Here are a few things I believe we’ll see in 2010, with regards to the financial sector.

1. It’ll no longer be a fear of regulation that prevents involvement

   For the most part, a lot of the action in the social scene has been from smaller banks, credit unions and financial service organizations. Outside of American Express and Bank of America (plus a few other Fortune 500 brands), most larger institutions of have been hesitant to get involved with social media. Primarily, the excuse has been a fear of regulation.  In 2010, I believe more financial institutions will let go of regulation as an excuse, and instead, shift toward safety/privacy and a lack of understanding.

2. A large financial organization will face a major security issue

   With more people trending toward mobile banking and financial institutions finally adopting social, I believe we’ll see a financial institution face a breach of security – through mobile banking, online banking or social media. It’ll be this fear that truly thwarts further acceptance and adoption of interactive finance.

3. Payment solutions will continue to trend, yet there will be little advancement

   I’ve shared my thoughts on the mobile payment space already this year – essentially, the U.S. isn’t ready for it yet. We saw Square enter the space, followed by Verifone; however, I don’t think we’ll see much advancement. We’re still slowly shifting toward a larger portion of the population using smartphones, but I believe we’re at least 2-3 years out.

4. Financial education will lead the interactive charge. It won’t be led by a bank
   

   Outside of customer service, education will be the primary use of social within the financial sector. As the economy continues to slowly recover, institutions will realize the opportunity to educate its consumers. The education will be a broad spectrum and it’ll be led by a non-bank – most likely American Express’ OPEN forum or an insurance/investment brand. Banks will continue to use the space for customer service and will continue to avoid customers best interest.

 Increase use of video and increased collaboration


What we’re seeing with American Express’ OPEN forum will continue to thrive. Rather than a direct focus on its own brand, organizations will seek to collaborate with businesses, contributors and spaces outside the traditional financial space. With this collaboration, we’ll trend toward more video use. Large banks will, for the most part, fail with this space. As a result, it’ll be smaller financial institutions, investor relations and financial service brands that benefit.

5. Brand seek to increase conversation with consumers

   In an effort to form a stronger relationship with consumers, brands will seek to increase conversation. The primary outlet for this will be blogs. However, despite the positive adoption of blogging, we won’t see CEOs being a part of the conversation. I don’t think this will hinder the relationship building, but eventually, CEOs and other “powers that be” will need to put themselves out there. In the beginning, we’ll see blogging become a voice for complaints and a place for consumers to voice their dissatisfaction. The key will be for brands to successfully shift toward the benefits of blogging and use their voice to turn those negatives into positives.

As you can tell, for the most part, I’m bearish about the overall use of the interactive space within the financial sector. That being said, I believe those who are doing it well and have an understanding will continue to see great results. I believe we’ll see a few new brands emerge within the social space, but I don’t think the gap of those involved vs. those not involved will shrink.

Overall, I’m very excited about the opportunities the interactive space will provide brands. Technology and innovation will continue to be a major focus for brands; lets hope the results continue to be positive.

SmartyPig is essentially a Web 2.0 financial services company – it brings saving money to the interactive online space. The impressive thing about SmartyPig is the fact that the foundation isn’t new or groundbreaking – the ability to save money has been around since commerce was created; yet the concept to achieve the desired result is.

“If we share pictures and ideas, why not share information about savings and finances,” Gaskell said. “In the end, it’s a lot easier to achieve a goal when you have a community. That’s what SmartyPig does, it allows you to build a community around your finances.”

For a company that started as a simple idea three years ago, SmartyPig has grown into a company that boasts $500 million in deposits, strategic relationships with nearly every major retailer in the world, and from a social standpoint – 4,500 Twitter followers & 2,000 Facebook fans. And all of this with $0 spent on advertising

“We’ve grown based solely on being a social company. Our service allows for customer-to-customer interaction,” Gaskell said. “The idea of savings has gone from being foreign to something that’s being considered. As a result, our best ideas are coming from our customers. It’s a no-brainer that if your customers are talking, you should be listening.”

