effective in highly successful businesses today. Each episode features an interview discussing business practices on topics such as: company culture, fraud prevention, change management, economic data, wealth management tips, and more.
You can find more content like this on our website: https://www.nw.bank/newsroom/education/podcasts
Northwest Bank. Equal Housing Lender. Member FDIC.
Hello and thank you for joining us. I'm Luther Lambert, director of digital Banking Strategies with Northwest Bank. Welcome into our podcast series. One of our goals of this series is to help decode for demystify some of the terms or jargon that we as bankers use to help give you a better understanding of banking and some of our different products and services.
Joining me today is Jason Olson. He is the director of Treasury management for Northwest Bank. Jason has over 20 years of banking experience. He's been part of our Treasury team since 2009 in sales operations. He's also been involved with the onboarding of different Treasury management products. He's also a certified Treasury professional. He's here today to decode Treasury management and provide some details into why Treasury services may be the right fit for you and your business.
Hi, Jason. Thank you for joining us. Yeah, I'm excited to be here. So one thing we want to do is, is demystify some of the terms that we use in banking. And one of those is what we refer to it as Treasury management. But other institutions might call it Treasury services or cash management. So for those who do don't know what is Treasury management?
Sure. You know, I, I could go into a long definition about, you know, assisting corporate clients with their receivables and disbursements, assuring that their money is working for them according to what they value and so on and so on and so on. But what it really comes down to our team works directly with our business customers, usually their finance team, whether that's like a CFO, a treasurer, comptroller, or for the large corporate clients or directly with a business owner or account manager for a small business, really to understand the answer to three basic questions How does your money come in?
How's your money go out and what do you want to do with it when you have it? So we try to understand how they manage their cash flow to determine specific products or services that we can provide at the bank to make their process as seamless and efficient. So once you know those pieces of information, what are you what are you able to help with?
What are some of the tools that you can offer a business to help them with their cash management? Sure. I mean, the first thing that comes to mind is just what are they doing to view their accounts and who are they giving access to the different tools. So unlike on on a personal side of setting up online banking, you can view everything that you're, you know, you're attached to and do all the transactions.
On the business side, we need to be a lot more customizable. So our business online product, we can set up specific users that need to view the accounts, view the statements and process all the transactions. Maybe a business owner or that CFO position, but then they might have another person that's, you know, doing deposits and just need to do that process or processing payroll and just need to use that function.
So they don't need to see the account but need to access online for those services. We can customize that. So it's really first looking at how does this business want to, you know, use the banking services that we have with the employees that they want to give access to that that's probably the biggest one to start with, and it can get pretty cumbersome.
But a lot of our business owners that are doing it all themselves, they're looking for that piece that they can give to someone else so they can focus on the business, they can focus focus on the widget that they're building or the service that they're going out and doing for their clients. So that accounting and and Treasury function can be given to someone else.
And so if you're building out those templates, what what are some of the different sorts of tools that they're that you're seeing those businesses employees utilize to help their jobs be more efficient, get things done faster, get things done before deadlines, especially when you're talking about, you know, getting files, direct deposit files out on a Friday. Sure. Yeah.
I mean, so, you know, back to our questions of how's your money come in and how's your money go out. It's really a bit that payables and receivables function of their business. So if they're, you know, getting paid with a lot of checks and they know they don't really have an office super close to one of our locations, so they're, you know, waiting to do a deposit till the end of the week.
So it doesn't take up much of their time. Well, they don't have access to those funds then right away. So we might suggest to them are remote capture services that that would be a machine that we would install at an at their office. And they would run that deposit similarly similarly to our tellers at the bank. They they keep the checks, they scan them and that gets their into their account right away.
So that's that's a great feature for them so they don't have to leave the office. Similarly, if they maybe they bring in funds, people want to pay them via a. We have an origination service that they can log in. They can create that file to to bring in those receivables. Or if they need to pay people, they can send out their payables.
But that would be our services. And, you know, when most people think of services, the biggest factor is payroll. Everyone likes getting paid direct deposit. They know it's going to be there on that Friday morning or, you know, the 15th of the month. That's the typical use for services. But it's so much broader when we talk about their their payables and their receivables as well.
