By Rachael Green, Benzinga

Amid the highest inflation since 1981, consumers across the United States are not only struggling to keep up with their savings goals, many are falling deeper into debt to cover the rising cost of living. One study by LendingTree last year found that 43% of Americans were likely to resort to credit cards and loans to pay for necessities or emergencies in the six months following the survey.

This situation has caused many to look to banks to do more to promote financial wellness and education to help their customers navigate these challenges while staying on track to meet their financial goals.

Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE: BLND) is one player helping banks to empower their customers with greater access to resources and providing an easier/simplified method for entry with a more streamlined digital experience and manage their financial well-being. Here’s how the cloud banking software developer’s platform is enabling financial institutions like PNC (NYSE: PNC) and US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) to deliver more personalized, proactive service to their customers.

Consumers Want Financial Institutions To Do More For Their Financial Well-being

A Forrester Consulting survey of over 2,000 banking consumers and over 100 lending strategy leaders found that 72% of customers want to see offers that are tailored to their personal needs and 71% are open to switching to a new bank if presented with a relevant product offer. As a result, two-thirds already have financial products from multiple different financial institutions.

Despite that fragmented banking landscape, the survey found that more than 50% of consumers would rather stick to one primary bank for all their needs if they could. However, they expect their banks to do more to make that possible. 52% said they rely on alerts from the bank about important changes to their financial health and half of all respondents wished their bank took a more proactive approach to deliver relevant information and advice about their financial well-being.

How Blend’s Cloud Banking Platform Makes Proactive, Personalized Service Possible

Blend’s cloud banking software leverages consumers’ application information, credit score and other third-party data that banks have access to in order to help banks present personalized offers for financial products to help customers meet their goals. A consumer whose application for an unsecured credit card was denied could be presented with an offer for a secured credit card, for example. Similarly, a mortgage lender could send an offer for a home equity loan to a consumer who’s shown interest in remodeling their home.

Automation is one of the key advantages of Blend’s software, not just for banks but also for consumers. Key features like single sign-on (SSO) authentication allow customers to fill out applications in a fraction of the time by pre-filling them with information that the bank already has. For example, consumers who already have a credit card with the bank have already provided a lot of the information that would be needed in an auto loan application when they applied for the card. Blend’s SSO authentication would save them the hassle of filling out all that same information over again.

In addition to pre-filled information, banks can use Blend’s instant income verification to process applications faster. For example, this and other automation tools eliminate 11.9 hours of work per loan on average and shorten the overall loan cycle by 7.3 days for banks that are using Blend’s mortgage technology, according to a Blend-commissioned survey by MarketWise.

These and many other digital tools could help banks develop a more proactive, customer-focused approach amidst the current economic uncertainty –- helping build deeper relationships with customers while empowering those same customers to make more informed decisions about their financial well-being.

This article was originally published on Benzinga here.

Powering the Future of BankingBlend is the infrastructure powering the future of banking. Financial providers—from the largest banks, fintechs, and credit unions to community and independent mortgage banks—use Blend’s platform to transform banking experiences for their customers. Blend powers billions of dollars in financial transactions every day.

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This article contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements generally relate to future events, future performance or expectations and involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this article may include, but are not limited to, our expectations regarding our product roadmap, future products/features, the timing of new product/feature introductions, market size and growth opportunities, macroeconomics and industry conditions, capital expenditures, plans for future operations, competitive position, technological capabilities and strategic relationships. The forward-looking statements contained in this article are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from the outcomes predicted. Further information on these risks and uncertainties are set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements in this article are based on information available to Blend and assumptions and beliefs as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, Blend does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise.

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