As the social space continues to grow and evolve, SmartyPig is well-positioned to reap the benefits of the increased convergence toward a social and interactive lifestyle. Recently, they announced the ability to link Twitter and Facebook accounts to your SmartyPig account so they automatically send an update whenever you contribute money to your savings goals. Additionally, the addition of Bob Weinschenk, a Silicon Valley veteran, as CEO provides key leadership and proven experience.

“We feel we’re just getting started. We hope to be in a lot of places in 24 months,” Gaskell said. “Nothing can slow us down if we stay focused and continue to innovate in the social/financial space. Our perspective bank partners’ ability to pull the trigger so we can begin to build SmartyPig in a global sense does provide a certain set of understandable challenges, as there are many chains of command. But we feel confident we can be up and running in any language and currency inside of 90 days.”

Nicolet National Bank, based in Green Bay, Wisconsin and with around $694 million in assets, opened in 2000 and has quickly become a prime example of how transparency and bringing a personal touch to the banking industry can overcome not having large marketing budget. While sitting in a meeting in which the CEO explained a complex financial issue in a matter of minutes, Jeff Gahnz, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, came up with the idea of The Vault.

“The people in the community wanted to know what was going on,” Gahnz said. “All they were hearing was what the mainstream media was saying. But how did this affect them and how did it affect the community? That’s what they wanted to know. If Bob [Robert Altman, Chairman and CEO] was able to explain it to me in 5 minutes, then it made sense to find a tool to relay this information to the public.”

Two of the biggest hurdles when it comes to social media within the banking industry are 1) getting the approval of the C-suite and 2) legal issues. For Gahnz, neither of those posed a problem. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

“When you tie social media into the overall communications plan, it becomes an extremely easy conversation to have,” Gahnz said. “Additionally, I don’t have the legal or corporate ladder to run things up. Our CEO picks up his own phone and answers his own e-mails. He understands what it takes to be community-driven and customer-focused. And it’s helped tremendously.”

A few key features of The Vault

• Audio Podcasts
• Video Podcasts
• CEO & President Blog
• Financial Topics Blog

While transparency and an open-door policy remain strengths for Nicolet, the biggest hurdle according to Gahnz is maintaining the efforts and continuing the social impact it’s create thus far.

“The biggest problem we have is the fact that we have so much content,” Gahnz said. “I need to do a better job really focusing our efforts and ensuring the we have some consistency. Half the battle is simply getting content up in a timely matter and that’s where my focus is right now.”

Looking ahead, Nicolet is looking to turn The Vault into a central place that the community can come. Currently, they’re providing information around the financial industry, but they’d like to evolve into a communal space where you can get information about a variety of topics. One project in place is Voice – a portal that’s exactly what it’s name indicates, a place where people can come to have their Voice heard.

“We’re partnering with local businesses and professionals to turn The Vault into a well-rounded space. We’re partnering with experts in various fields such as healthcare and having CEO’s and local business owners blog about their respective industry,” Gahnz said. “We’re truly interested in the interaction. We want our community to help us create a better bank.”

What the future holds for Nicolet National Bank literally lies in the hands of their community as they’re putting their organization into the hands of their customers. A lot of businesses preach being transparent and customer-focused, but Nicolet is a great example of a financial institution that’s practicing what they preach. They realize that they’re relatively new to the social space, they’re learning as they go. And they’re bringing along anyone and everyone who wants a ride. When you wipe away all the glitz and get to the surface, the one key ingredient to Nicolet National Bank is they have a strategy for their social efforts and they tie it to their overall communications plan.

“We’re realistic, we know we can’t go toe-to-toe with the bigger banks. They can spend in two weeks what we spend all year,” Gahnz said. “Our overall investment in social media is around what the bigger institutions spend on traditional media in a 2-month period. While they continue to fight the battle of whether or not to get involved, social media allows a bank our size to play offense.”