GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.–CU*Answers has opened an online store for its Internet Retailer Support Center, a new support desk for credit unions looking to expand their virtual channel marketplace.
In the online store, credit unions can purchase CU*Answers-developed products such as customizable mobile banking apps that will help them meet their members’ needs not just as a credit union, but as an online retailer, the CUSO said.
The new online store, which mirrors other online stores with a shopping cart feature and the ability to pay with a credit card, helps CU*Answers client credit unions develop data intelligence assets to fuel their credit union activities on the Internet. Services available for purchase in the online store include customized branding for online and mobile banking, CU*Answers’ hybrid mobile app, and the new member application process, among others, the company said.
“The reasons for creating this new site were two fold,” said Randy Karnes, CU*Answers CEO. “First, it facilitates the process clients go through to request select services from CU*Answers relating to digital strategies. Ordering is easy and the process is transparent. Secondly, we’re walking the talk and showing credit unions that it’s possible to become an Internet retailer; credit unions should be considering this site as a model for how they might create or convert their own websites to serve as a retail space catering to their members.”
Meanwhile, in Liberty Lake, Wash., the CUSO CU*NorthWest announced that it has added a new credit union owner. The latest investor is Printing Industries Credit Union, located in Riverside, Calif. with $24.1 million assets and 5,000.
“Our cooperative business model allows for an equal opportunity for ownership and voice, irrespective of member or asset size,” said Greg Smith, CU*NorthWest CEO. “Our ownership structure allows for all participants to become owners of their CUSO.”