Looking for growth? Lead with mobile

For a while now, credit unions have been starting the member journey with a loan relationship to achieve growth, while positioning the delivery channels as secondary. It makes perfect sense given the structure of the business model.

However, the world of personal finance is changing. Today the delivery channel experience is now primary. In many cases, members engage in mobile first before they ever enter a physical retail structure. Members want control over their finances, delivered in the form of effortless, instant interactions that don’t interrupt their lives. In this environment, credit unions must understand the needs of this new member and remain focused on enabling the control, convenience and speed that they demand.

A recent Fiserv Consumer Trends Survey found that Increases in mobile phone ownership are also driving increases in mobile banking usage, with 48% of smartphone-owning households using mobile banking.

Specifically:

• 8 of 10 of U.S. households (86 million) with Internet access now use online banking
• Of these households who access their accounts via online banking an average of 10 per month with 24% of them accessing their accounts daily!

While this data may not be startling to some, what is interesting is the graph below which indicates members who use digital banking (defined as online banking, mobile and electronic payments) are more likely to use other revenue-generating services.

Source: Fiserv Consumer Trends Survey 2015

A word of caution to those getting ready to push their mobile and digital offerings to their members. Make certain that they deliver a 360-degree experience to your member that is Immediate, convenient and easy to use. This is a standard expectation, not the exception.

If your offering delivers, then lead with lead with your mobile/digital and the loans will follow.