ROME. N.Y.-Kiosks with the ability to handle nearly every financial transaction under the sun are nothing new.
But AmeriCU's implementation of those self-service kiosks and work to educate its members stands out from others who use the same technology, according to Bill Lynch, VP-Strategic Development with Charlotte, N.C.-based Source Technologies, which is providing the technology.
"They have shown some forward thinking ideas can really pay off for an organization. They are moving traditional branches into total self-service," he said.
Lynch said Source Technologies nominated AmeriCU for the Best Practice award because the credit union has succeeded in a "very competitive marketplace" and he was "wowed" on several occasions when stepping in to a branch and seeing how not only did the kiosks play a huge role in daily branch transactions, but members seemed to be well-acclimated to the system.
The $654-million credit union started implementing the kiosk system in new branches only, but eventually proved "that model and (began) going into established branches."
"There are a lot of unused kiosks sitting in the corner of financial institutions," Lynch pointed out, saying it is AmeriCU's "attention to the details in the deployment" that makes the credit union's implementation successful.
The kiosks have paid major dividends for the credit union, notes Marianne Herne, VP-branch services. "We started to expand our network in 2007, and instead of opening more traditional branches we've been able to open small offices with less employees and offer the technology over the top of that," she said.
Reduced office space and fewer employees means reduced expenditures, but the kiosks are more than a cost-cutting device. Herne believes they will become a revenue generator long-term as employees shift from performing menial transactions to developing additional member relationships, running point on deepening walletshare and transforming branch operations as a whole.
"What our plan is that we want to enhance the skill set of the people who maybe before just did transactional services," she said.
In the new branches, the kiosks are located in special 24/7 lobbies that are inside the building but secured from the main lobby area. Herne said that many members are unable to visit them during regular business hours. So the kiosks remain on-call around the clock for those members who cannot break out of their own 9-to-5 schedules to do business.
"For us to offer this technology on a 24/7 basis makes it very convenient," said Herne, who noted that while many members bank online, they still want the ability to do other transactions at the physical branch. "They want all of the angles."
AmeriCU plans to install kiosks at all of its existing branches and remodel those facilities to better conform to the facilities' new vision where transactions are mostly automated and employees can focus on cross-selling, a process it expects to take two to three years.
For info: www.sourcetech.com; www.americu.org.
BEST PRACTICES
AmeriCU, Rome, NY
Category: Financial Kiosks
Provider: Source Technologies
