Research Report
Beyond the Paycheck Motel: Strategic Imperatives for Community Banking
A Recap of Cornerstone Advisors' 2025 Research
Over $3 trillion in deposits have recently flowed out of financial institutions’ doors and into fintech-led investing platforms. Consumers are spending $25 billion annually on financial performance tools that their banks and credit unions should be providing—but aren't. The primary checking account has been reduced to a "paycheck motel": a brief stopover before money moves somewhere more valuable. As younger generations move entire financial relationships—including checking, savings, credit cards, and investments—the gap between what executives think drives customer loyalty and what matters has never been wider or more expensive.
Findings from Cornerstone Advisors' 2025 commissioned research delve into three strategic imperatives that will determine which institutions thrive and which fade into irrelevance.
What You’ll Learn in This Report:
- Part I: Strategies for Scale addresses the existential threat to traditional deposit and lending models
- Part II: Digital Channel as a Growth Engine reframes digital banking from cost center to profit center
- Part III: The Data Imperative reveals why most AI and automation initiatives fail: financial institutions score an average 50 out of 100 on data maturity
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About Cornerstone Advisors
At Cornerstone Advisors, our goal is to deliver tangible business impact to financial institutions and fintechs. We know that when institutions improve their strategies, technology, and operations, enhanced financial performance naturally follows. Because we live by the philosophy that businesses can’t improve what they don’t measure, we show banks and credit unions how to use laser-focused measurement to make smarter technology decisions.