Customizable Fields in Strunk’s ODP Manager

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Each hosted ODP Manager software setup includes a standard set of requested and optional data fields that appear in the ODP Manager standard letter templates and reports. These fields are populated in an extract file created by an institution’s core or report writer. These fields are updated daily and imported into ODP Manager.

Each ODP Manager mapping is customized to each institution’s specific extract file. This allows the flexibility to include institution-specific fields to be imported. These fields are marked as flex fields and are displayed in Account Inquiry with the appropriate institution-specific label. Once the fields have been mapped and imported into ODP Manager, they can be used when needed for letter criteria, custom queries, and report groups.

These additional data flex fields allow institutions options to customize the ODP Manager software to make their Overdraft Privilege Program management easier and more efficient.

If you have any questions about adding flexible fields to ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Banks…How to Stay Independent and Viable

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When I started in banking in 1984 there were 625 banks chartered in the state of Kansas and today there are less than 200. The same thing is happening in every state, but of course that is over a 40 year time period. What will happen in the next decade as very few new charters are being established and banks are consolidating almost daily across the country? Furthermore, how can your bank be competitive and stay independent?

As bank ownership becomes older and some with families who don’t have children interested in running a bank the decision to sell is inevitable. But, for those who want to keep the bank and pass it down to generations there are several things you can do.

Financial Institutions with a small asset base or in smaller rural communities need to find ways to increase income and become very efficient from an expense perspective. Of course the regulatory environment can seem overwhelming at times but it doesn’t have to be that way.

For the past 30 years, Strunk has provided income solutions and cost saving programs that help all banks regardless of size. Our signature Overdraft Privilege program has been one of the best fee income ideas in the history of banking. Many banks are revitalizing their “old worn out” ODP program that was implemented 20+ years ago. We also have other tremendous fee income ideas that cost very little to implement.

Our Risk and Vendor Manager program can help cut costs and make it easy for your bank to do regulatory required risk assessments and manage the vendor due diligence process.

Contact Strunk at 800.728.3116 or email at info@strunkaccess.com to learn how we can help you make money or become more efficient.

 

Periodic Review of Accounts for Overdraft Privilege

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To run a successful Overdraft Privilege program, at least 90% of eligible checking accounts should have an OD Limit. Strunk recommends that institutions periodically review accounts not currently in the ODP program to determine if the accounts now qualify for Overdraft Privilege. Performing this review at least quarterly (or more frequently if able) will help to maintain higher participation in ODP.

The Status Tracking report in ODP Manager includes all open accounts in status codes that indicate the account does not currently have an OD Limit assigned. The ODP Status Code indicates the reason that the account did not qualify for ODP. Users should review the Status Tracking Report by ODP Status Code to determine if any of the accounts now qualify for ODP, or if not, to verify or update the reason the account does not qualify. Reviewing the accounts grouped by ODP Status Code allows a more efficient process and allows users to review certain status codes more frequently if needed.

The ODP Requalification group on the report shows accounts that are no longer overdrawn and have a certain level of deposits in the last 30 days. These accounts likely will requalify for ODP unless the account has other circumstances that prevent it from being in good standing.

When an account meets the qualifying characteristics and is assigned an OD Limit, ODP Manager will show the accounts as due for a Welcome letter or Reinstatement letter.

If you have any questions about ODP Manager’s Status Tracking report, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Managing Fresh Start Repayment Plans in ODP Manager

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Fresh Start Repayment Plans may be available to customers to allow them to repay an overdrawn balance in up to 4 payments while still retaining the use of their checking account. Fresh Starts may also assist financial institutions in collecting on overdrawn accounts which may have been charged off otherwise. When requested, accounts are reviewed to determine if the account meets criteria to qualify for the Fresh Start.

Once an account has qualified, users can choose to enter and track Fresh Start Repayment Plan information in ODP Manager. Entering the repayment schedule start date, balance, and number of payments will allow the correct payment amounts and dates to be determined. The Fresh Start agreement can be populated directly from the repayment schedule. The individual account’s Fresh Start information can also be exported as a PDF. Individual payment reminders are created and will show when due/overdue in ODP Manager. This reminds users to check the core system to verify if the payment was made as agreed. If so, users can enter payment dates and amounts in ODP Manager.

If a customer’s Fresh Start payment is not paid as agreed (ten or more days past due), the Fresh Start is in default, and the checking account should be closed and charged off. The Fresh Start Default letter in ODP Manager can be generated by entering the customer’s account number to prefill the name and address. This letter notifies the customer that the account has been closed, charged off, and reported to the appropriate agencies.

