By Ron Jooss
At CUES' Directors Conference earlier this month, I had a "come to Jesus" moment during Richard Crone's presentation on mobile banking. Crone helped me see the light. You see, getting your members enrolled in mobile banking isn't simply about giving them the ability to make transactions through their cell phones, though that is a big part of it.
Not to overstate the obvious here, but cell phones are communication devices, and they offer a medium for credit unions to communicate with their members—on the members' terms.
As Crone pointed, you're already in the mobile banking business. Most of the calls to your call center are through mobile phones. A good percentage of those calls are for account balances or to verify deposits. With texting or short-messaging service (SMS), credit unions can proactively forward this information to their members—at the members' request. Talk about share of mind! Walk around your local mall and see how many young people have their mobile phones glued to their faces.
But it's not just young people. According to Yankee Group statistics provided by Crone, more than 80 percent of those 13 to 24 years old and 65 percent of adults use their mobile phone for text messaging in the U.S.
As Crone said during his presentation, "He who enrolls controls," so when browser-based mobile banking does take off—as well as mobile bill payment—your credit union will be in line to better serve its members.
I recently interviewed Terrence Roche of Cornerstone Advisors for an article I'm writing on technology planning. We were talking about member satisfaction, which as anybody knows in this business can be a nebulous concept. Part of member satisfaction, Roche said, was defending a niche the credit union feels it needs to keep or entering a niche it believes it can grab.
I think mobile banking is definitely a niche that is ripe for the taking for almost every credit union out there—if they want it, and if they think it's important to them. Amen.
Ron Jooss edits the General Management and Board sections of CUES' Credit Union Management.
Read more about mobile on CUES Nexus Connection and in this Credit Union Management article.
Hear more from the experts at Cornerstone Advisors during CUES Experience.