All that functionality is done within that business online banking application and it just runs smoothly and more efficient for their cash flow for better use of those funds. So those are those are two of the big products that we use among numerous others. So one of the fears is as you start to make things easier, the potential for risk opens up, especially potentially fraud.
If you are handling a large amount of payroll files or even not necessarily a large amount, but just doing that in a more efficient manner. So what are some ways that your team allows for some better fraud prevention for our customers? yeah, sure. Fraud prevention is is huge right now, especially on the business side. You know, typically business holds more balances than your typical consumer account in.
And those fraudsters out there know that there's also different regulations around when things can be disputed and to be it to assure that those funds come back and they're they're much tighter timeframes on a on a business unit, isn't it? Again, on the consumer side. So we enable our customers to have an option called positive pane. And really the only thing we don't know about our business accounts are the checks that they've written or the occasions that they've authorized people to debit their account.
So what we do is we have them upload that information to us. They they upload a file that has their checked number. The amount the date may be who it's paid, made payable to for the checks. And as those checks are coming from the Fed, it goes through that list and says, okay, this matches, I'm going to send it through.
Whereas if a check comes through, that's not on the list. Now, it creates an exception that our customers can log in and view that check and then say, Yes, I did pay that. I just didn't get it on the list or Hey, I did pay this to make this check, but it came through with the wrong check number.
So we just need to do an adjustment on our side with that check number or, Hey, I didn't write that check at all. It's not in my list. I don't know who this is. It's more than likely fraud. Now we can return it right away. And they don't have to to go through all the fraud paperwork and getting a police report or changing accounts.
It's just really a great function to maintain, again, their cash flow services because a, customers don't want to close an account and open a new one and have all their vendors change, order new checks, go through that whole process again and then they can make sure that the funds that they're in that account are protected. Vice versa. On the on the other side, we just make everything an exception.
And when it comes through, they just create a rule that says, okay, I've got my utility bill that's $500 a month and it comes from this vendor. When that comes through, they just accept that item and then they can say, going forward, this vendor's allowed a debit error account and they can go down even further and say only for up to $600.
That way, if it comes through for, you know, $5,000, it's still now it's an exception. And for them to look at and make sure they can either stop that or, you know, getting hold of that vendor to make sure they're doing the right amount, too. So it's a great tool to make sure very limited opportunities for fraud to hit their account.
We've talked about a couple of different use cases for some Treasury management services. What different sorts of products do we offer? I mean, is it just strictly checking accounts or what other account options are there? Sure. You know, just just like you need on the personal side, a checking account is very specific to two businesses as well. We've got different levels of checking accounts.
We've really manufactured our accounts to fit a growing business. So we might have a small business account called our simple account that just is there for you to run checks, do what you need, make deposits, and then as you grow, we can get you into our choice of checking account. That gives you more items, gives you those capabilities for these Treasury services to be added on for the remote capture.
And then our large corporate companies that, you know, have larger balances that they want to offset some fees or gain some interest. We have analysis products that can suit those needs. So we've got a slew of checking products that our Treasury reps will work with those clients to say, where do you fit in your current situation and where do you want to grow to in the long run?
You know, the last question that we always ask is, you know, what do you want to do with your money while you have it? So those businesses that have larger balances, they want to, you know, make sure they're earning enough for for their company as well. So, you know, what type of savings products they can use. Money market funds, We've got those available.
But one of the big ones here lately is we've got a great product called Insured Cash Suite. The FDIC insures businesses at each bank up to $250,000, and that's it. There's no way to manipulate that by different products or or titling different ways like we can on the consumer side. So if they're looking for that and you know that security, we've got this product that can utilize FDIC insurance from other banks in the network, it's a little bit more convoluted than that.
But in the general aspect, then they can bank at one bank and use the FDIC insurance from multiple banks and gain some interest on those large balances as well. So another great tool that our our Treasury team can utilize for those specific scenarios when when they have larger balances, too, to be covered as well. And aside from the traditional banking products, there are a couple more payment avenues that you can open up for your business customers.
We want to touch on those. Yeah, I mean, with our the biggest thing that we think about when looking at additional payment side other than ACA services or check is our debit cards, credit cards, maybe even these reloadable cards. So you don't have to give employees access to a line of credit like a credit card would would use.
