In This Article:
This story was originally published on Banking Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Banking Dive newsletter.
Dive Brief:
-
Fifth Third is offering its customers the ability to create wills at no charge, beginning Monday, through an expansion of the bank’s partnership with digital estate planning platform Trust & Will.
-
The Cincinnati-based regional lender, which says it’s the first bank to offer the service for free, has partnered with Trust & Will for about six years.
-
The move reflects the bank’s aims to both bolster the benefits it offers customers and do more with its fintech partners to differentiate among competitors. “We see a need in the space, and it’s sort of a niche space, because it’s not like an everyday banking thing,” said Erin Crawford, head of consumer digital – payments and money management at Fifth Third.
Dive Insight:
In her role, Crawford is particularly focused on customers’ financial wellness; she pointed to other bank products and services enabling Fifth Third’s customers to get paid early or save for their goals. In considering “the whole picture of the customer,” the $212 billion-asset bank is “constantly thinking about, what’s that extra benefit that’s going to boost the foundation of our product?” she said.
Crawford declined to comment on what kind of cost the bank is bearing to offer the service to customers at no charge. But amid intense competition for customers and deposits, the service is another bid to draw in and fortify ties with clients, she said.
“The benefit for us is building and deepening relationships with customers,” she said. “We're really focused on trying to deepen and protect, and I think this is another lever that helps us do that.”
In the first quarter, Fifth Third reported core deposits were stable, supported by 2% total household growth, compared to the first quarter of 2024, and 5% growth in the Southeast, where it’s making a concerted push to expand.
The bank is an investor in Trust & Will, and the partnership between the two has allowed Fifth Third customers to access trust and will services at a discount since 2020. Since data have indicated there can be a cost barrier to creating a will, making the service free seemed like a natural move to help more people draft wills, regardless of their asset class or demographic, Crawford said.
“Over the course of our partnership with Trust & Will, we’ve been able to get a better understanding of why some customers don’t take advantage of the discount. We concluded that cost may be a barrier to entry so began developing the free offer,” she said. The bank is expecting thousands of customers will initially take advantage of the new offer. “The more customers engage with this service, the more feedback we gain which can drive new opportunities for our partnership with Trust & Will.”