Questions you should answer about the impact of your tiniest location. By Alissa Fry-Harris Sponsored by Bluepoint Solutions 
A virtual threshold has been crossed—the average member visits their credit union online or from a mobile device more often than in person. These tiny “branches,” once mostly prized by the urban millennial crowd, now appeal to consumers in all generations and locations. (Read how Grandma wants to pay bills on her phone, too.) As mobile services grow and ease of use continues to improve, the unmatched convenience they offer can only increase. Javelin’s most recent study tells us that 30 percent of U.S. consumers conducted their 2015 banking business via mobile apps in an average week, compared to only 24 percent banking at physical branches. This bears out the 12.2 percent overall decline in teller transactions since 2011. Savvy credit unions have taken seriously the challenge to give their members new, more streamlined and personal experiences when they come to a branch (Read more about credit union branch innovations.) Some sport a coffee house or lounge ambiance; others have brought customer service staff, tablets and touchscreens out from behind the teller line and into the lobby. Most have invested in effective member-facing training. All good strategies. But none of it helps a member who only visits the tiny branch in the palm of their hand. Are your mobile technologies as comfortable to use from home as your lobbies are in person? Can your members deposit checks and pay bills equally easily from wherever they are? Apply for a car loan right from the dealership floor? Do your mobile apps carry through your credit union’s special “look and feel” and do they work together seamlessly? What about new and potential members? What kind of first impression are you making? Fully 70 percent of consumers would prefer to open a new account digitally, but the vast majority of them find it too difficult or time consuming to accomplish. Where are they going instead? Are your competitors scooping them up? With the rapid growth of digital services right now, these questions need to be a prominent, possibly dominant, part of your branching strategy. Alissa Fry-Harris is the director of marketing for CUES Supplier member Bluepoint Solutions, Henderson, Nev. It's not too late to register for CUES School of Payments, coming up next month in Chicago.
