LAKE MARY, Fla.–Credit unions have an opportunity to head off the growing number of loans going to fintechs and other providers, but they will need to make certain moves first, according to one person.
The amount of loan dollars being disintermediated is significant, according to Scott Hansen, senior vice president with Harland Clarke, who said 40% of the loans that would have otherwise gone to established financial brands such as credit unions and banks have instead been gobbled up by fintechs and lenders advertising to consumers they just need two minutes to get a loan (even if that often isn’t the case).
“There is an opportunity to take loan volume back, but you must be accessible and really fast,” said Hansen.
That state of being accessible and really fast was referred to by Hansen as the “concept of persistent, always-on preapproved lending,” which is central to the services Harland is seeking to provide to credit unions, he said. What that means is the old approach of quarterly lending promotions that were driven by the bandwidth of the marketing department and its budget, rather than when prospective borrowers might need a loan, has become obsolete, Hansen explained.
The LoanEngine
To that end, Harland Clarke hasdeveloped a solution known as LoanEngine that makes the standard preapproval loan campaign far more effective, according to Hansen. The technology runs members’ files past all the credit bureaus and can dial up numerous offers on an ongoing basis for which a member is qualified. The solution selects the offer that is best for the member and then integrates that with the credit union’s online and mobile banking so the member is always seeing the message. It even includes a slider tool that allows the member to adjust the amount of the loan to see how the payment would change.
“Members get used to the fact ‘Whenever I go to my credit union online, there is always an offer waiting for me,” he told CUToday.info. “In an emergency, for instance, they remember this.”
Hansen said Harland Clarke works with credit union clients to bake the loan offer marketing into the CU’s mobile and online platforms.
ShopAlert Feature
Another piece of the “always on” strategy has been the development of a “ShopAlert” feature that monitors in real time “anything that might indicate you are looking at homes.” When it sees an inquiry in real time, it offers a credit union the ability to make an outbound call and send an email to a member. The Harland Clarke marketing solution will also send a postcard through regular mail to the member, with Hansen reminding direct mail remains very effective.
“It’s a way to head off RocketMortgage,” said Hansen.
All About the MX
Another piece in the “persistent” presence is Harland Clarke’s contact center solution, said Hansen. When it comes to the member experience (MX), which is sometimes referred to as CX for customer experience, the key lies in how “personal” that experience is, he said. Hansen said many consumers’ expectations are driven by what he called the Chewy.com experience, a reference to the online purveyor of pet supplies. “People get used to a solution where they are not just shopping online, but it’s personal to them,” said Hansen.
As an example of how the contact center builds that member experience, Hansen cited credit unions that launch a redesign of their website or online solutions. In those cases it’s all about having an integrated communication plan, and often that begins with an email to the member about what the new site will look like, followed by a direct mail.
The contact center then spins up with training for staff on the CU’s new offerings, system and “vernacular,” with a special 800 number for members to call. Because many such changeovers take place later at night, the call center is prepared for the increased call volume.
Scott Hansen
Harland Clarke has approximately 1,000 agents divided between its call centers in San Antonio and Salt Lake City.
Hansen said in most cases, after approximately three weeks Harland is able to flip the call volume back to the credit union itself.
Not Just About the Technology
“Everyone is doing conversions, and we’ve gotten very good at conversions technically, but it’s about the member experience,” said Hansen, noting the call center isn’t just for technology conversions for but any “big change event.”
“One advantage we have is so many clients go back a long time, going back to our check business,” said Hansen, noting some credit unions have been with the company for 75 years. “There is a level of trust from these preexisting connections.”
Hansen stressed the contact center isn’t just about handling inbound calls, but also has an active outbound call program.
Some of the additional campaign management offerings from Harland Clarke aimed at helping to recapture loan volume that might go to another lender include personalized URLs and websites that are unique to the member and the circumstances, Hansen said.
“This is richer content, but not to the point of forcing you to log in,” he said.
The Vision
The strategic vision, Hansen explained, is to be hyper-personal with omni-channel communications that are rules-driven and specific to the member, not just a membership group, such as a demographic group.
“We have found it to be very compelling with a lot of promise,” he said.