How Modern Banking Enhances Business Flexibility

hink about the last time the business world faced a tough situation. Perhaps it was during the pandemic when staying at home became the norm. Companies were forced to close their brick-and-mortar stores and find other ways to serve their customers. While some businesses shut down because they couldn't sustain sales, others thrived. The successful organizations adapted quickly to the new reality and shifted their customer-facing operations online.

Business conditions constantly change. The status quo will rarely hold for long. Maintaining business flexibility is crucial to cope with an ever-changing environment. When you adopt a flexible mindset, you can readily meet any challenges you face. One tool ready to assist your organization in its flexibility efforts is modern banking.

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Business flexibility: a definition

Business flexibility refers to the ability of a company to adapt to a changing environment, market conditions, or other circumstances. A flexible company regularly surveys market conditions and adjusts its business model for opportunities or threats. Business flexibility helps an organization sustain its operations and competitive advantage within its industry.

The benefits of modern banking and business flexibility include long-term growth, a loyal customer base, and enhanced efficiency. Flexible organizations may also reduce costs and strengthen their business reputation.

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How modern banking enhances business flexibility

Banking has come a long way in the past few decades. No longer is it necessary to physically visit your local bank to make deposits or obtain a loan. You can complete nearly any transaction via your bank's website or mobile app. That's extremely helpful for business owners focused on the daily operations of their organization, especially since you likely don't have time to make daily trips and wait in line to speak with a banking representative.

Today's banks use websites and mobile apps to facilitate customer activities. Clients can log into their accounts from any internet-connected device to access their banking transactions, schedule automatic payments, and transfer funds. Some banks provide additional functionality, such as mobile check deposits and peer-to-peer payments.

Business owners can benefit from additional perks, particularly with banks that cater to them. Some traditional banks offer a full suite of banking and investing products, such as small business loans, lines of credit, retirement savings accounts, and access to investment platforms. However, those features typically come at a cost, and business owners may pay high monthly fees for the services.

Modern banks understand the needs of business owners and cater to them. Novo's business banking solutions include business checking accounts with no monthly fees, nor any minimum balance requirements. It offers unlimited transactions and free invoicing tools, allowing you to invoice clients on-the-go or from the comfort of your office. Plus, Novo integrates with various software platforms, including QuickBooks, Shopify, and Stripe. The integrations streamline your business processes, simplifying your accounting and sales operations.

Banks seeking to provide maximum business flexibility to their customers can benefit from several tools that improve their digital banking platform's functionality.

Open platforms facilitate integrations

When designing software, companies can choose between two types of platforms: open or closed. Open platforms provide a customizable system base. They contain documentation allowing users to adjust the platform to meet their needs. The ability to customize an open platform allows for easy integrations and greater systems flexibility.

Closed platforms are exactly the opposite. They're usually proprietary, meaning the company designs them in-house or relies on a software developer to create them for their exclusive use. The platform's design specifications aren't publicly available, so integrations with third-party software are usually only possible if the developer adjusts the closed platform to accommodate it. [gogravity.com/blog/closed-vs-open-dynamics-365-platform]

As you might imagine, an open platform benefits a modern bank seeking to maximize its available features. Using Novo's open platform is also beneficial to business owners since they can integrate approved third-party software with their bank accounts.

APIs allow for information exchange

An application programming interface (API) is a set of rules for information exchange between two or more systems. APIs act as a layer between both systems, facilitating the data transfer with third-party software.

If your business uses multiple different software systems, it doesn't make much sense to run each of them separately—especially if you need to transfer information from one system to another. For example, if you use a POS system to capture sales and customer data, the last thing you want is to manually transfer the information to your customer relationship management (CRM) software. A manual transfer would require lots of typing and might result in errors. Instead, you could use your POS and CRM system's API to transfer the data. It would integrate automatically and error-free.

Some modern banking platforms include APIs, which make it easier for third-party developers to design their software to accommodate the bank's systems. To benefit from the data transfer features of a bank's API, business owners can look for a platform designed to integrate with the systems they already use, such as accounting software, commerce platforms, and POS systems. Doing so helps streamline business operations and reduce the administrative workload.

How SDKs fit into the picture of modern banking

A software development kit (SDK) is a package that includes the tools necessary to develop applications and integrate them with existing systems. They have various features, such as pre-determined functions, content libraries, a graphic user interface, and instructions. Some SDKs also include samples as a reference and starting point. The developer can use the tools in the kit to customize the software to fit their organization's needs.

For example, assume you're starting an e-commerce store. You could build a website yourself or hire a developer to do it for you. Or, you could use an e-commerce platform that offers an SDK to create your store. The SDK would give you all the tools necessary to build your site from scratch, including templates, codes, user interface buttons, and shopping cart functionality. If you choose the SDK, you will pay a service fee to access the tools and perhaps a percentage of any sales you make. [What Is an SDK? (With Characteristics, Examples and Tips) | Indeed.com]

In modern banking, SDKs allow small and mid-size banks to expand their digital offerings without developing proprietary software. Instead, banks can purchase an SDK that offers the desired features and customize it to fit their service offerings. Using an SDK, the bank can expand its payment processing options, provide secure mobile banking services, or ensure compliance with regulatory frameworks. Since the tools are available right out of the box, it reduces the development cycle and allows the bank to make the features immediately accessible to customers. [What Is an SDK in Digital Banking?: Differences vs. APIs (lumindigital.com)]

A solid UI and UX round out the appeal of modern banking

The first thing you probably notice about a banking website is its ease of use. A clunky interface is hard to work with and makes it challenging to handle your financial activities. A well-designed website or app does the opposite—it simplifies things so you can take care of business in minutes.

Banking software's user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) facilitate a website's functionality. UI includes all the design elements of a website: its colors, buttons, scrolling options, links, and graphics. UX takes a comprehensive picture of the user, their needs, and the system's capabilities to provide a product that meets the customer's needs.

Well-designed banking websites and apps are easy to use and include the features that customers want the most.

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To maximize business flexibility, choose a modern bank with features that align with your needs

Today's banks are working harder than ever to understand their customer's needs. They're introducing features designed to integrate directly with an organization's systems, reducing administrative workload and streamlining business processes. Novo's business banking solution caters exclusively to business owners seeking maximum efficiency and flexibility. With us, you can integrate the business systems you use most directly with your bank account. Sign up for a Novo business bank account today to learn more about our services!

Novo Platform Inc. {“Novo”) is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services provided by Middlesex Federal Savings, F.A. Member FDIC.

Novo Platform Inc. strives to provide accurate information but cannot guarantee that this content is correct, complete, or up-to-date. This page is for informational purposes only and is not financial or legal advice nor an endorsement of any third-party products or services. All products and services are presented without warranty. Novo Platform Inc. does not provide any financial or legal advice, and you should consult your own financial, legal, or tax advisors.

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