Each year, our lives become more and more digitally focused--to the point where most people spend the majority of their days interacting with some form of technology. Often, this happens in ways that would have seemed odd or even unthinkable in the past.
If you asked someone over the age of 40 in the 1990s whether they trusted entering credit card information into a computer to make a purchase online, most would have expressed skepticism. Flash forward to today and not only is this common, but an entire generation has grown up with this being the primary way to buy goods or services at all.
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Digital payments fall under the same umbrella. What some initially viewed with suspicion has now turned into a market where the total transaction value is expected to hit an enormous $9.46 trillion by the end of the year.
The Convenience of Digital Issuance
Digital payments are popular, in part, because they're convenient. Rather than carrying around a smartphone and a purse or wallet filled with credit cards, you can take advantage of that same payment functionality on an iPhone, Android, or another type of device.
However, the process of getting to that point has historically been somewhat inconvenient. Once you get approved for the card (or open a checking account with a debit card), you then have to wait for a physical card to arrive in the mail. Only then can you manually enter that information into a mobile wallet or other smartphone app and use the digital payment functionality.
Is it catastrophically inconvenient? No--but it does remove some of the convenience you thought you were buying into, and at the very beginning of the process no less.
Digital issuance is a type of technology that allows a credit union to instantly issue a card by loading it directly into someone's mobile wallet or into their credit union's banking application. Rather than waiting for a physical card to come in the mail, the member is essentially able to "cut out the middle man," so to speak. The card data is immediately available and ready to use.
If a member wants a physical card, they always have the option of stopping by a physical branch to pick one up. But it is exactly that--an option. It is no longer a required part of the process that has been forced upon them. They also don't have to spend time worrying about something as sensitive as a physical credit or debit card potentially getting lost or stolen in the mail.
Just like that, a process that members already loved becomes even more convenient--representing another in the long line of benefits that digital services bring with them.
Another Chapter in Digital Convenience
At FLEX, we've always been big supporters of the digital-driven world that we're now collectively living in. Not only does technology afford members a more convenient way to live their lives, but it also gives credit unions a more organic and efficient way to connect with these people, too. The FLEX Digital Account Services eGuide can give you a better understanding of how to take these ideas and put them into practice for your own organization. To find out more, click the button below to get started.
