Brand Names and Vendor Due Diligence

Podcast Transcript

Welcome to this week’s Third Party Thursday! My name is Branan Cooper and I’m the Chief Risk Officer here at Venminder.

Today we are going to talk a little bit about brand names and why brand names don’t necessary mean it’s safe to do business with a company.

You’re getting ready to do business with a huge industry leader, well there’s no need to do the initial due diligence is there - they are never going to give us the information we need, so why bother asking?

Yes, I’ve heard that first paragraph many, many times, but its absolutely dead wrong. Bigger doesn’t always mean better and no one is safe from data breaches; Target is probably the best example. You should still follow, to the extent that you can, your normal due diligence process, regardless of what the name on the side of their building says.

A recent study by Billing Tree on consumer finance indicated that the top two areas of importance in signing a new third party is security and compliance, being an industry leader or brand name fell way down the list. Finding alternatives as to what you can expect to receive, yes, that may be a concession you have to make but your customers are counting on you and your board and regulators still expect you to make every reasonable effort. Don’t fall prey to that easy misconception to bigger means better, it simple doesn’t work that way, due diligence and compliance are everyone’s responsibilities regardless of size or scope.

Again, my name is Branan Cooper and thank you for watching! If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Third Party Thursday series.