1. Sundeep Kapur, digital strategist with NAFCU Services Preferred Partner
Allied Solutions, works closely with credit unions to help them better
engage with members through technology. Yet when his 20-something
son and nephew were launching their own business and in need of a
inancial institution, they didn’t turn to the expert in the house.
“he irst thing they did was get out their
smartphones,” Kapur notes wryly. “Every
decision they made was based on their
ability to see if that inancial institu-
tion ofered speciic services when they
looked it up on their mobile banking site.
I would have said, ‘Before I decide on a
credit union, I’d like to meet someone in
the oice and have a face-to-face conver-
sation.’ But that’s not how Generations X
and Y think. Mobile is becoming a bigger
and bigger deal.”
It is an increasingly big deal as well
for credit unions seeking to appeal to
younger members and provide a full
MANAGING
YOUR
VIRTUAL
BRANCH
Trends in Technology and
Mobile Strategies By Robert Bittner
THE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION JULY–AUGUST 201418

2. range of beneits for all members. It is
no longer enough to have a functional
website. Serving members today — and
10 years from now — means delivering
as many services as possible through
as many channels as possible. It also
means moving beyond mere mobile
account management to fully engage
with members through social media and
so-called smart technologies.
Your Virtual Branch
Why focus on developing more diverse
and personalized mobile services?
“he smartphone is becoming your
virtual branch,” Kapur explains. “You
can look up account information,
you can ‘visit’ the branch, and you
don’t even have to go to the Web.
It’s a way for members to connect
seamlessly with their credit union.”
Connecting “seamlessly” is key to
maintaining and growing member
relationships.
“Our job is to provide a delivery channel
that every member can use,” says Scott
Wilson, president and CEO of Sea-
Comm Federal Credit Union in Mas-
sena, N.Y. “We did a member survey
last year, and more people are saying, ‘I
want to do things on my time, not your
time.’ his 24/7 access requires you to be
in this [mobile] space. Younger demo-
graphics are looking for new ways to
do business with us. Getting away from
things that require having a computer
and getting into smartphone applica-
tions is the new trend members want.”
‘‘The smartphone is becoming
your virtual branch.You can look
up account information, you can
‘visit’the branch, and you don’t
even have to go to theWeb.
’’—SUNDEEP KAPUR, DIGITAL STRATEGIST, NAFCU PREFERRED
PARTNER ALLIED SOLUTIONS
T
oday’s technologies are already far
beyond what could have been antic-
ipated just 20 years ago. But they are
certainly just the beginning.
Dover Federal Credit Union President and
CEO David Clendaniel believes payments
by smartphones will usher in another major
industry shift in the near future.“Instead of a
debit card, why not just have your iPhone? I
think that’s coming, and I think it could be the
next big thing.”
That idea is gaining traction. In a May Macworld
article exploring the beneits of using a smart-
phone as a debit card replacement, journalist
MarcoTabini points out that it’s about security
as much as convenience. Unlike a debit or credit
card, which gets handed of to waitstaf and
other personnel, the phone need never leave
the owner’s possession. And unlike a debit or
credit card number, which typically gets typed
into numerous websites where it can be hacked
and stolen, smartphone payments could
be handled through a coded“bill”delivered
on-screen, which would then be captured and
conirmed via the smartphone’s camera.
But even smaller steps can yield member
beneits.
It annoys Sundeep Kapur that after years of
banking with the same institution, his ATM is
still not smart enough to remember that every
time he initiates a transaction, he chooses
English as his desired language. Personaliza-
tion could go a long way toward improving
relationships with members.“ATMs should
be smart enough to know my last transac-
tion, know my preferences and then make
predictions about my future transactions,”he
says.“The ATM provider generally provides the
software to enable such personalization. For
improvements to happen, credit unions need
to push for these changes.”
Regardless of what the future holds, there is
no doubt that technology will continue to be
an invaluable intermediary in the member/
credit union relationship. And that can only
be a good thing.“Even though there’s a cost,
technology is the great equalizer,”Clendaniel
believes.“This is one area where we can look
just as big and just as powerful as Bank of
America or any other national institution.”
Coming
Soon?
Continued on page 22
THE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION JULY–AUGUST 201420