ODP Manager also includes a Fresh Start Tracking report which will list all accounts currently assigned a Fresh Start ODP Status Code. The Fresh Start ODP Status Code should be assigned to accounts when the ODP Limit is removed when the Fresh Start Repayment Plan is initiated. In addition, ODP Manager can display a list of all currently entered Repayment Plans that can assist users in tracking loan amounts, payments made, and outstanding balances. This summary reporting can be exported to PDF or Excel.

If you have any questions about ODP Manager’s Fresh Start Repayment Plan features, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Make more money with Strunk’s time tested solutions

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Strunk has been working with community banks for the past 40 years with a variety of fee income and risk management tools. All of the services we provide are time tested and market proven to help with your bottom line. Now is the time to consider making more money!

When Strunk introduced their ODP program it was the best fee income idea in the history of banking. Not only can you help consumers by saving them returned check fees you can also add additional fee income to your bottom line without raising prices. Our low annual fee agreement provides state of the art collection and reporting software to ensure compliance with all regulatory laws and best practices.

Thirteen years ago we introduced Secure Checking and over 1000 banks use the service. Simply put, consumers are willing to pay for value in a checking account while the bank can still offer a no frills no fee account. Banks typically increase fee income by at least $50 per year per checking account on at least 80% of their checking account base.

We developed an enterprise risk manager solution to help community banks with regulatory required risk assessments, something many banks do on Excel spreadsheets today. The tool is pre populated with over 900 key risk indicators so each department of the bank has something to start with. Risk assessments are cumbersome and time consuming for most bankers and our solution helps you identify and quantify risks with ease.

Strunk’s Pricing Manager has provided hundreds of community banks with advanced analytics to take pricing and profitability to the next level. The fully hosted, web based solution allows FIs to deploy a tool to all lenders so that they are armed to price loans profitably based on the FI’s target profitability objectives.

Strunk’s employees have helped thousands of community financial institutions. Contact Strunk at 800.728.3116 or email at info@strunkaccess.com to set up a web demo of any of our services.

Regulation E and ODP Manager

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Consumers are required to opt in to include their ATM and everyday debit card transactions in Overdraft Privilege. Customers should be given the ODP Policy and A-9 Consent Form to opt in for Reg E at account opening but they may also opt in later. The four options to opt in for the ATM and everyday debit card coverage are: in person at a branch, over the phone, by mail, or electronically. Businesses are not required to opt in to have their ATM and everyday debit card transactions covered by Reg E.

For financial institutions that provide an account’s Reg E Opt In flag in the extract file, ODP Manager can determine if a consumer account has already opted in or has not yet responded with a Reg E election. If a customer has already opted in for Reg E coverage, their Welcome and Reinstatement letters will remind them that their Overdraft Privilege service includes coverage of ATM and everyday debit card transactions.  When a Welcome, Reinstatement, or Followup letter is mailed to accounts that have not yet opted in, these letters include the A-9 Consent Form to Overdraft Services and the information about opting in by mail, in person or over the phone, or electronically. By allowing customers the Reg E opt-in information when overdraft limits are assigned, when overdraft limits are reinstated, or annually in the Followup letter, ODP Manager may allow customers to have more opportunities to opt in for Reg E.

ODP Manager can also allow customers to submit their Reg E Opt-in election electronically. Strunk can create an online form that mirrors an institution’s A-9 form. This form would then be linked directly from an institution’s website. Email confirmations are generated when forms are submitted. The submissions are tracked in ODP Manager so that users can generate a list of accounts that need an updated Reg E election.

If you have any questions about Regulation E and ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Time to Revitalize your Overdraft Payment Process

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Recently the CFPB backed off guidance for overdraft payment programs and now is the time to consider revitalizing your bank’s overdraft payment services. While the regulators scared off some banks from offering a formal overdraft program, many banks and consumers have benefited from them for over 30 years.

Consumers create overdrafts…banks do not. Banks are faced with decisions each morning to either pay a customer’s non sufficient fund item or return it to the merchant. Providing a consistent method with these decisions eliminates problems and streamlines the process. Strunk’s program covers all aspects of offering a compliant overdraft privilege service to consumers and small businesses.

Beginning in 2010, debit card transactions that would overdraw an account could not be authorized at point of sale unless the consumer “opted in” and “signed-off” for this service. This was a great idea that came from the Federal Reserve. So, how do formal overdraft programs benefit consumers?

  • Allows consumers to decide how they want their bank account handled when it comes to overdrafts
  • Reduces returned check charges from merchants
  • Allows consumers to take home the groceries or prescription drugs when otherwise their debit card transaction would be denied
  • Keeps a bank from discriminating on daily pay and don’t pay decisions
  • Keeps a bank for discriminating on waives and refunds

Contact Strunk at 800-728-3116 or email at info@strunkaccess.com to learn more about revitalizing your overdraft payment process at your bank.

