JACKSONVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas FCU has gained greater share of wallet, made itself more convenient to members, and improved operational efficiency by adding "consumer capture."
Better known as remote deposit capture, the euphemism aptly describes what the service has done for the $750-million credit union. According to Denise Palmer, AVP-accounting, Arkansas Federal would never have been able to make the business improvements using any other strategy.
"We know we will never out-branch' banks," she said. "Adding more locations was not the solution to making the credit union more convenient to members and helping us gain a greater share of their business. Our members are located across the U.S. and in foreign countries."
Arkansas Federal began its life as Little Rock Air Force Base Credit Union before it changed its name in the 1990s and continues to serve the military. After adding remote deposit — branded AFCU Deposit — more than 1,400 members have signed up for the service that rolled out this summer, including a rush by 400 to enroll in 30 days.
Already possessing a strong home banking solution and online loan processing, the only thing missing from AFCU's electronic services was a check imaging solution. The credit union turned to the Atlanta-based VSoft's Agile Home Office. "Our credit union's goal is to improve members' financial lives and make it easier to do business with us," Palmer said. "We want members to get the same experience at home as they receive by stopping by."
Palmer was certain that AFCU Deposit accomplished that goal when one member told her that he doesn't need to stop by the credit union anymore because he can now do all of his business from home. "That's what we wanted to hear," she said.
A large percentage of members opting for AFCU Deposit are out of state, shared Palmer. "We want to get greater share of wallet with our out-of-state members, and that's what we are seeing — a lot of checks from this group are coming in from other institutions. It's been well worth the $10,000 investment in VSoft's solution."
To use AFCU Deposit, members capture check images at home via personal scanners. After the documents are scanned, the captured check images and data are transmitted to AFCU through a secure Internet connection. Members immediately receive a receipt that can be printed for their records, and once the deposit is received by AFCU, members receive a confirmation with a schedule for the funds' availability.
The money is usually available at the close of the business day, Palmer said. "There are no limits on deposit amounts. It's not an electronic transaction, but comes to us in ACH format. We are able to place a one-day hold on checks if necessary, which allows us to respond to anything we see that may need an additional hold."
Members must first register for the service online via the credit union's AFCU Online Account Access site. After confirming member information, submitting new information and reading the terms and conditions, members are sent a user name and password to begin depositing checks from their homes.
AFCU assembled a comprehensive marketing campaign that included billboard ads, radio spots, in-branch signage, direct mail, newspaper ads, Internet marketing, and local television commercials. The TV spot included commentary that the consumer capture application is a first in the state of Arkansas. "Every time we advertise for the service we see a big spike in enrollment," said Denise Goforth, marketing manager.
Jon Reneslacis, director of solutions engineering for VSoft, explained that AFCU is a beta site for Agile Home Office, and that the credit union has encountered only one minor problem from one member. The only requirement is that members' scanners are driven by Windows Image Acquisition. "This has been a wonderful program for members and the credit union," Reneslacis said. "It's making members' lives easier and the credit union more efficient."
Best Practices CUJ 2009
CU: Arkansas Federal
Best Practice: Boost Convenience
Vendor: VSoft
