Citizens streamlines with Blend ahead of falling interest rates
The bank will leverage cloud-based banking platform Blend’s credit card solution
Citizens Bank is expanding its use of cloud-based banking platform Blend to offer bank customers easier access to credit through the tech provider’s credit card solution.
The $222 billion bank is preparing for high consumer demand for credit when interest rates start to fall, Adam Boyd, executive vice president, head of home equity, credit card and unsecured lending at Citizens, told Bank Automation News.
“As interest rates fall, loan demand will likely increase, and our partnership with Blend supports delivery of an outstanding borrowing experience for our customers,” Boyd said.
Blend’s credit card solution, which is part of its unified banking platform, offers a seamless application process that allows users to sign on from any digital device and authenticate the solution to pre-fill existing customer information, a Citizens spokesperson told BAN.
The addition of the credit card solution presents a more efficient underwriting process and ultimately faster decisioning, the spokesperson said.
The Federal Reserve said March 20 in its Federal Open Market Committee statement that rates will be maintained between 4.25% and 5.5%.
“The committee does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainable toward 2%,” according to the Fed’s statement.
Once rates drop, Citizens will have the means to support credit demand due to the partnership, a Citizens spokesperson told BAN.
Citizens and Blend first partnered in 2018, Boyd said, noting, “We have a longstanding partnership with Blend in both the mortgage and home equity business, and as they’ve continued to invest in and enhance their capabilities outside of home landing, we saw an opportunity to leverage their solutions across other areas of the bank.”
Blend provides omnichannel credit card origination, automated decisioning and automated balance of transfers, according to the Blend website.
Blend is also used by Fifth Third Bank and Ocrolus to automate mortgage lending.
