5 minutes
A mobile version of a credit union website does not a mobile app make.
Websites are usually associated with a desktop, something you access from home or work, not at the dealership when you are about to buy a new car or the mall when you need a new pair of shoes and want to make sure you have enough money in your account.
Credit unions across the country are realizing that to stay competitive they must give today’s members what they want: convenience. Convenience extends beyond just checking balances or moving money with your phone. Members need information and, often, after regular business hours. A need arises over the dinner table, or a thought occurs sitting at a child’s game. Credit unions treat their members like an extension of their family, and the family doesn’t go to sleep at five o’clock.
Today the easiest way for credit unions to provide convenience is a mobile product. A mobile app puts your credit union in the palm of your members' hands. With a just a couple of taps, members can check a balance at a restaurant before using debit to pay. They can check the rate on a car loan when they're at the dealer and then fill out an application right away (and potentially even get approved on the spot).
However, the development costs for a mobile product are high. CU Mobile Apps (CUMA, LLC), offered exclusively by LSC, provides credit unions an easy-to-use and high-quality mobile application that will give members the convenience they need.
Some of the key app functionalities include:
- checking balances;
- transferring funds between accounts;
- applying for a loan;
- remote deposit capture;
- branch and ATM locators;
- space for small ads to market credit union products and services;
- integrating with a credit union's existing bill pay system; and
- push notifications.
Push notifications are an incredibly useful tool for both the credit union and the member. Members can elect to get alerts for low balances. Then they can make a transfer right away no matter where they are. In addition, the credit union can use push notifications to tell members about a special rate or promotion. They can send an alert if a branch will be closed due to extreme weather or for a holiday.
A general guideline for push notifications is to send one or two per week. For most credit unions, this will be more than frequent enough as rates and promotions don't tend to change that frequently.
Streamlined, Beautiful and Customizable
CU Mobile Apps began with LSC, the leading support provider to credit unions in the Midwest and across the country. LSC had the resources to work toward a mobile solution for the credit unions it serves, many of which simply do not. LSC partnered with Member Service Solutions, a firm that’s been serving the needs of credit unions since 1986, and now has a mobile platform representing over 1 million credit union members. MSS was already working with mobile designer Metova. A leader in strategy, design, education, and support, Metova has created some of the most popular mobile apps in the market, including WebMD, Yelp, and eHarmony.
The goal was to create a platform that would meet the needs of the individual credit union and its members. CU Mobile Apps stresses customization and affordability, working hand in hand with each credit union it serves. The results have already been overwhelmingly positive.
When US Community Credit Union, Nashville, determined it needed a mobile solution, Vice President Ben Johnson, a CUES member, shopped multiple providers looking for the right app. “When considering a mobile app for our members, US Community CU researched several different providers of mobile app technology. After our research, we selected CU Mobile Apps as our provider. The app and administration of the content is user friendly and, coupled with attractive pricing, made it an affordable solution.”
“The price is very reasonable and their presentation excellent,” echoes CUES member Joseph Ditta, executive vice president at Gulf Coast Educators Federal Credit Union, Pasadena, Texas. “I was able to see exactly what we’d be getting for our investment, since screen shots of the app at work were displayed as they were being described. No one else made it this easy to understand – clear and specific.”
“I have been extremely pleased with the support and training I received in order to optimize our app,” says CUES member Katy Jett, VP/marketing for nine-branch Enrichment Federal Credit Union, Oak Ridge, Tenn. “The support team is extremely easy to reach and is always ready to help. Our members are really enjoying the app and the comments have been extremely favorable.”
“There are only a few times that you are introduced to something that on the front end blows you away, and delivers on its promises,” adds Enrichment FCU President/CEO Joe Wayne Hope, CCUE, a CUES member. “I can say this is one of those times. I’m extremely impressed with it!”
Easy to Use
CU Mobile Apps offers its user credit unions a detailed analytic report with data about usage, including frequency of use, which areas members are using most often, and the types of devices they are accessing the app with.
In addition, CU Mobile Apps offers a marketing toolkit to help credit unions launch their new app, with website banners, email messages and more. Plus, robust training for staff members is provided to help the credit union manage the app easily right from the start.
