Speaker: Bill Beck, Operations & IT Office, Westside State Bank
What factors impacted your bank's decision to move to .Bank?
Bill Beck: Some factors that prompted us to move to dot Bank last year was that we were redoing our website for the first time since 2015. And it was decided to drop the WS Bank online.com to something cleaner and easier for employees, customers and vendors. And we thought that there was never going to be a better time than now to move forward with dot Bank. We wanted to make the domain easier for our customers to use and also two other banks in our markets have already made the conversion of dot Bank. So that made our decision to move a little easier and more important to us.
What does the move to .Bank mean to your bank?
Bill Beck: The move to dot Bank means that our bank wanted to show our commitment to security and new technologies. It security is something that the bank takes very seriously and converting the dot Bank shows our commitment to security by updating our website and domain. It shows that even as a smaller community bank, we are progressive as any big bank.
What is your advice to banks considering the move to .Bank?
Bill Beck: For any banks considering moving to dot Bank. Some advice on moving would be is to take your time and do your research with your it partners. So you are aware of the full scope of the project. I would recommend changing your email the same day as you implement your new website domain as well. Some other advice would be is to have a plan in place as far as updating all your employee email addresses within any system that they use. It was better to get this all done in a two week period rather than dragging it out for a few months. This also gives us the opportunity to update our business cards, letterheads and any other marketing materials that we use.
