Huntington Bank is one of the biggest growth stories in US banking, thanks to innovation in digital banking, particularly on the consumer side. A standout consumer product offering has boosted customer acquisition, allowing further investment in differentiated products and services, fuelling growth.
As in other US banks, branch expansion where its physical network was previously less dense provides much of the spark for Huntington’s growth in particular areas of the country. Unlike its peers, most of the bank’s accounts come from digital channels. But most of its digital account acquisition comes from people living within reach of a branch, showing how consumers find branch proximity a comfort, even if they prefer a good digital proposition.
This relatively developed digital proposition – notably versus recently acquired Cadence – is part of the reason why Huntington believes it can reap high revenue synergies from M&A.
One notable example of digital development is its rollout of new family banking features, notably for caregivers and teens, which has become one of the most respected features in the US banking industry recently.
Research commissioned by Huntington and conducted by The Harris Poll found that almost a third of Americans are having to help an aging or disabled adult manage their finances. Huntington Bank’s Caregiver Banking proposition sought to get around standard informal approaches in the industry, such as sharing passwords. It also partnered with True Link to build a card proposition with spending controls.
“We set out to design a multi-product value proposition that addresses the financial challenges of caring for a dependent adult,” says Brant Standridge, senior executive vice president and president of consumer and regional banking.
“One of those challenges was to do with access. With other banks, it is all or nothing: you’re either on the account and you have full access, or you’re not on the account, and you have no access. We redesigned our digital properties to provide the caregiver and the person being cared for a lot of flexibility so they can work together to determine what the caregiver could do, and what would remain private.”
Under what it calls a “Fair Play Banking” philosophy Huntington was an early mover in helping consumers avoid overdraft fees with products such as a 24-hour grace period. More recently, it has strengthened this approach via a fee-free buffer and introducing Standby Cash: giving immediate access to up to $1,000 with no interest or fees based on checking account usage, rather than on credit reports.
Standridge says all this stems from focusing on consumer segments and personas, rather than on products and channels.
This includes the recent work done around harnessing AI. Building on its Money Scout and Heads Up features, it is developing an increasingly granular and forward-looking approach to balance checking – helping customers see how cash flow can inform spending decisions, at the same time as making it easier for customers to segment savings pockets within their account.
