PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -
Service Credit Union launched a new multi-language website to increase the level of service to its more than 100,000 members, including a large number who are U.S. military serving in Europe or defense contractors working in the Middle East.
The $1-billion Portsmouth, N.H.–based CU partnered with three New Hampshire companies to revamp its website so that users can transact business in one of the three predominant member languages: English, Spanish and German.
Service Credit Union developed the website to increase the level of member service in New England, where the credit union is headquartered; in Germany, where the credit union serves members on 14 U.S. Army and Air Force installations; and to defense contractors around the world, according to Karen Benedetti, vice president of marketing and public relations.
According to SCU, the site is busy, averaging about 200,000 hits per month. “Members are currently using the website in 88 different countries based on tracking data,” Benedetti said.
The website overhaul took six months to complete. Service CU partnered with Port City Web, a provider of e-commerce solutions from Greenland, N.H., and Ektron, a provider of content management solutions from Nashua, N.H., to create content that recognizes and remembers individual members and their needs.
Service CU CEO Gordon Simmons said the decision to offer several languages on the website was based on the results of a study that indicate members are more comfortable conducting business transactions in their native tongue.
“We are communicating to members in the languages that they may be using in the home setting, enabling them and their families to gain a deep understanding of the financial options available to them,” Simmons said.
Spanish was selected based on the growing number of Latino service men and women in the U.S. military, according to Benedetti. She added that German was chosen because almost all of the CU’s overseas branches are located on U.S. military installations in Germany, many of the civilian employees are German nationals and many U.S. service members have German spouses and live off base.
Benedetti said that all online accounts are opened in U.S. currency including the Euro Bill Payment Service, but the Euro BPS pays its vendors in whatever the daily exchange rate is for Euros.
The website offers member services such as fully automated online account opening and funding, a financial education center, market indices, a relocation center for military members and also offers instant decisions on loan products, including mortgages and home equity loans.
The 24/7 call center offers both voice-activated and live service. Customer service representatives in the U.S. are Spanish/English bilingual whereas they tend to be Spanish/English/German fluent in the branches located in Germany.
A unique aspect of the website is that it is partitioned to serve members depending on whether they are military or civilian. On the homepage, the site offers a language selection and then directs civilians to click a button so they can be channeled to the appropriate products and services.
If a member clicks the military button, they are directed to a homepage that offers Euro exchange rates, deployment financial readiness assistance, and a relocation kit that offers relocation information and a Military Relocation Loan available for 9.9% APR.
The military version of the site also offers members the opportunity to bid on used cars and pay European vendors online via the CU’s Euro Bill Payment (BPS) solution. BPS deducts money from the member’s account, after converting from U.S. currency to Euro, and deposits the money in a German bank. The service can be setup to pay vendors periodically or one time only. The German bank routing number and Euro exchange rate are provided daily on the CU’s military homepage.
The field of membership is broad. Service Credit Union serves anyone who lives or works in New Hampshire (excluding Coos County), four towns in Massachusetts, and all branches of the U.S. military, Department of Defense, employees and their families.
Because the FOM is so spread out, SCU plans on rolling out a product that accepts deposits from home and mobile banking sometime in Q2 2008.
“We are close to concluding work on a pilot program that accepts deposits from home using a portable scanning device that can be used overseas,” Benedetti said. “In addition, we are working with a company that will give members mobile banking capability from a phone or PDA device.”
“We are going to be more and more mobile,” she added. “This will be a major push for us going forward.”
Simmons said the new website is a great achievement for the CU and a new opportunity to offer all products and services in user-friendly way. (c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com
