MARLBOROUGH, Mass.-Digital FCU (DCU) here has boosted its mobile deposit numbers to the point where nearly 50% of all remote deposits come via mobile channels, earning it a Credit Union Journal "Best Practice" award in the Mobile Deposit category.
According to Craig Roy, SVP of support services, DCU has seen about 400,000 remote deposits this year, totaling about $300 million. DCU launched desktop-based RDC in 2008 and began offering mobile RDC in March of this year. The CU serves 344,000 members and has more than $4 billion in assets.
"There are more people using remote deposit through a mobile device than through a desktop," said Roy. "That goes back to some of the reasons we pushed so hard to get mobile RDC. People are not as familiar or don't necessarily have scanning devices in their homes, but I would think it's a safe bet to say that consumers have a mobile phone with a camera capability."
DCU has more than 55,000 members registered to use RDC, and mobile and online channels can be used interchangeably. The CU defines "active" users as anyone who uses RDC at least once per month, and Roy said that DCU has about 15,000 active RDC users each month, and that the number is steadily growing. He added that RDC has eclipsed nearly all forms of deposit except in-branch deposits.
Looking To The Future
"You have to look at the age demographics in terms of the members coming into the credit union and the future members," said Roy. "They're very well versed in technology and mobile devices. I'm thinking that as younger members start joining the credit union, it's just going to grow and grow, because that's what those members are going to want."
The credit union has not widely promoted mobile RDC-"We just put it out there and [the members] find it," said Roy-but he said it does regularly remind members that mobile banking is available. Additionally, DCU has "a high penetration of home banking users, so that goes hand in hand," said Roy.
DCU partnered with Vertifi Software to launch its RDC product, and Roy said that having a partner like that is crucial to successfully launching a mobile channel. "We're not trying to replicate our home banking product on a mobile device," he said. "What we're trying to do is identify the types of transactions that people need to do that a mobile device would facilitate."
Roy declined to go into specifics on the cost of the program, but stressed that cost should not be a barrier for CUs launching a mobile offering. "It's a relatively inexpensive proposition for the value that it brings; cost is not a factor," he said. Digital FCU estimates that check deposits cost 75 cents at the teller line and more than $1 through the mail, but less than 30 cents via RDC.
Roy had plenty of other advice for credit unions that are currently considering mobile RDC adoption.
"I think sometimes there's the perception that this is a costly technology, and I would just say to do some research before you assume that," said Roy. He added that while fraud is something worth being concerned about, it does not present a big enough threat that it should drive a CU's decision as to whether or not to offer a mobile RDC product. "Look at what your members do today and what they need, and make sure your mobile option provides that capability."
"I think we've almost hit a paradigm shift," said Roy, noting that for years the checking account was thought of as the stickiest banking product-until online bill-pay became the stickiest product. "I think this is the next evolution. Offering a robust mobile option that involves not only the ability to conduct transactions but to do remote deposit capture is going to be the next thing to keep your members with the credit union."