3. Thinking Outside the Web
A well-designed, easy-to-navigate
website is still an important part of the
overall marketing and service strategy.
Yet Wilson points out that for many
people under 40, a website today is just
as “traditional” as an old-fashioned
bank once was. To offer the experiences
modern members expect, you must think
outside the Web.
For SeaComm FCU, such thinking has
led to several recent changes. “Last
year, we launched an application on
our mobile platform for bill pay. And
we recently launched mobile deposit
capture,” Wilson says. “We’re in the
irst quarter, but we’ve seen a positive
response. We now have our own mobile
app for iOS and Android devices, bill
pay and mobile deposit capture. We’ve
added a lot of enhancements.”
Truity Credit Union, based in Bartles-
ville, Okla., has explored a similar path.
“We’ve continued to introduce more
electronic access over time,” says Presi-
dent and CEO Kelly Diven. “We’ve been
using home banking and bill payment for
some time. We introduced a new mobile
app this last fall. And in February we
introduced remote deposit capture.”
In Delaware, Dover Federal Credit
Union has expanded upon these key
services with the addition of Popmoney,
an Internet-based service members can
use to send and receive money from
anyone who has an e-mail address and
a bank account. Other credit unions are
taking technological engagement with
members to the next level through the
use of SmartVideo, a service from Allied
Solutions’ iSolutions division, which
delivers brief, personalized videos to
members’ inboxes as a way to follow up
on speciic activity — a new car loan,
for example — and provide information
as well as tailored recommendations for
additional inancial services.
All of these technologies provide tools
for getting the most out of credit union
membership. But many of them go
further: They help bring credit union
products and services to the forefront
whenever members think about their
inances. They anticipate members’
transactions. And they engage with
members as unique individuals with
speciic inancial needs and goals. Such
engagement is critical at a time when the
competition is one click away. For that
reason, many credit unions are leverag-
ing the power of social media to create
even deeper personal connections.
A Social Strategy
In 2013, Truity CU went through a signif-
icant rebranding. Prior to that, the orga-
nization had eight branches in Oklahoma,
Kansas, Texas and Arkansas, each state
represented by a diferent brand name. “As
we’ve grown and technology has changed,
we found that supporting four brands
was diicult and expensive,” says Diven.
Once the decision was made to unite the
brands under the new “Truity” name,
Diven and his team looked for ways to let
members know that only the name was
changing; what they were as an organiza-
tion remained the same. “YouTube was an
integral step in getting across the message
of why the name change was happen-
ing and that things weren’t changing.”
hrough several simple, slideshowlike vid-
eos posted to YouTube, Truity was able to
communicate with members and control
the message.
In addition, Truity is reaching out to
members through both Facebook and
Twitter, where the focus is on provid-
ing community news, links to useful
personal-inance information and tips
on getting the most from credit union
membership. “We have nearly 10,000
‘likes’ on Facebook,” says Diven, “out of
about 55,000 members.” All of Truity’s
e-commerce — the website, home
banking, mobile and social media — is
overseen by a full-time staf of four.
SeaComm has a dedicated full-time
staf person who handles the website
and Facebook updates. But President
Scott Wilson is also personally involved
in reaching out to members through
Twitter. “As CEO, I’m the chief commu-
nicator. I use Twitter to let people know
that I’m actively engaged with folks. I
tweet everything from when I’m meeting
with staf to when I’m going to be visiting
a branch where members can talk to me
in person, as well as information about
the economy or the inancial industry. I
tweet anything I think is important for
credit union members to be aware of.
“his is a new process for me, but I am
getting tweets back, and folks are asking
additional questions. I think it’s a great
way to communicate back and forth. I
have podcasts and written reports that
members can get, but they can’t have a
conversation that way. his is a way to
have a conversation.”
Taking Stock
Whether you are thinking of taking the
irst steps beyond a home banking–
focused website or you are wondering
‘‘I thinkTwitter is a great way to
communicate back and forth. I have
podcasts and written reports that
members can get, but they can’t
have a conversation that way. This is
a way to have a conversation.
’’—SCOTTWILSON,PRESIDENTANDCEO,SEACOMMFEDERALCREDITUNION
Continued from page 20
THE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION JULY–AUGUST 201422

4. how to beef up your organization’s pres-
ence on social media, the irst step is to
take stock of what services your mem-
bers currently use and what they expect
from you in the future. SeaComm’s Wil-
son says, “We did that through member
surveys. But you can also explore com-
mon member needs through reputable
vendors. Take your time to weigh all the
risk options. Because nothing is worse
than launching a new product or service
and having some problem happen.”
Consultant Kapur encourages clients to
take a hands-on approach to honestly
evaluating their own services and rank-
ing them accordingly.
“Look at how you can be accessed
online, and give yourself a score for
every category. For instance, look
at Google. Do you show up on the
first page of search results? If so, give
yourself a higher score for that. Pull
up your website. Is it easy to look at
and navigate? How many clicks does
it take to find something? Take a look
at your site on a mobile device. Does
it look good on a variety of mobile
devices, from smartphones to tablets?
Give yourself a rating for every possible
digital interaction with members.”
Explore your services just as a member
would. One credit union was pleased to
respond to website visitor requests by add-
ing an online member application. hey
discovered, though, that only 35 percent
of those who began the online application
actually completed it. Managers needed
to ind out why: Was it too long? Too
detailed? Or did the technology malfunc-
tion along the way, making the process
more frustrating than it should have been?
Don’t ignore questions of security. In
the wake of this spring’s news regarding
a security vulnerability on many sites
deemed “secure” — a vulnerability known
as the “Heartbleed” security law — a
number of credit unions made it a point
to state on their sites that they were in no
way at risk from the security law. Don’t
assume members will automatically know
how secure their digital information is
unless you tell them. “As long as you’re
staying on top of getting members' [secu-
rity] information, it lets them know that
protecting their information is important
to you,” says Truity’s Diven.
Finally, “engage with other credit
unions, get recommendations on ven-
dor partners and look closely at other
credit unions’ premier partner arrange-
ments,” Diven advises. “If you need
assistance along the way in working
with vendors, don’t be afraid to seek
that out. That spirit of cooperation is
one of the great things about the credit
union movement.”
Robert Bittner is a Michigan-based free-
lance writer who would be lost without his
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