Digital banking has become such a crucial component of how clients do business that it has all but rendered the physical presence of banks and credit unions unnecessary.
Many younger consumers have never set foot inside a bank to make a deposit or submit a loan application since financial applications and the mobile devices that power them are so prevalent. Credit unions must continue to offer in-person banking to their members who are accustomed to their traditional, specialized services. Credit unions must still strike a balance between this and the implementation of increasingly sophisticated digital services that serve the needs of customers who would rather not visit a financial institution.
“Millennials and Gen Zers want quick gratification, so accessing the services they signed up for should happen on the move,” Damian Jakubczyk, vice president of digital innovation at Denver-based Canvas Credit Union, recently told PYMNTS. “However, more mature generations are focusing on the simplicity of use, thus the experience of those programs should be nearly self-explanatory.”
Credit unions have been particularly pressed to compete with both larger financial institutions (FIs) and more agile FinTechs. As non-profit entities, credit unions must strike a balance between fees, interest rates, personal service, and profitability. As a result, they frequently have less cash to spend on digital transformation than their profit-driven peers.
“Credit unions must improve on numerous fronts in order to serve those members that FinTechs specialize in and attempt to capture,” he added. “Seamless experiences, as well as harnessing the rich data that we have and putting it to good use to create that tailored member experience, remain front of mind.”
