ATLANTA - Rising unemployment will make account access more important to members in the second half of 2008, predicts a shared branching expert who also recommends two solutions to extend CUs’ reach.
“Given the economy, I think members are going to need to manage their accounts more readily,” said Craig Beach, SVP-marketing and business development for CO-OP Shared Branching here. “As unemployment picks up, people are going to be taking new jobs, moving across country or town, and it will be really important for the credit union to provide access.”
While a member may be moving away from a bricks-and-mortar branch, Beach said the credit union can still serve those on the move with a “CO-OP Fast Branch” that’s being offered by CO-OP Shared Branching in conjunction with parent company CO-OP Financial Services.
The self-service kiosks allow the credit union to deploy many of the services of a branch, Beach said. Kiosks can be placed in remote locations, such as an SEG’s facility or a retail outlet, and cost about the same as a standard ATM. “It will cut a check, take check deposits, and image the check...It’s an economical way to reach the member.”
For members moving farther away and for those who prefer online banking, CO-OP Shared Branching’s My Deposit solution is gaining popularity, according to Beach. My Deposit allows members to deposit checks from home by using a regular scanner and sending the image to the credit union through its home banking service.
“The transaction goes through real time and the checks are digitized and sent through the appropriate clearing process,” Beach said. “We see more use of this from Gen X and Gen Y, and we are seeing a greater interest from businesses.
“You have to be everywhere your members want you to be and in the form they want,” Beach added. “Some folks are very comfortable with self-service kiosks and others will always want to use a branch.”
For info: www.cuservicecenter.com.
