AUSTIN, Texas — The credit union explosion onto the iPhone application scene may be more like a slow leak, if you turn to a recent survey conducted for Credit Union Journal by the Credit Union Information Security Professionals Association (CUISPA).
Of the 60 credit unions participating in the survey, about 15% said they have deployed an iPhone application or will in the next two years. Only three respondents said they have already deployed an iPhone application. However, a quick check at the iPhone App Store reveals that there is currently only one credit union with an official iPhone application approved by Apple. The other two credit unions are probably in the midst of the approval process, explained Kelly Dowell, executive director, CUISPA.
Nearly two-thirds of those who are thinking about developing an iPhone application will rely on a mobile banking provider to do so, according to the survey.
One-third of the respondents said the CU is "evaluating" whether to launch an iPhone app, whereas half of the respondents are cool to the idea: it's "not a priority."
Those who have developed or are developing iPhone apps said the biggest challenges are costs, interfaces and member acceptance, but that the project is a "must-have." Some of those who aren't interested said it's because they'd rather go with an application that is "device-agnostic."