But we've got all these different avenues for them that we can dive into. A lot of businesses already have some credit cards where they're getting points that they can use for, you know, travel if they have to go to different conferences or they just need that cash back for the payments that they're using it on. We've got a lot of different options for them.
We've even got some big products in there. Purchasing card is one of the larger Treasury services that gives customers better control over those credit cards. Maybe they have multiple employees that need access to credit because they're traveling and doing these these day jobs that they need. No need to buy food while they're out at whatever location they're at or buy supplies for whatever they're building.
It's a great way for them to control that. And again, just gives them better access to those options. The reloadable cards are kind of nice because we can get them again, an access to a card that they can use, but they only load what that employee needs. So if they're just getting going to get supplies for the office instead of them using their own personal funds and then having to get reimbursed or giving a credit card that they could, you know, use more than they need, they can use this card that they load exactly what they need.
And then once they're got everything that they're all those supplies, they can pull the rest of the funds off there until the next time that they need. So, again, just how they want to manage that cash for that business the right way are those are some of those great options. So there's a lot of different products and services that your team offers, and it seems like it could be potentially overwhelming, especially if you're a smaller business.
So the nice thing is you can sort of piecemeal the things and the tools that are going to work for you. What so at what points in in a business is development, Do you start to see them seek out Treasury services? Or maybe a better question when do you see businesses really need it and maybe they don't even know to come to you or your team?
Sure. And Northwest Bank, the whole bank, we're really geared on relationship banking. So our Treasury reps work closely with our commercial lenders, and those lenders understand the majority of what tragedy services are, but they know when to, you know, get a Treasury rep involved with maybe a growing business or one of our current clients is that that need better process enhancement.
So they usually find those opportunities with that team or business customers coming in and asking for those services with us. They they have a CPA that talks to them about all their accounting needs. They have a lawyer to talk about all their legal needs and they want to come to the bank and say, Bank, you know, what are my best options to make my business run better?
So it really could be at those early stages, or they've been doing everything on their own and now are looking to grow and need stuff off their plate. And they're coming in asking those questions. And you're right, it's not something that we need to throw all of our products at them at once because that's not going to make things more efficient.
We really see ourselves as consultants instead of salespeople. We want to ask those questions and see where their pain points are and get them the service that fits that need at that time. And, you know, once we implement services now they've moved their their payments off to off their checks and onto ACA. So they're collecting their funds faster so they can continue to grow their business faster.
And then maybe a year or two down the road, they might see that they need remote capture and they move locations and they're further away from the bank and that options better for them as well. So we can add on that service as we grow. Our Treasury reps continue to work with those customers on a regular basis. It's not just go and make the sale and move on to the next one.
It's continue to build that relationship and really help that business grow as they're doing their banking services with that right team, that commercial lender and that Treasury rep as one cohesive team. Jason, If we have somebody listening who is a business owner or or running the finances for their business and they're curious about Treasury management services and what you and your team might be able to do for them, What's the best first step?
What should they be doing? They can simply reach out. We've got a list of our Treasury reps on our website for those different regions. Our bank kind of does does that differently and make sure we have a specific rep close in their market so we can set up an appointment and just have them come in and talk to us about their business and learn about some of their struggles, you know, either directly at our bank location.
Our reps actually go out to businesses regularly and because they want to see it in action as well, they want to go through their offices and and see who's, you know, dealing with the mail hills, dealing with the checks, what what your guys's process is so we can make it better for you. So, yeah, we're definitely on hand to either have you come see us or go out and see you as well.
That's a great introduction to Treasury management, Jason. Thank you for joining me today. I'm sure we'll be having several more conversations about you and all the things that your team can do for our customers. thanks for having me. You know, I can talk about Treasury Services, Tom Blue in the face. I've been doing it for a few years now and just really enjoy assisting our clients and making their process better.
Running a small business isn't easy. Simplify your work with Northwest Bank Treasury Services and be more productive. Our Treasury services help you manage day to day cash flow, payroll, vendor payments and more so you can keep your business running more efficiently. Thank you for listening. Keep checking N.W. Dot Bank for more episodes of the podcast. You can also find us on YouTube, Spotify, Google and Apple Podcasts.
Subscribe to get notifications every time we release a new episode. Northwest Bank is an equal housing lender and member FDIC.