Insite Banking System

In sum:

Pros- 1) Community Banks have a say in the future development and enhancements of the system because its customer base is all Community Banks! 2) Service & Support is job #1 (stolen from Ford) 3) They strive to offer products & services that Community Banks can afford Cons- 1) due to the complexities of the systems and their interconnections, system updates can be challenging 2) they do not directly support virtualized (inhouse) systems

In sum:

When purchasing this software we were told that it would be one program that would service all applications. This is not true, we have to login into several modules to get thru a day, sometimes one particular transaction. Features and functions that were available on our old system are not on this one as well as functions that were automatic take several steps with ASI. We were sold the newer software, but get bumped or have to bump into the older ASI software. Transactions that tellers run are taking much more time and sometimes you have to use both the Iteller module and the Insite modules to complete a single transaction for a customer. Customers and employees have all noticed that it takes longer to complete a transaction. The list goes on and on to the problems that we have with ASI, simple things have become migraine headaches in every way possible. We are almost a year and a half into our contract and it has not gotten any better. We just keep figuring things that this system does not do that our old one did. We were a VISION bank before.

In sum:

Pros: not much hardware onsite which has eliminated a lot of problems, offers a wide variety of software to operate and manage a financial institution, online banking admin site is very easy to use, offer website and mobile banking app management Cons: conversion to 8.0 has been slow and many problems with getting bumped back into Tool Kit, unfortunate that products are rolled out to customers before they are fully functional (8.0), sometimes when dealing with support we're left hanging on the line when a phone call back would suffice, response time for tickets is quite slow and can take up to a few days for a response of any type which can be extremely inconvenient, pulling reports from iPortal can be very slow at times. We would also like to see more training opportunities.

Benefits:

The customer support staff is just as confused as we are so very understanding. There are no pros to 8.0. Insite 8.0 should be removed and restart from the beginning.

Drawbacks:

Why replace toolkit when you finally had it very good. 8.0 is the worse banking software made. Should have spent more time making the software work for a bank and not a computer programmer.

In sum:

Happy with ITeller, IPortal, but frustrated with the core. Major frustrations with "fixes" getting broken when updates are installed. Core system is not "user-friendly" nor is Report Writer. Overall have been pleased with IDS network hosting but would like some more frequent monitoring of the network as well as patches and FDIC alert actions. We have had some major slowdowns in functionality over the last 30-45 days where the server has had to be rebooted.

In sum:

There are a few modules that could use some attention. Safe Deposit Box is one that needs help. We are on 8.0 and several areas within this software do not work, therefore we have been using Toolkit. Also, the number of Tran Codes seems a bit cumbersome. I would like to see drop down menus, similar to Iteller that give a description and options rather than knowing pocket & tran codes. Also, in the DDA modules, there could be more choices relating to ownership regarding Guardianship/Custodial accounts, Rep Payee accounts, etc.

Benefits:

Flexible product that can be tailored for the individual bank's needs/market. High level of customer support with easy access to high level support staff if needed.

Drawbacks:

Interface options with 3rd party applications could be more robust.

In sum:

Extremely cost efficient. Would recommend to any bank looking for in-house solution.

Benefits:

Customers like the improved web site, ability for alerts, mobile banking. I like the pre-built reports such as the call report. The cost is substantially better than PCS Vision in-house or hosted. Help is accessible and responsive from department heads.

Drawbacks:

Screens do not come up as fast as we would like - should be an easy fix.

In sum:

We converted from PCS Vision in house to IDS hosted 8 months ago. The cost savings is substantial. They provided a 5 year cap on price increases. Customers like the new and better web site, mobile, tablet banking with alerts. We will be reducing staff by one position after adding their new insight on time product - back room processing. The standard reports are a real time saver - especially the call report. Good annual user meeting - recent announcement of improvements and enhancements show ASI being responsive. Once all banks are converted to 8.0 we expect enhancements and speed to improve. I am comfortable with my decision to select this company. The conversion went better than expected - even though we all have those employees who do not like change.

In sum:

Mobile Banking and Online Banking are the most user friendly we've seen and customers LOVE it!!!! The tellers LOVE the iTeller platform!!!! As for the Insite Core System on the whole, it's a more time consuming, unorganized system than we were led to believe. Would like to be able to post directly to CD's or IRA's instead of having to use "in process accounts" and have to go back at a later date to "characterize" entries because the IRA "side" and iTeller don't communicate. Less efficient, more time consuming for staff. The loan side has been the biggest disappointment. We have become less efficient and must rely on manual record keeping to ensure accuracy. Secondary market loans and participation loans must be dealt with on two "sides" of the system instead of one. The system seems capable of doing more things in greater detail, but doesn't. IRA statements, year end statements provide "the bare minimum" information to customers rather than a detailed list (i.e. year end report of contributions and distributions is one lump total rather than a detailed list, so customers end up having to come back and research those items with us). The system appears to be too customizable as an "update" or "new release" often breaks something that was working properly before, but because we're told "there is no way to test a new release against the various bank versions of Insite" we end up being guinea pigs. Our customers have found errors as a result of new releases and WE are apologizing. Customer service people are very polite and helpful programmers, but not bankers. They can often "fix" the surface problem that they are asked about, but don't understand how the "fix" they put on might affect the big picture of an account (i.e. an IRA or loan interest) at year end reporting time.

Benefits:

iTeller and online banking are easy to use and have added many great features over the years. We are still on the toolkit version so I can't completely comment on the new version. From what I have seen once it is completed it looks to be a big improvement and will be very easy to use.

Drawbacks:

New account platform still has some work to do for us to use it but it is coming along great. Hoping that iPortal improves with newest version we just installed.

In sum:

Switched from one of the larger processors in 2009 and haven't looked back since. This is much cheaper and support is better. Most products are created in-house instead of just being purchased and made to try to work with the core. Not all of the recommendations will get done but we have had a lot more than the previous core get implemented. Customer support overall has been good. You always have bad experiences with any vendor but there is always a way to get your answer with them without going to the top. For the most part questions are answered quickly and issues get resolved quickly. We have loved iTeller and online banking since moving over and the other products have been very good. We feel like we have input into issues and decisions instead of just being a number with a larger core provider.