 

Using and Customizing Account Inquiry

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The hosted ODP Manager software allows users to view information about accounts that have been imported into ODP Manager. This information can be viewed as a list of multiple accounts or the account details for a single account can be selected. Account Inquiry is organized to allow users to select which data columns are displayed by choosing a View. Users can also select Groups to display accounts that meet certain criteria, or they can apply individual filters to display only the desired results. Once the list of accounts has been created, the data can be exported to Excel. This information can be used in addition to ODP Manager’s standard reporting and may be an alternative to creating customized reports.

Users are able to view the details in Account Inquiry for a single open or closed account. In order to manage the account or to address inquiries, users can use Account Inquiry to review basic ODP Information, contact details, or event history. If Fresh Start Repayment Plans, Charge-off Items, or Reg E Opt-In or Opt-Out information has been created or attached to the account, they can be accessed at the individual account level. Comments and Reminders can also be viewed. The individual account information can be aggregated and viewed as a PDF as well.

When viewing lists of accounts, institutions have two available options to customize Account Inquiry. The default Group assigned when users click Account Inquiry is Open Accounts. This will display all accounts that were included in the most recent file imported. The amount of time it will take for the results to load and display will vary depending on the number of accounts included. If an institution would prefer a different Group to load initially, Strunk can designate a different default Group. Also, Strunk can update the Account Inquiry behavior so that accounts do not show in the list until additional column filters have been entered. This may be useful for institutions with larger numbers of Open Accounts that are primarily searching for specific account numbers in Account Inquiry most frequently.

If you have any questions about using or customizing Account Inquiry, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Options for ODP Manager Access

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Institutions should regularly review ODP Manager accounts to remove accounts that no longer need access to ODP Manager, whether because their roles have changed, or because they are no longer employees. Also, the existing roles assigned to users can be reviewed to confirm that they are still appropriate. ODP Manager includes four different roles that control access to the different features in the ODP Manager software.

ODP User rights should be assigned to users who will need to access all software features but will not need to make administrative software setup changes. If a user is assigned the ODP Admin role, they will be able to perform all the functions performed by ODP Users, and are also able to add and change users, revert imported files, and make or request software setup updates. For users that do not need to generate letters or import the extract file, ODP Report User rights will allow them to access ODP Manager Reports and Account Inquiry.

If an institution would prefer to separate User Administration from other ODP Admin functions, users can be assigned User Admin rights if they need to add or change ODP Manager users. Users that need to be able to revert imported files or make and request other software setup changes should be assigned ODP Manager rights.

When users no longer need to access ODP Manager, there are two ways for ODP Admins or User Admins to remove access. If the user is no longer employed by the financial institution, the user status can be updated to Former Employee and no rights will need to be removed. If the user is still an employee but no longer needs the ODP Manager access, the assigned ODP Admin, ODP Manager, ODP User, ODP Report User, or User Admin role can be removed.

If you have any questions about User Administration and Roles in hosted ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Bankers Look for Ways to Make More Money

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Strunk recently attended two national banker’s conventions and both were well attended by community bankers from across the country. The exhibit halls at both had a lot of vendors no others offer three different types of income producing programs like Strunk does.

1) Strunk’s Overdraft Privilege program is being used by over 1,800 banks across the country. We help financial institutions manage the day to day overdraft process as a line of business…and we guarantee compliance. With the recent announcement that the Senate has killed the proposed CFPB guidance on limiting banks to charging no more than $5 per overdraft, now is the time to revisit your overdraft payment process.

2) Strunk Secure Checking program will increase fee income by $50 per checking account per year and it is currently being used by over 900 banks nationwide. Consumers are willing to pay for value in a checking account and you can still maintain free checking.

3) Our Loan, Relationship, and Deposit Pricing tool will increase your net interest income by at least 25 basis points. We have worked with over 400 community banks and our analytics package will help you identify areas to increase NII. You set the rates based on the Return on Equity you want to achieve. Many community banks net interest income is well below the 60th percentile compared to peers when looking at year-end UBPR numbers. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Since 1993 Strunk has been helping banks increase income. Contact Strunk at 800.728.3116 or info@strunkaccess.com to find out how we can help your bank.

 

An independent certified public accountant has examined Strunk’s operations and found them to be in compliance with the AICPA’s Trust Service Principles. It was determined that Strunk meets the Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy criteria for SOC 2 established by the AICPA.