In March of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic caught many people off-guard. One week it was business as usual, the next, statewide shutdowns and closures. Many community banks quickly formulated plans to keep their employees and customers safe. Technology once considered nice-to-have -- online applications and account openings, e-signatures -- was now essential.

Going to the hospital is a stressful experience. Whether it is due to an injury or major illness, an in-patient stay is flooded with medical jargon, major decisions, and after-care instructions. On top of that, many patients worry about how they will pay the subsequent bills.

Though financial institutions were already headed in this direction, the pandemic massively accelerated the industry’s use of technology! Now, even as the lobbies of banks and credit unions are opening, the demand for digital offerings is not subsiding.

Historically low interest rates have sent borrowers racing to take advantage of the savings. Consumer mortgage departments, in particular, have been swamped with purchases and refinances -- with home loan rates dipping below 3% at times. Yet on the other side, such low rates have likely given more than one bank director heartburn as they look ahead toward overall bank performance for the year. However, community banks still have opportunities to maintain profitability, even when they are not earning as much on the money they are lending.

Digital lending used to be a “nice to have” feature in the community banking world; now it is considered table stakes. While digital transformation was already underway with online applications, mobile banking apps, and more, the use of digital solutions skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic intensified the need for online loan documentation and remote signing in the banking industry. A lot of financial institutions were caught flat-footed, unable to generate loans due to the lockdown. This problem accelerated the need for easy-to-use, secure solutions.

Successfully collecting on internal payment plans is one of the biggest problems facing hospitals and healthcare facilities, today. Fortunately, there is a solution that benefits medical providers, community banks and -- most important – patients.

As the words “return to normal” and “post-COVID” enter our vocabulary, they reveal the real-world after-effects of the pandemic. Experts expect the ensuing impact of the coronavirus to affect everything from major industries to transportation, to society’s approach to work and education.

Epic River has been a premier lending innovator for over a decade. Through the Platform@EpicRiver, community banks and credit unions have been able to better serve their communities through a variety of online lending programs. Our latest solution focused on driving fee income, Notary@EpicRiver, speeds up the lending process and leverages existing on-staff notaries.

Over the past several months, your team may have been thrown into unchartered territory, rapidly learning to navigate telehealth, payment delays, and coronavirus claims as well as payor changes and inconsistencies.