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Credit Unions are not the “Big Banks,” which is a large part of their appeal. However, they compete against these Big Banks every day, for every customer and every deposit dollar. But then why are so many credit unions still neglecting their best opportunity to level the playing field in terms of geographic reach and customer convenience?

I’m referring to mobile banking, of course, and in particular mobile deposit. Mobile banking puts convenient financial services right in the palm of your member’s hand, whether they be at home, work, or on the go. And for credit unions with a small physical footprint, mobile deposit expands their reach nationwide and beyond. With mobile deposit, a member of a Delaware credit union with a single branch and single ATM can easily deposit a check using their Smartphone while on their vacation in Los Angeles.

Just look at the latest statistics from the recent Federal Reserve study on “Consumers and Mobile Financial Services 2014”:

  • 87 percent of the U.S. adult population has a mobile phone
  • 33 percent of all mobile phone owners have used mobile banking in the past 12 months, up from 28 percent a year earlier
  • 38 percent of mobile bankers have deposited a check using their mobile phone in the past 12 months, up from 21 percent in 2012

The demand for these mobile services is tremendous, and credit unions that are not executing strategic mobile strategies are not only at risk of losing members, they are missing out on a rare opportunity to beat the Big Banks at their own game – offering advanced financial services, including check deposit, without taking on the cost and overhead of opening hundreds of branches.

Looking more broadly, mobile services can also help battle the longer-term threat to the continued relevance of credit unions. The rapid intrusion of non-bank entities such as technology companies and large retailers into areas that had been the exclusive domain of banks, credit unions and financial services organizations, such as payments and lending, represents a true threat to the perceived value that credit unions deliver to their members. These new players are eating away at the edges, leaving many credit unions with a smaller set of core services to offer at a time when revenues are getting tighter and tighter.

But even the smallest of credit unions need not cede ground in the areas where they are the most logical and trusted partners, particularly in serving their business members. The same conditions that allow technology companies to develop mobile lending applications and retailers to offer new POS payment methods are enabling credit unions to expand the services that they offer their business members. With the ability to quickly and easily deploy web and mobile applications, and move much of the infrastructure requirements to the cloud, credit unions have the chance to maintain their central role in serving business members.

From mobile deposit to mobile point of sale payments, there is a window of opportunity that is open now for credit unions to strengthen their offering and grow their membership. But that opportunity is quickly turning from an advantage to “table stakes”, and the smart credit unions will be those that make the investment in mobile financial services and payments before conditions force them to do so.

John Wiley

John Wiley

John has nearly 20 years of credit union experience and a passionate supporter of the industry and a designated CUDE. He is now VP of Credit Union Development with CheckAlt ... Web: www.checkalt.com Details