EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - Online account opening is bolstering rewards checking and cross-sales, according to two credit unions–one is seeing more than two-thirds of all new members use an instant opening tool to apply for its rewards product.
“We’re on fire this year with online account opening and rewards checking,” said Jen Scanlon, VP-marketing and business development, at the $64-million First New England FCU here.
First New England started using the Andera online account opening and funding tool in 2006, Scanlon said. The 5.15% rewards checking account restricts members to electronic-based services.
Whereas the marketing department gets credit for getting the word out about rewards checking, the account opening technology allows members to follow-through with the sale, Scanlon continued.
That’s because the tool instantly opens–and funds–new accounts online, in a process that takes about five minutes, according to Scott Post, SVP-strategy and delivery at $600-million Hanscom FCU (HFCU) at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., which also rolled-out Andera, a little more than one year ago.
“It’s membership in minutes,” Post said, in reference to HFCU’s marketing tagline for Andera. “In the Internet world, if you can’t close the deal instantly, you lose.”
In contrast, the previous paper-based application at HFCU.org was “onerous, like going to the DMV,” said Post. “We’d send out 30 application packages per month and get back 15, if we were lucky. And two-thirds of those would have missing items.”
The score is much better for Andera. For example, in April, Hanscom FCU signed 66 new members via the website, said Post. About 80% of those accounts were funded via credit card, he added.
And Andera is responsible for opening accounts that hold nearly 40% of the total loan balances at the CU, Post continued. “It’s phenomenal.”
The tool has allowed Hanscom FCU to get rid of the bulky new account kits it used to distribute at its SEG locations, Post said. “Now we just hand out brochures and send e-mails letting people know they can click and join right at the SEG.”
Recently, more than 50% of the employees at an insurance agency SEG became members in fewer than six weeks, and all through Andera, said Post.
Post said he would like to extend the instant opening-and-funding tool to local auto dealers, so that the dealers can close HFCU loans in the moment with the member.
At First New England, nearly 30% of all new members enroll through the website, Scanlon said, offering, “I’m surprised; that’s double my expectations.”
Better yet, both credit unions are able to cross-sell new members once they sign up.
In March, First New England “stole” more than $700,000 in auto loans from other institutions after it followed-up on Andera account openings, said Scanlon. It repeated that success in April, surpassing initial goals to steal $300,000 per month in auto loans.
“We’ve manipulated the Andera tool on the back-end end,” she explained. “Andera gives you a list of generalized requirements to open and fund an account, but we’ve added our own sales requirements, such as automatically assigning a sales specialist to call the new member within 48 hours.”
Hanscom FCU, too, has added requirements to Andera in order to boost cross-sales and education, said Post.
“We assign follow-up calls to see if members have had any problems enrolling in bill-pay, to take loans from competitors, or to make sure that members understand their credit score. We wanted to turn Andera into a positive, an opportunity to deepen the relationship and make members feel welcome,” he said.
“If you think you should just stop at online funding and opening, you’re missing the boat,” Post added.
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Read more about online account opening at cujournal.com and search the following bolded terms in the archive:
Sprechen Sie Online?
Why These CUs Decided To Convert To A Relative Unknown DP Provider
Auto-Funding Online Sign-Ups
For info on this story:
* www.firstnewengland.org
* www.hfcu.org
* www.andera.com(c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com
