According to PSCU President and CEO Chuck Fagan, NAFCU CEO Dan Berger, and Suncoast Credit Union SVP of Digital Strategy Jana Manley, the best way to use technology to improve member experiences is to:
Do not pursue the sparkling squirrel.
According to study, 38% of CUs consider themselves to be technology laggards, up from 29% the previous year. The increase is due in part to a decrease in technological investment, but it also represents a reconsideration of what true innovation is.
Yet, as Berger pointed out, “it is up to each individual institution to decide if members want these advances or whether it fits within the CU’s economic model.”
“There’s been a long, historic trend in the company where innovation has come in the form of new things and new services,” Suncoast’s Manley noted, as well as in chasing the shiny object (or squirrel, as Berger puts it) — the distraction that’s drawn attention, money, and time.
“You just bolt on a product — and if you build it, they will come,” she said, alluding to a well-known catchphrase. Little time had been spent exploring how the add-on influenced the overall user experience.
Prudent spending would be the order of the day, since predicted interchange revenue limitations and card late payment penalty would deplete the funds used to fund innovation. Providing loans to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) via digital channels is critical. Virtually everyone will be able to make real-time payments in the near future.
The stakes have never been higher. According to the findings, more than a quarter of clients asked would switch from their present CUs to more innovative providers. The panellists all agreed that younger clients are more likely to quit ship.
“Younger generations don’t have the same tolerance for not obtaining what they want,” Fagan noted.
