Amanda NorthcuttFounder & CEO | Keynote Speaker, LevelUp · B2B sales as a solo is HARD. I’ve got you. I help consultants & coaches sell high-ticket services comfortably & confidently, while enjoying consistent, predictable revenue | Founder & CEO | Speaker |

Competing on Rates Won’t Save Community Banks

15 Oct 2025 · 1 min

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1:10

In this segment, the speaker warns that traditional community banks that rely solely on offering the best interest rates for deposits and loans are at a strategic disadvantage. Because consumers can easily compare rates online using tools like NerdWallet and Bankrate, rate competition no longer provides a sustainable niche. The speaker argues that these banks must find new differentiators, such as adopting Banking‑as‑a‑Service platforms or exploring innovative offerings like stablecoins, to remain relevant and meet customers where they are.

Chapters

If I can just pause for a minute, Amanda, and tell you right now, traditional community banks that haven't heard about banking as a service or haven't explored it, they view banking in the future as the same way they viewed banking for the past 20, 120, you know, years or longer. And that is they try to offer the best rate to get somebody to open a CD or a checking account. Or they try to offer the best rate on the loans. That challenge is so notable, notable, I guess, because with today's day and age, people can shop for rates online. We've been doing that for years, decades now at this point. There are tools to help us—NerdWallet, Bankrate, etc.—find the best rate. So these banks that are used to competing on rates are going to find that they need to differentiate. They need a new niche. And if it's not banking as a service, I'm really hoping they get into stablecoins or some other mechanism that allows them to take advantage of offering new and unique services that meet their customers where they're at.