Personalization Goes Into High Gear with Anticipatory Banking

In 2013, Netflix revealed that 75% of what people watched came from its recommendation engine — a data-driven soothsayer that could guess your next binge before you clicked “play.” A decade later, Spotify’s algorithms have gotten so precise that entire identities have formed around its “Discover Weekly” playlists. Consumers have grown accustomed to this level of instant understanding — where algorithms anticipate preference, timing, and intent. That expectation doesn’t switch off when they clock in at work. The same people who stream hyper-personalized playlists and shop on predictive platforms are now the decision-makers and employees behind millions of small and mid-sized businesses.The US has more than 32MM small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). SMBs are 99.9% of the nation’s businesses and provide nearly half of all private-sector employment. The people who own, manage, and work for these businesses live in a world where responsiveness and real-time service have become standard expectations.Naturally, they want the same kind of experience from their financial institutions. At times, what they encounter is cumbersome, slow, and frustrating. Community financial institutions (CFIs) have a clear opportunity — and a pressing need — to close the gap between what their commercial customers expect and what they currently receive, especially as competition for these relationships intensifies.Meeting those expectations, however, takes more than faster response times or digital conveniences. It requires institutions to understand their SMB clients deeply — to anticipate needs before they’re expressed. That’s where anticipatory banking comes in.What is anticipatory banking? Anticipatory banking uses unified data, AI, and predictive analytics to help CFIs see what their SMB clients will need next — and respond before those business customers ever reach out. It can surface emerging financial needs before the SMB client fully recognizes them, enabling more timely and relevant support.Instead of waiting to learn that an SMB has had a major opportunity, a seasonal shift, increased payment volume, or a business downturn — and then scrambling to respond — anticipatory banking helps CFIs spot these shifts earlier and prepare appropriate solutions in advance. With this approach, bankers can engage sooner with tailored offerings that strengthen relationships, expand client business, and create an experience that feels less like selling and more like having a proactive financial partner.How does anticipatory banking work?Predictive analytics use large language models to analyze patterns embedded in every banking transaction, from deposits to loan applications and payments, requests for customer service, and back-office services such as payroll and operating cash flow. It analyzes transactions, behavioral signals, and their context to suggest clients’ next logical needs. For instance, a CFI could use data from a customer’s onboarding or loan application to suggest products that would best serve that client’s needs. A commercial client opening an account might be in the market for a loan. A customer applying for a loan to build out a manufacturing facility might soon need payroll services. As the relationship between your CFI and its customers continues, you can pick up actionable information from e-commerce, CRM, accounting, and lending data. Data-informed marketing communications can help suggest next steps, as can direct engagement from bankers.By paying attention to the signals that a customer’s banking transactions and service use are providing, a CFI can approach client interactions with targeted insights. This helps your CFI look more attuned to the customer than if you simply send standard marketing materials to every client. It also helps CFIs guide their business customers through transitions and bottlenecks. This combination of insight and service that rises to meet the need increases the probability of winning clients’ core operating accounts, maximizing relationship value, and aiding your CFI’s case to win primacy with the customer.Your CFI can then continue using predictive data modeling to deepen and expand client relationships. A business customer probably won’t stop in to tell a banker that money is tight, payroll is changing, or the firm’s receivables pattern is shifting, but will still likely appreciate a bank-initiated conversation about cash-flow solutions or treasury services. Ultimately, that also strengthens client retention.How can CFIs use anticipatory banking?If you’re interested in exploring anticipatory banking, here are some tips on where to start:

Rather than treating each interaction as a one-off transaction, anticipatory banking helps CFIs use the data they already have to approach existing business customers thoughtfully about what they may need next. It involves reading operating-flow shifts, seasonal revenue changes, payment growth trends, and other customer information to spot businesses that are approaching a moment of change. By helping bankers recognize change earlier, it supports more efficient service, maximizes relationship value, and reinforces the institution’s role as the SMB’s primary financial partner.