DALLAS–One analyst is concerned that while more credit unions are choosing to spend money, the investments being made are not all driving the bottom line.
David Foss, President of ProfitStars, a division of Jack Henry and Associates, believes some credit unions are overly caught up in the increasing attention to mobile banking and bill pay. Foss said that while these areas are certainly worthwhile investments and drive convenience, they do not directly, at least in any measurable manner, contribute to bottom-line growth.
What Foss sees as deserving the greatest bottom-line attention is small business services. "This is definitely a new channel to drive the bottom line for a lot of credit unions," stated Foss, who said not a lot of credit unions have "figured out" how to most effectively serve small business.
What Foss is concerned about is credit unions using many of their traditional member-facing products to serve businesses, and that is not the best way to meet the needs of this growing market. He emphasized providing products specifically to meet the needs of small business—such as ACH origination, transaction processing, and accounts receivable financing. "Not enough credit unions have cracked this nut."
Foss added that he has seen a resurgence in CUs spending money on CRM efforts, and questions the move. "CRM had died for about for 10 years and now it is hot again. Not sure exactly why it is back the way it is. CRM has no easily discernable bottom-line impact."
