Credit unions of all sizes are looking to new technologies to enhance customer service, especially for younger members. In fact, a study by Callahan & Associates found that 60 percent of credit unions are looking to introduce or upgrade some type of mobile banking this year.
So what’s worth your time when it comes to new technologies? Here are the top four tech tools that are sure to delight your members this year.
Person-to-Person Transfers
Let’s say one of your members wants to send money to their child who’s away at college, or maybe they want to split the cost of a gift with a group of people without having to carry around a lot of cash. With person-to-person (P2P) transfers, that would be possible in an instant. P2P technology lets your members transfer money to another person’s account without the hassle of a money order or the risk of carrying around cash. The P2P market is still developing, so you might want to wait until it’s more established before investing money, but this is one technology you should definitely keep an eye on.
Personal Teller Machines
Ever since the NCUA announced that it’d allow video tellers to count as service facilities, Personal Teller Machines (PTMs) have been springing up at credit unions of all sizes. The machine, which often looks a lot like an ATM, gives members a face-to-face conversation with your credit union employees through video conferencing. This can centralize the efforts if you’re operating multiple branches, and it can give your members access to a teller outside of business hours.
Because the PTM dispenses the money, tellers are able to help members faster and more accurately without having to count cash before accepting a deposit or making a withdrawl. One credit union was able to reduce their cost of teller services by 40 percent while expanding teller hours by 45%. The technology also helped the credit union reduce the time it takes to train tellers from three weeks to only one week.
Mobile Check Deposit
Mobile banking continues to gain steam, with analysts predicting that more than half of people who own cell phones will use them for mobile banking by the end of this year. As a result, many credit unions are introducing remote deposit capture (RDC). This technology lets members deposit checks without having to visit their credit union branch in person. This is great for credit unions with members across the state, the country or the world.
Electronic Signatures
Gone are the days where your credit union members had to take a special trip to your branch to apply for a loan or sign a document. With electronic signatures, signing can be as easy as drawing your signature on an iPad or other tablet device. But the benefits aren’t only for your members. Your employees won’t have to spend their time tracking down documents that are missing signatures. A study by TechLeaders found that adopting electronic signatures resulted in a 95 percent reduction of errors on paperwork. The study also found that electronic signature will improve member perception and have a real-dollar savings of 50-90 percent. It’s tough to argue with those statistics!
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