In a recent blog post I mentioned that I didn’t feel as though I had a relationship with my bank. Instead we have a “transactional history.” To figure out how my bank can really help me, I’ve started talking to various people about what it is I want from my bank. (My colleagues are interested. My friends and family think I am a bit crazy.)

I really need my bank to offer me services and products that will Keep My Life Running Smoothly. For me that means keeping me organized and on top of things. I struggle with organization. It just doesn’t come naturally to me. And with a husband, an elderly dog that requires almost weekly trips to the vet, three young kids, a job, and 10 caterpillars that I’m raising to become mature, independent adult butterflies, I need all the help I can get.

In my statistically non-valid sample, I’ve determined that most people can use help in getting more organized. Except for my neighbor. She is a natural organizer. In fact, it’s what she does for a living. She is starting a project for me this weekend, so hopefully by next week I will be a Truly Organized Person.

And that brings me back to What I Want From By Bank. I think there are a lot of things that banks could do that they are not currently doing, but would greatly help customers – specifically me. So here’s my wish list:

1. I want all my bills sent to my bank electronically.
2. I want a calendar that shows when they are due.
3. I want emails to remind me to pay a bill.
4. I want budgeting ability.
5. I want to track special things like my Christmas spending and how much I spend on my kids’ birthday parties.
6. I want remote deposit.
7. Sometimes I want to do it all through an app on my phone.
8. Other times I want to be able to do it on my computer.
9. Ideally my phone and my computer would sync everything together for me.

My bank will probably say that all this is impossible. But I know it is possible, because other banks are doing it. For example, First Internet Bank of Indiana allows customers to have all their bills sent to the bank. I know this because a friend of mine has an account with them. She is amazed that my large, national bank doesn’t provide the same type of service. To make sure I wasn’t missing something, I double checked my banks’ website. If they provide the service, I certainly can’t find it.

We all know that USAA has an iPhone app that allows remote deposit. Bank of America allows remote deposit through a scanner. (Industry experts are expecting the bank to launch its own remote deposit app for phones, given some public comments made by the CEO.) I think all banks should offer remote deposit.

Then I found out that Zion’s bank offers a great budgeting tool called eZBudget. The tool allows anyone (not just customers) to set up monthly, project, event and gift budgets. For some reason banks don’t seem to be eager to move into this space and they’re letting outside players such as Mint.com own online budgeting.

So, I don’t really want a “relationship” with my bank. I have relationships with the people in my life, not the businesses. Instead, I want to be treated as a valued customer and be offered the products and services that help me manage my financial life.

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I like my bank. Through online banking I tell the bank which bills to pay and the bank pays them. Once a month my bank wants my mortgage payment, so I submit it electronically. Both sides seem relatively happy.

And to be honest, I think I’m a great customer. We have two checking accounts, three savings accounts, a jumbo mortgage, a line of credit, and a credit card account. I pay almost all my bills online and use the ATM for my deposits and withdrawals. I go to the teller once a year around Christmas time. Every once in a while I make a mistake and the bank kindly transfers money from my savings account to cover my oversight. They happily charge me a $10 fee for this service. I don’t begrudge the fee, after all, I’m the one who made the mistake. Clearly I’m a perfect customer – I have multiple products with them, I don’t cost them a lot, and every once in a while they can assess me a fee. I’ve also been with them for 13 years. Loyal and profitable, what more could you want?

Recently I’ve read a lot about how banks are trying to develop “relationships” with their customers. I also see a lot of offers in the Comperemedia database about “relationship accounts.” (I’ve presented on this topic – see the Seven Predications for the Future of Banking Webinar.) In thinking about this, I’ve realized that I don’t have a “relationship” with my bank. At least not from my perspective. Instead, we have a “transactional history.”

Case in point…I recently discovered that my bank was assessing an “inactivity” fee on my checking account. To be frank, my position is that the value of all my accounts should trump an activity fee of $6. Typically, in a “relationship” there is a natural back and forth communication process which allows the relationship to evolve and continue. If we truly had a “relationship” I feel the bank would have called, emailed, texted, mailed, or posted something on the site when I logged in as me. Something along the lines of, “Dear incredibly valued customer: We are concerned about the lack of inactivity on your account. Because we love you as a customer, we would like to suggest some ways to avoid an inactivity fee. Please, dear customer, call, write, email or text us back so we can mutually address the issue.” Instead, I took the time to call the customer service department. When I pointed out the size of my relationship, the rep responded by reading me the terms and conditions of that particular account. After doing this twice, I asked to speak with a supervisor.

I’m happy to report that all fees are now refunded. The supervisor convinced me to establish automatic deposits on the account, which solves the inactivity issue, but also builds the balance. I’m happy to report that both bank and customer are satisfied. But I’m still not sure we have a “relationship.” Maybe we just need to get to know one another better.

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