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In an issue filled with timely topics like EMV instant issue, compensation rule changes and banking cannabis, it may seem a bit anticlimactic to lead off with, well, interactive voice response.
But what I like so much about “IVR Options,” is that it resulted from a CUES Net™ members-only listserv discussion about the pros and cons of sun setting the 1990s phone banking systems. As we dug into the subject, it turned out there were a lot more twists than you might expect, with one CEO successfully saying good riddance to her IVR, while another CEO tried that approach only to bring it back when call center traffic exploded.
Still others have upgraded their aged hardware-based IVRs to software-based systems that allow more customization and even speech recognition if desired. “Menus can now be more flexible,” explains Terry Gillin, director of product management for Sentry Performance Solutions at CUES Supplier member Fiserv, Brookfield, Wis. “With the old hard-coded menu options, users had to follow a set track. Now CUs can offer a variety of short cuts. A user won’t necessarily see options for products he doesn’t use,” for example.
In addition, the IVR can be set up so members in the call center queue can pre-authenticate and hear their account balance or other key info right away, effectively completing their business without even reaching an operator.
While these are all improvements, the true whiz-bang development is conducting credit union business via the Amazon Echo™ or Microsoft’s Cortana™ voice-based digital assistants, a new interface with CUES Supplier member Symitar, San Diego. Read more about this cutting-edge offering and where this type of integration could lead in “Alexa, What’s My Balance?”
Another new offering for a few credit unions in a few states is working with marijuana-related businesses, or banking cannabis. Though your credit union may not be thinking about serving this market directly, it’s a good idea to understand the risks, because you may be serving it indirectly, say sources in “Cannabis and Credit Unions.”
Kudos to writer Stephanie Schwenn Sebring of Fab Prose & Professional Writing and CUES Senior Editor Lisa Hochgraf for their work in researching, writing and editing this article that covers the risks/rewards and spotlights two Washington CUs that are serving the cannabis market.
Mary Auestad Arnold
Editor and Publisher
