The merged bank would set up an innovation and technology center in Charlotte as part of its bid to compete better against the largest institutions and fintech startups.
At banks of all sizes — from the $7.2 billion-asset WSFS Financial to the $373 billion-asset Capital One — marketing budgets ballooned in the fourth quarter.
The tech giants, along with Apple, PayPal and others, are calling on the Federal Reserve to build a backbone for real-time payments, rejecting large banks’ claims that the task is best left to the private sector.
Building alliances with startups is the most affordable route for community banks that want to offer innovative services, but industry officials cautioned that they must be balanced with smart internal investments, too.
Technology is often cited as the leg up large banks have in winning over customers, but regionals are worried about the “billions and billions” bigger rivals can pour into ubiquitous ad campaigns.
