Between evolving customer expectations and pressure from other financial providers, community banks have struggled to maintain relevance in recent years.

In today's episode of the Bank Customer Experience Podcast, Bradley Cooper, editor of ATM Marketplace, spoke with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, president of Shikatanai Lacroix Design and Marbue Brown, founder of the Customer Obsession Advantage and a former banker about how community banking is changing

When looking at challenges community banks face, Lacroix spoke about increased competition

"There's a lot more competition today with fintechs and consolidation," he shared in the podcast.

Brown agreed, stating many national banks are encroaching on community banks territory through a variety of activities even sponsoring local events.

"The natural advantage community banks have is being erased," Brown said.

The statement points to the power of community banking in general. Lacroix said one of the primary drivers of growth in banks is being able to provide relevant advice and have a strong local presence, whereas simply providing good products reduces loss.

Brown and Lacroix also discussed a number of topics related to community banking including:

• How are big banks coming into community banking spaces?
• How can employees train using AI?
• How can financial advice be credible?
• What role does community involvement play?
• What does Gen Z want from a branch?
• What role should the teller take?

Listen to the conversation in full above.

Despite the rise of digital payments, checks remain a valid form of payment, especially for businesses and individuals. With mobile deposit and ATM deposits, it's more convenient than ever to deposit a check. However, this brings with it a risk for fraud. In today's episode of the Bank Customer Experience podcast, Bradley Cooper spoke with Scott Fieber, chief strategy officer at Cook Solutions Group and Austin Smith, director of product development at Cook Solutions Group about how to prevent check imaging fraud without harming the customer experience.

In many cases, this topic is a balancing act for banks. They need to provide funds for deposited checks in a reasonable time frame, but they also have to be aware of individuals attempting to commit fraud by withdrawing cash before a check bounces.

During the podcast, Smith and Fieber discussed issues surrounding checks in detail include:

• Are ATMs seeing in an increase in check deposits?
• What are some of the ways people commit check fraud with ATM check deposits?
• How is Cook Solutions Group involved in check imaging?
• How can banks keep up with customer demands for funds availability while still preventing fraud?
• What are ways AI can help?

Keeping ATMs secure from attacks is a never-ending battle. Just when one area of attack is shut off, criminals discover a different vulnerability. One such vulnerability is Man in the Middle attacks, which can be difficult to detect as they imitate a legitimate transaction. In today's episode of the Bank Customer Experience podcast, Bradley Cooper, editor of ATM Marketplace spoke with Levi Daily, chief technology officer at Cook Solutions Group, and Michael Strange, director of technology services at Cook Solutions Group, about how to respond to new ATM security threats like Man in the Middle attacks.

"Criminal organizations and gangs have identified vulnerabilities including weak security protocols and a general lack of awareness around ATMs. As ATMs become more connected and criminal organizations start using more sophisticated tools and techniques, these sorts of attacks will increase," Strange said in an email statement following the podcast.

During this discussion, Strange and Daily gave an in-depth explanation of ATM security topics including:

• What are the most common threats?
• Are there any regions getting hit harder than others?
• How do Man in the Middle attacks work?
• How can a layered defense help prevent these attacks?

You can listen to the podcast in its entirety above.