EL SEGUNDO, Calif.-Xceed Financial Credit Union's "Personal Banker" program is paying off with higher loan balances and more account relationships among participating members.
The program is part of XFCU's effort to ensure "every member gets rock star treatment."
An Xceed Personal Banker is an associate-generally based in the member's local branch-who knows that member, is familiar with his or her account, and is dedicated to "making sure members get such great service, they will never want to bank anywhere else."
Members may choose their Personal Banker from an online list of associates, or the $738-million CU will match them up.
Xceed Personal Bankers carry out a variety of tasks, ranging from ordering checks for their members and explaining how Xceed's mobile banking app works, to helping with loans and analyzing members' suite of accounts. Although much of this information is on Xceed's website and also available through its call center, CEO Teresa Freeborn said today's consumers expect their financial services experiences to be as "personal and customizable as the other products and services they consume."
According to Freeborn, this need for personal customization is especially true of many younger members whom she described as being highly-engaged members who offer great opportunities to build relationships. The Personal Banker program delivers that experience, she said, and does so at no additional cost to the credit union because Personal Bankers are existing associates.
Xceed initiated a soft launch of its Personal Banker program in fall 2009. After "ironing out some details and working out the logistics," the actual program launch took place in May 2010. By the end of 2010, it had signed up 819 members with Personal Bankers. As of Oct. 31, that figure grew more than 62% to 1,302 members.
Xceed Financial acknowledges the number of members in the program as a percentage of its full membership is small at this point-less than 2%-but said the level of engagement these members have with Xceed versus average members is "remarkable."
Xceed reported the following examples:
* Retail Deposit Balance Average for members with Personal Bankers is 238% that of members at-large.
* Retail Loan Balance Average for members with Personal Bankers is 205% that of members at-large.
* Retail Deposit Balance Average among members with Personal Bankers increased 8% from Dec. 2010 to April 2011.
* Average Services per Member is 2.29 for all members, but among members with Personal Bankers it is 3.22.
"We are honored to receive Credit Union Journal's Best Practices Award for our Personal Banker program as we continue to provide that personal experience, delivering on the Xceed brand and enhancing our members' banking experience," said Freeborn.
The credit union said it is working to expand the Personal Banker program by offering it to all Xceed members.
