SAN FRANCISCO — Community banks are looking to technology to support human interactions rather than replacing them.

When it comes to technology investment, community banks and credit unions “are not going to outdo JPMorgan [or] Bank of America,” Rilla Delorier, a board member at the $3.45 billion Coastal Community Bank, said Tuesday at Finovate Spring 2023. “Our tech is never going to be our lead story, at least not in every interaction.”

Community banks can look to technology to enhance customer experiences, including adding efficiencies and bringing more effective skills to bank employees, Delorier said.

“I’m a huge proponent of what I call ‘human digital for community banks,’” she said, noting that community bank customers and credit union members desire personalized experiences, human contact and policies that are not “cookie cutter like the big banks would do.”

For example, clients might not want to speak to a bank employee for every transaction, “but when they do, it matters,” she added.

Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, for one, launched a personalized digital banking experience using low-code, no-code technology to allow clients to have a digital member experience without omitting personalization, Ami Iceman Haueter, chief research and digital experience officer at MSUFCU, previously told Bank Automation News. Additionally, the credit union offers internal and client-facing chatbots to handle initial customer interactions before customers are routed to a human representative.

“I would really encourage community banks, and credit unions to look at how digital can enable our human differentiation rather than try to create separation between us and our customers,” Delorier said.