Valentine’s Day Spending Trends

Consumer behavior is an important economic driving force. Although holidays are never about gift-giving or spending money, these cultural norms are still major factors for the economy. V Day is a staple day for retail industries like floral, candy, and jewelry. To get a deeper look at just how much we are spending, who is spending it, and what we are spending it on, we turned to NRF (National Retail Federation), who has surveyed consumers about Valentine’s Day plans annually for almost 20 years. 

Entrepreneurship Increasing During the Pandemic

While the economic effects of coronavirus have led to business closures, job losses, and a drop in GDP, some are taking this as an opportunity to pursue passions and take risks. That’s right, entrepreneurship is on the rise. Americans are starting businesses at the fastest rate in more than a decade. As of September 2020, applications for EIN numbers had surpassed 3.2 million for the year¹, with over 500,000 of said applications occurring from mid-Mach to the end of May alone². This number is, unironically, up 500,000 compared to the year prior¹.

A True Partner, Not Just a Vendor: Bank of Zachary President and CEO Discusses Partnership Success with Teslar Software

During the 2019 ICBA ThinkTECH accelerator, Mark Marionneaux, president and CEO of Zachary, La.-based Bank of Zachary, visited the Venture Center and spoke with several participants, one of whom was Joe Ehrhardt, CEO and founder of Teslar Software. Bank of Zachary has since partnered with Teslar Software for exceptions management and workflow tools to streamline manual processes.

Improve Your Construction Management Process for a Better Customer Experience

The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 shook the American economy and uprooted day-to-day life for most Americans. We saw a lot of back and forth when it came to economic outlook and predictions. One factor that stayed strong was the housing market. In fact, demand increased and we saw record-breaking sales numbers in 2020. Despite increase in building materials in 2020, demand for new homes also stayed strong.

Get a head start on the new round of PPP with Teslar

Community bankers and small business are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the next stimulus bill, which will more than likely include another round of funds for the Paycheck Protection Program. At this time, there is no official ruling, and all details are based on probability and speculation, but we learned last time that this program is fast-moving and ever-changing. By our commitment to helping make PPP an easier process for community bankers and their customers, we’re back with an all new module for this new round.

Is there still marketplace demand for Christmas Club accounts?

Christmas Club accounts (or Holiday Club accounts) are short-term savings accounts offered by financial institutions to help consumers set aside money for holiday expenditures. These accounts take a designated amount from each paycheck throughout the year and set it aside in the holiday account. This amount could be as small as 5 or 10 dollars per paycheck.

TV Streaming Services Can Now Boost Your Credit Score

Have you heard the buzz about how your Netflix bill can help boost you credit score? Experian Boost is a free service that first launched in early 2019 and is helping those who are looking to increase their credit scores. Unlike Credit Management Services or other “quick” methods of credit building, Experian is a trusted and established company in the credit score world and this free service will boost FICO scores instantly.

Teslar Software Predicts Next Steps, Opportunities for Business Lending in 2021

Teslar Software, a provider of automated workflow and portfolio management tools designed to help community financial institutions thrive, today shined a light on predictions and opportunities for community bankers to develop their business relationships in 2021.

Are Your Internal Workflows Holding You Back?

The modern community banker is caught in the crossfires of remaining traditional and being expected to adapt to accommodate a new generation of customers. Let’s face it—community bankers are expected to be all things to all people. Many community banks are juggling trying to serve rural customers with no internet access or even an email address, while simultaneously meeting the digital needs of younger and more fast-paced lifestyles.

PPP Fraud Continues

While the number still remains small, the amount of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud cases continues to rise.

PPP loans have provided a much-needed lifeline to many small businesses, non-profits, and sole proprietors during the Coronavirus pandemic, however the rushed creation of this program is starting to show its negative side effects. Just this week, we’ve seen two new arrests in relation to PPP fraud.