BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-When it comes to e-statements, the "e" also stands for efficiency, according to one person.
Debbie Hosig of EPL, noted the costs involved in producing and mailing statements at 44 cents each, make incenting members to change behavior well worth it.
Hosig stressed that while implementing services such as e-statements can come at a cost, there is significant ROI. Moreover, she added it also remains important for CUs to promote home banking and mobile banking, because those services are much in demand, and "the stickiness of those services really cements the member relationship."
While some members may not have Internet access to receive e-statements, those members are an increasingly smaller minority. "It's about figuring out how you want your members to behave and then incent them for the right behavior," she said. Additionally, members can be spurred into behaviors such as signing for debit transactions rather than using a PIN number, which can help with interchange revenue.
And collaboration is key. "If a small credit union needs to get expenses down, they can outsource some of those services...[instead of] looking for someone to merge into."
