SANTA CLARA, Calif. - KeyPoint Credit Union is the one to watch in CU mobile banking, with more than half of all members logging-in to the service.
That’s 10 to 20 times higher adoption than any other credit union recently reported to Credit Union Journal (see related story).
“Our adoption has been escalating, and iPhone use has been mind-boggling,” said Juli Anne Callis, EVP and COO at the $850-million credit union.
KeyPoint measures mobile adoption within its checking base, said Callis. She was not able to provide the number of online banking users who also use KeyPoint’s Global Mobile Banking, or the exact number of members who are using Global Mobile on iPhones.
Page views have shot up to nearly 20,000 per month, up from 500 per month six months ago, added Callis.
But Callis warned other credit unions that they might not experience the same swell.
“Market readiness is critical,” she said. “I believe most markets are not ready for high adoption levels. Most credit unions should not anticipate such quick adoption curves.”
KeyPoint launched the wireless application protocol-based product one year ago. “We made a decision to pass over the first generation of wireless technologies and that was a good bet.”
Global Mobile was released about the same time that Apple started touting the iPhone. “Our ads demonstrated our wireless offering on the coolest phone in the world,” said Callis.
Most would guess that Gen Y makes up the bulk of the mobile user base for KeyPoint’s Global Mobile, but a number of the Boomer generation also uses the product, Callis continued.
“It’s not about demography,” she said. “It’s about psychographic profile. It’s about the passion of the individual for technology. You cannot push members of any age into using new tools. When they weave these channels into their own lives, that is the time to be right there with them.” KeyPoint members fall into the “Emerging Technologists” profile, she added.
As far as mobile banking goes, that means KeyPoint must offer wireless “that is highly secure across every carrier on 6,000 types of mobile devices,” said Callis.
KeyPoint offers mobile banking through San Jose-based MShift, which provides the service to nearly 60 credit unions.
Other credit unions can soon tap into KeyPoint’s “great success,” said Callis, who is also president of KeyPoint’s CUSO. The CUSO will soon deliver needs assessments, planning, development and marketing services for financial institutions that want to “get serious about offering emerging technologies. We’ve been flooded with requests.”
Credit unions–and their members–are most concerned about mobile security, she said. “Financial institutions cannot afford to get this wrong.”
Members demand a “full spectrum” of access channels from KeyPoint Credit Union, Callis said. “Our commitment to high-tech and high-touch exceeds the competition. Our strategy is to help our members stay in touch with their money via all emerging technologies as soon as that can be achieved safely.”
Recently, KeyPoint Credit Union became the first financial institution to provide an online banking interface through Facebook.
In addition, the credit union offers SMS-text mobile banking, dynamic alerts and live chat and, later this year, will roll out blogs and podcasts.
MORE
Read more about mobile banking at cujournal.com and search the following bolded terms in the archive:
AYSOS? NVM the F2F, TXT MSG Banking Deployed By 2 CUs To Target Teens
CUs Hot And Cold On Mobile Banking
Keypoint Strategy Recognizes Facebook Not Just For Gen X & Y
For info on this story:
* www.keypointcu.com
* www.mshift.com
