OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington State Employees Credit Union has always regarded its "Q-Cash" program as a better alternative to storefront payday loans. Now it's reporting the development of an online channel for return borrowers has been a big step forward.
According to Heidi Tinsley, director of Q-Cash for the $1.6-billion credit union, allowing members to apply online rather than through the call center will save "significant annual human resource time" that had been dedicated to accepting applications via telephone.
WSECU's call center accepts and pro-cesses 1,000 to 1,300 Q-Cash loan apps per month, with an average call time of 7.5 minutes. "We value the current call center staff time cost to service Q-Cash at about $110,000 per year and expect this channel to cut that cost by at least $75,000 per year when fully implemented."
In addition, Tinsley said the switch to an automated loan processing system will save WSECU a $40,000 annual cost when a vendor software contract comes up for renewal in Q2 2010.
The online Q-Cash channel made a quiet debut in May following several months of preparation. Tinsley said WSECU has not done much advertising or marketing, just a web banner and a letter sent to people who already had taken out a payday loan through the call center.
"If other credit unions do this, they need to be sure to have the right development staff, and they definitely need to understand the payday loan business," Tinsley said. "The timing and availability element is important. We had 20 applications come through our online channel prior to 8:30 this morning. People need cash right away and it is driven by the date and the day. The days of need are different each month due to the calendar..."
Best Practices CUJ 2009
CU: Washington State
Best Practice: Development of Online Payday Loan Option
Vendor: Internal
