Shastic has introduced an "innovation index," initially for credit unions but with an eye toward other financial institutions.
The Berkeley, Calif.-based fintech company on Monday announced Shastic Index, described in a news release as a quarterly ranking that scores financial institutions on innovation, particularly on user satisfaction and performance across new digital channels, such as mobile banking and social media, compared to industry peers.
The new index is designed to help financial institution better engage their peak borrowers through mobile and social media channels, in part by analyzing end-user data that incorporates iTunes user ratings and Facebook metrics. The data is consolidated into a score that credit unions can use to determine their performance with their peer group, according to Shastic.
As consumers, especially millennials, migrate from physical branches to screens and devices to fulfill their banking needs, financial institutions are adapting their marketing strategies to attract and engage them.
"Mobile banking and social media have become strategic channels that impact not only customer satisfaction, but also the ability to attract key growth segments," Jim Lowe, director of marketing at Educational Employees Credit Union, said in the release. "At EECU, we're always trying to find more meaningful ways to engage with our members and attract new ones."
The Shastic Index is available to credit unions as an annual subscription. The company said it has plans to expand the platform to banks.
"According to the [National Credit Union Administration], the median annual asset growth rate for credit unions ending in Q4 2015 was 3.3%, and the median annual loan growth rate was 4.0%," Joseariel Gomez, CEO of Shastic, said in the release. "In contrast, the most innovative credit unions on the Shastic Index are growing three times faster than they industry, with median asset growth and loan growth rates of 10.36% and 11.07% respectively. That proves the case that this innovation index translates into something important for the industry."
