Editor’s Note: The year 2020 is less than five years away. What can a credit union do to ensure it gets there?
Will members be interacting with their CUs primarily through “wearables,” such as watches? Will members expect an approved loan offer to appear on their phones when they walk into an auto dealer? Will other providers do those same things, but better?
CUToday.info introduces a special report, “Credit Unions 20/20,” that offers numerous viewpoints, strategies and more for building a successful path to 2020.
PLANO, Texas—If a credit union isn’t “on-the-go” and “round-the-clock capable” in the future, it may become part of the past.
Catalyst Corporate FCU CEO Kathy Garner shared those words of caution, and outlined opportunities for CUs as part of CUToday.info’s special report on Credit Unions 2020, noting that financial services trends are increasingly entwined with technology.
Trend Not Ending
“There is no reason to think that trend will subside. Aided by technology, financial services have become more convenient and more personalized—even going where customers go,” said Garner. “We just viewed a demonstration at Catalyst Corporate’s recent Accelerating Success conference about mobile banking via the iWatch…so accessing financial institutions via wearable technology is not far away. Over the next five years, financial services will become even more portable.”
For credit unions to be relevant five years from now, they will also have to be portable. But it doesn’t mean that brick-and-mortar locations won’t be important, said Garner, as they will still have their place.
“But credit unions will also have to be accessible via technology for members who are used to taking care of business on their phones, watches and who knows what else. This is especially true as credit unions attract younger members,” she said.
Credit unions can be in a stronger position as they continue being personable and service-oriented while engaging their members via technology, insisted Garner.
As far as practical steps, if the credit union hasn’t gone mobile yet, the time to develop those plans is now, insisted Garner.
“And all credit unions should consider creating member-composed user-groups to help analyze the current user experience and to help guide what that user-experience ought to be in the future,” Garner said. “Insight from members, representing various age groups, is fundamental for credit unions looking to stay connected with existing members—and to cultivate new members.”
In addition, it might be a good idea, said Garner, to incorporate a five-year plan component to a credit union’s strategic planning session. “In today’s world, looking ahead only one year is short-sighted.”
Catalyst Corporate is ideally situated to help credit unions get to where they need to be in five years, said Garner.
“First off, Catalyst Corporate is a credit union. We embody the cooperative spirit and since we only serve credit unions, we definitely want to help credit unions succeed.”
Big Data
Garner said Catalyst Corporate is already helping credit unions implement mobile banking and mobile capture. Picture pay—paying by taking a picture of the bill—is right around the corner.
Catalyst Corporate is also helping credit unions understand patterns within their membership through utilization of big data. Catalyst offers data analytics and ACH data mining.
“In other words, Catalyst Corporate is helping credit unions remain relevant by providing technology solutions,” said Garner. “We do this while optimizing our ability to aggregate the volume and strength of more than 1,300 members nationwide. It is true that there is strength in numbers, and if you throw in technology solutions and responsiveness to the needs of our members, you have a recipe for success that will carry us five years into the future, and much further.”