SAN DIEGO — Symitar's John San Filippo recalls that just 10 years ago digital convergence meant having a PC hooked up to a TV. Today, he associates the term with the rapidly expanding capabilities within handheld devices.
"I actually tried that," said San Filippo, marketing manager at Symitar, about connecting the PC to the TV. "It was clunky and just dumb. Today we're seeing true digital convergence - in the palm of the consumer's hand. Digitally speaking, there's not much you can't do from your iPhone, Blackberry, or G1, and I expect that functionality to increase exponentially going forward."
Just as the definition of digital convergence has evolved, so has credit unions' e-services expertise, said San Filippo. The challenge for CUs, today, he said, is not only to deliver financial services through the handheld devices, but to remain a relevant part of this new "life in the palm of your hand" consumer experience. That means credit unions need to stay ahead of emerging technologies, even if the initial adoption rate may be slow, he said. "You want your members to think of you, Facebook and Twitter all in the same cloud. You don't want members to think here is my digital experience and over there is my credit union."
Mobile banking, in its current iteration, is only a first step - but a critical step, according to San Filippo. "Contactless payments by smart phone are on the way, and I won't even venture a guess as to what comes after that. But I'm certain that's where the action is going to be. As long as credit unions stick with the aggressive, progressive approach they've always taken with technology, they'll be well-positioned to lead the charge in this revolution, from a financial services standpoint."
CUs Get High Marks Overall, But There Are Some Laggards
That aggressive approach over the years gives CUs an A on their e-services report card, San Filippo said. He gives credit unions a high mark as a group, but recognized that e-service capability varies significantly between credit unions due to field of memberships. "Educational credit unions that serve college students are going to be bigger into mobile banking than credit unions whose field of membership is largely older adults."
Credit unions' e-services sweet spot has been their ability to be leaders with technology, and much of that results from being flexible, San Filippo shared. "They are smaller institutions, in general, and can be more nimble than banks, and react more quickly to a changing landscape."
Credit unions have been weakest with remote deposit capture, San Filippo suggested, due in large part to market conditions. "Banks have jumped on this faster because the demand is from business customers and credit unions don't have as many business customers as banks."
Reflecting on the day when he tried connecting the TV and the PC, San Filippo contended e-services today deliver more than we expected a decade ago. "Who would have thought then that we'd have so much functionality, capability, and bandwidth on a handheld device? I did not see that coming."
Symitar is a Jack Henry company.
