WSFS Bank, An NCR Intelligent Deposit Case Study

The customer

Founded in 1832, WSFS Bank, a subsidiary of WSFS Financial Corporation, is one of America’s “top-performing mid-tier banks.” The long-term goal of the corporation is to be a highperforming, customer-centered financial services company. WSFS provides cash management services as well as residential real estate, commercial and consumer lending services. These credit activities are funded by attracting retail deposits and borrowings.

In 2000, WSFS launched CashConnect, their ATM division. CashConnect is now the largest ATM network in Delaware, with 243 ATMs. 31 ATMs are installed within WSFS Bank branches and the remaining 212 are installed within nonbanking locations. The bank has grown its off-premise ATM network by installing ATMs into 74 Happy Harry’s stores throughout Delaware.

In 1998, WSFS Bank formed a partnership with the University of Delaware to offer on-campus students, a full-service branch located within the student union.

The challenge

However, the cost of maintaining the branch was significantly more than the revenue that was being generated by the student accounts over the first four years that the branch was open. In 2002, WSFS needed to reduce operating costs without losing its student business.

To reduce transaction costs, WSFS decided to reduce student reliance on the teller to conduct their transactions. “We had a 1-to-1 ratio between teller and electronic transactions,” said Tom Stevenson, President, WSFS Bank CashConnect Division. In 2003, WSFS Bank’s goal was to migrate University of Delaware to electronic self-service banking. As Tom Stevenson says, “We wanted to migrate student behavior towards the electronic channel.”

The biggest challenge WSFS faced was how to reduce students’ reliance on the teller and to increase their ATM usage without driving away their custom.