Technology initiatives often come with a big price tag. But sometimes banks find they can offer better services to customers -- and save money -- without huge investments in new systems.
Take Norwest Bank Colorado. The $3.9 billion-asset subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Norwest Corp. had been looking for a way to deliver value-added information more efficiently. It found that a fax request service -- using its existing technology -- could provide current international monetary information to corporate customers faster, cheaper, and more efficiently.
Through the service, called Fax Pequest, Norwest updates daily the international monetary information -- with corporate customers use to determine prices of importing and exporting goods to the United States -- and sends it via fax to Denver-based USWest Enhanced Services Inc. The rate sheet is then stored in an electronic mailbox that bank customers can access with a telephone call.
Previously, Norwest would send the information daily to hundred of customers through a broadcast fax program. Now, only customers that request the information receive it.
"We facilitate the trades by offering services that allow customers to operate internationally -- and monetary rate information is an important part of that," said David Stephens, international banking officer at the Denver-based bank.
A problem, however, was that "we were sending the rate sheet to many people who did not need to get it every day," said Mr. Stephens. "We now are able to deliver rate information to customers without having to fax it to all of our customers."
That, said Mr. Stephens, has allowed the bank to cut costs by reducing the number of faxes it sends. While the initial investment for the service was just $1,000, he said, it has already saved the bank about $10,000 since it was first offered a little more than a year ago.
Norwest had been spending as much as $2,500 month on faxes alone. With the new system, costs have been cut to just $200 a month. Now, Mr. Stephens noted, customers who want the information pay for receiving the fax, or about 25 cents per page.
But Mr. Stephens concedes that this may change. "We anticipate that in the future there will be a charge for the service but we have yet to figure out the fee schedule," he said.
With the service, a customer calls a designated phone number at US West and, responding to an automated voice response system, selects the desired information.
The information is then sent promptly to the customer's fax machine automatically.
"We publish the rates every day, and anyone who wants the information can dial in and get it," said Mr. Stephens "There is a range of customers from correspondent banks to corporations that utilize the rates to process international work.
"Customers who are working overseas need to have rate information before they can complete various deals," he continued. "They need to know what the international monetary rates before they can decide how to pay for something or export something to another country."
Further, customers also have greater access to the information with the new service. "The rate information is available to them 24 hours a day," said Mr. Stephens. "Before we started using the system they had to wait for us to send it to them."
The result, he said, is that banks "are able to conduct their business more efficiently and ensure they are getting the most for their money."
Katrina Blecher, a vice president of research at Gruntal & Co., New York, noted that Norwest is a well-run company that keeps a close eye on efficiency. She called it "one of the best banks out there" and said management has "created an efficient operation that reduces costs while increases efficiency.
"Management is incredibly conservative with both its banking moves and its operation," she added.
Norwest chose the system after looking at a number of vendors. Mr. Stephens said US West's Fax Request offered the greatest flexibility for its operation.
"Customer have responded positively to the system in that they see it as a reduction in trash and as a way to get the information quickly," said Mr. Stephens. "It is giving us the ability to get the right information to the right people right away without wasting our or customer time."
At a Glance
NORWEST BANK COLORADO
Headquarters Denver
Assets $3.9 billion
Employees 2,270
Software US West Enhanced Ser-
vices, Inc.--FaxRequest
Hardware A standard plain
paper fax machine
