John Owen saw a tremendous amount of change during his 13 years with Regions, but one thing remained constant: Regions’ commitment to make life better for customers, associates, shareholders and the community.
Owen, who recently retired after a 38 year career, joined Regions in 2007, just before the financial crisis – a challenging time for both the bank and its customers. However, Owen notes that on the positive side, banks were forced to look for new opportunities and find innovative ways to improve the customer experience. Regions used technology to make banking simpler for customers – giving them more choice on where, when and how they bank.
When I think about our mission of making life better, I think technology plays a key part of how we make life better for our customers, for our associates, for the communities we serve and for shareholders.
John Owen
One of the ways this was accomplished is through remote deposit capture, which allows customers to deposit a check from anywhere via the Regions mobile app. While this service was introduced several years ago, its popularity grew during the pandemic, with a 32% increase in usage in 2020.
More recent advancements that Owen has seen the bank introduce include:
- New technology that can recommend products and services to make banking easier for
- An online application portal for the Paycheck Protection Program, which was implemented to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Zelle, a person-to-person payments provider, that allows Regions customers to send and receive money from almost anyone.
With all the increased technology, is the future of banking completely digital? Owen believes that while Regions will continue to enhance its digital offerings, success lies in recognizing that customers want a choice on how they bank – and that includes the option of meeting with a banker in person, over the phone, or virtually. “It’s an omnichannel world going forward,” says Owen.