Reserve your partner schools by April 1 to receive a 20% discount.

The VBA is excited to announce that we have partnered with Banzai, a carefully designed web-based financial literacy program for all ages and groups, including K–12 schools, community programs, employee onboarding, and even families. A partnership with Banzai provides an opportunity for Virginia banks to enhance existing financial education initiatives and deliver the latest technology to local schools through a private-labeled program that teaches, assesses and certifies students in a variety of personal finance topics.

Working with Banzai allows banks to use financial education to build brand loyalty, multiply customer touch points, and get you in classrooms for face-to-face interaction. The Banzai curriculum supports the learning objectives for the Economics and Personal Finance course required for Virginia high school students. Over 40,000 math, business, family and consumer science, and computer teachers have joined the program nationwide. Read how Pinnacle Bank’s Banzai partnership is supporting their CRA compliance efforts here. 

As an introductory offer, VBA member banks are eligible for a 20% discount for any schools reserved by April 1, 2020*. To learn more about this program and how your bank can be a Banzai sponsor, contact Monica McDearmon, VBA communications and financial literacy coordinator, or Damon Sheranian, Banzai VP of sponsor acquisition.

Damon and his colleague Jake Finlinson will be providing demos of the program at VBAConnect, a conference for HR, training, marketing and retail personnel, March 9–11, in Williamsburg. If you are planning to attend, we encourage you to stop by their booth to learn more about Banzai and bank partnership opportunities.

*Offer applies to new Banzai bank sponsors as well as current Banzai bank sponsors for any new reservations made with schools or with the Banzai direct platform. Please note that banks do not pay for Banzai until a school activates the account. Schools are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.

Atlantic Union Bank
Elizabeth Campbell – Assistant Vice President, Branch Manager
Mary Love – Assistant Vice President, Branch Manager

Chesapeake Bank
Pat Lewis – Executive Vice President, Director of Human Resources

Essex Bank
Frank Besosa – Senior Vice President, Commercial Real Estate
Mike Clark – Senior Vice President, Commercial Real Estate
Wes Santon – Senior Vice President, Commercial Real Estate

Old Point National Bank
Joe Witt – President, Financial Services and Chief Strategy Officer

Summit Community Bank
Josh Hale – Senior Vice President, Commercial Lending

The Fauquier Bank
Chip Register – Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer

United Bank
Bob Drake – Senior Vice President, Managing Director of Commercial Real Estate

In this article, Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management second year instructor Jimmy Sawyers explores the top ten trends impacting bank technology for 2020. Applications for the 2020 resident session of the Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management are due by March 31, 2020. (Sawyers & Jacobs)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the U.S. Department of Education announced a new coordination agreement in order to better serve student loan borrowers. The agencies will share complaint information from borrowers and meet quarterly to discuss observations about the nature of complaints received, characteristics of borrowers and available information about resolution of complaints. (CFPB Journal)

In a recent survey from Harvard Business Review and Google Cloud, 89% of executives around the world cite collaboration as a critical factor in the success of any business. Does your institution promote collaboration? (PCBB)

According to a new study, tech companies are winning the battle for payments, branches will disappear, and mobile banking dominates delivery options. For now, financial institutions maintain a big edge over fintechs, but consumers would welcome more personalized advice and new security tools. (The Financial Brand)

The year ahead should be a good one for fintech, according to a study by CB Insights and Mastercard which sees an expansion of existing products and services rather than any radical innovation. (Forbes)

Maybe your goal is to land a new job in 2020. Or maybe you're reasonably content where you are and prefer to work your way up the ladder or excel in your current role. No matter the circumstances, boosting your skills can set the stage for career-related success and gain job security. Here are a few specific skills it could pay to focus on in the coming year. (USA Today)

Big-picture trends in the payment industry are coming into focus and will characterize the market for 2020. In this article, VBA Endorsed Provider TSYS spoke with five industry leaders and experts to get their take on the top payment trends to watch in 2020.