CUs can get great results when they blend the best of their history with the latest tech. By Stan Cowan, CCE Sponsored by D+H
Many credit unions today began 50-, 60- or even 70-plus years ago with a single sponsor. In most cases, the credit union’s first office was on the sponsor’s site. Many credit unions' first directors and employees were employees of the sponsoring company as well. This structure helped instill trust and create strong member relationships, which turned into a true financial partnership over time. When they were on break from work at the sponsor or taking their lunch, members would walk over to the credit union, say hi, grab some coffee and maybe conduct a transaction. When you combine the resulting strong personal relationships (even friendships) with such a local presence, you often got a captive, targeted audience to engage at a personal level. During that era, credit unions enjoyed--even took for granted--that status of trusted financial partner. Members, in turn, showed loyalty by thinking of the credit union first for every financial need. In that age, members talked about the credit union with their co-workers. To stay competitive, some credit unions eventually changed to community-based charters. More branches and staff were added over time. Then, to reduce cost in the name of convenience, we added technology and other cheaper, less personal delivery channels. And, before we knew it, those originally strong partner relationships began to fade away in hopes of faster credit union growth. In many cases the larger infrastructure brought higher operating expenses--and rates and fees started to become less attractive to members. All of this begs the question: Have credit unions forgotten their original differentiators? Do they still stand apart from their competitors? Without those close partnerships with community businesses and with the push toward digital banking channels today, is it too late to win back the hearts of our members and those who would refer us to others? We think CUs can keep their traditional differentiators while bringing in the best of today's technology--and that "the cloud” can help. Simply put, the cloud can help you take your credit union--and all of its software tools--to your members, where they work and when they want. It’s as easy as taking your laptop or mobile device with you when you go out on a select employee group visit--or to a community event for that matter. No doubt you’ve heard a ton about the various cloud technologies available today. The one we’re talking about here lets your staff have offsite access to do everything they would be able to do in a branch, wherever members want to be served, using a laptop or a tablet. Talk about personal and local! Importantly, this cloud is designed to keep working even when a component fails, and is supported by a physically secure data center that is highly scalable. In addition, redundant, high-speed circuits connect to a geographically separate disaster recovery facility. And the system includes real-time replication of all data and applications. It's a great time for credit unions to look back to their roots--and to keep moving forward.
Stan Cowan, CCE, is senior solutions marketing manager for CUES Supplier member D+H, Lake Mary, Fla. Learn key strategies for IT decision-making at CUES School of IT Leadership. The experts at CUES Supplier member and strategic provider Cornerstone Advisors regularly help credit union assess their technology needs and set their technology strategies.
