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2024 marks a major milestone for Interstate Business Equipment (IBE). Sixty years ago, Daniel “Dan” L. Cronin opened a business in Omaha, NE, later moving to Ralston, NE selling mechanical accounting and billing machines and services to local trucking businesses and regional banks.
Dan understood the importance of listening to customers and knowing what they needed before they needed it, so when the minicomputer revolution began in the 1970s, he immediately expanded his product line to include the new computers. It wasn’t easy as the first minicomputer took up a lot of space, but Dan knew offering the latest equipment and accounting systems at a fair price was necessary to be successful. He never lost sight of his goal to always offer innovative technology and superior quality, value, and outstanding customer service.
As a savvy business owner, Dan was always evaluating the market and looking for opportunities to add new products and services. He talked to his customers about new offerings they would like to see from IBE. It was unanimous, bank customers wanted a system to process their daily transactions, update accounts, and more. Although the computer business was successful, technology was changing, and Dan knew he couldn’t be everything to everyone, so he decided to focus on just the banking industry. After all, software and computer equipment complement each other.
In 1975, Dan, his colleague, Bob Friend, plus a team of software engineers and programmers designed and created a core banking platform to address real-world accounting problems for community banks. The core was created to network bank branches and to automate bank processes. Selling a core processing solution and banking equipment was the perfect combination for community banks and their branches. Dan named the new company Modern Banking Systems (MBS) which turns 50 next year.
To this day, technology continues to change the world. In addition to this trend towards increasingly rapid innovation, the core business models are about spinning up new products and bringing them to market rapidly. Technology has become increasingly powerful.
After Dan’s passing in 2004, Dan’s son, Mike Cronin, took over IBE/MBS as CEO. Although the banking landscape has changed since 1964, Mike has continued the family commitment to providing unsurpassed customer service, the best possible core processing solutions, plus a wide range of high-quality bank equipment to community banks. “Too many to mention here, but we have equipment, services, and software that will answer the ever-growing needs of community banks like yours.” Mike continued, “All our equipment is designed to make a bank and its branches function efficiently, securely, and reliably for the life of their use.”
“In 1981, we were looking for American Exchange Bank’s first in-house computer system. We liked Modern Banking Systems because they were local and provided good value. We have stayed with MBS since because of the reliability of their products and the exceptional customer support we receive when we need it. Modern Banking Systems’ commitment to software development as technology evolves is also key in our relationship, as it allows us to offer state-of-the-art banking products to our customers. We also greatly appreciate that IBE and MBS remain family owned and operated because it aligns with how we operate as a bank in serving the people, farm operations, and small businesses in our community.”
Robert Clements
Executive Vice President of American Exchange Bank
Amid all the changes, the continued success of IBE/MBS is giving customers excellent service in addition to developing partnerships that are efficient and productive. From the time when most customers were in-house and equipment was just an accounting machine, Mike stated, “We’ve made major investments in hardware, software, and personnel growing Service Bureau, Doc Imaging, TotalTeller, digital banking platform, fraud solutions plus other important service solutions our customers are wanting to compete in today’s marketplace.”
Mike continued, “Like the community banks we serve, we’ve seen plenty of change in the past 60 years, from increasing regulatory pressure to digital acceleration and the rise of fintech and open banking. But our commitment to our customer-first mentality is what truly sets us apart and has never changed. We’ll continue to be committed to providing excellent products and services to all of you. We genuinely appreciate your continued business, support, and our strategic partnership. Here’s to our partnership for the next sixty years!”