On July 13, 2014, the Pew Research Center and Federal Reserve* sponsored a survey on bank and credit union mobile banking in the US. They found that 19% of adults in the US have used mobile phone banking within the past 12 months. The percentage of those mobile phone banking users performed the following activities using a mobile phone in the past year:
Read More
Of course, legally, you cannot force a staff member to apply for a loan. However, putting your staff and board members into the role of a member will only serve to improve your products.
What you may find could surprise you...
According to Robert Israelite, lending and compliance specialist at CUNA Mutual Group, "Many veteran CEOs have expressed disbelief that members are applying for loans on mobile devices, and boards are even further removed."
"Most credit union staff have never applied for a loan in a member channel, and that’s a problem,” Israelite said. “They have internal ways of doing it. Staff need to put themselves in the shoes of a “real member” or potential member who doesn’t have strong ties to the credit union.”
Read More
“People say that money is not the key to happiness, but I always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made.” -- Joan Rivers
It’s true. One key to happiness for credit unions is a good mobile lending strategy, and enough money can certainly help one achieve it. But cost is no measure of success, and a good credit union mobile banking strategy is not just something you buy. Before seeking answers from industry experts and technology providers, credit unions should first carefully consider the right questions.
We want to fund more loans. No question there! But what are we willing to sacrifice to achieve it? Will this new credit union mobile lending channel replace our internet lending channel, or complement it? Will it operate outside of our mobile banking solutions and strategy, or work within it? Which aspects of our lending process on the core should this solution enhance, or be permitted to undermine? How will it affect cross selling systems, loan activity reporting, or loan officer workload? What effect will our decisions have upon our ability to efficiently support online document execution or funding, or management of loan documents?
The problem with a “shop and see” approach is that everyone’s got an angle. Mobile banking and lending solution providers play to their own strengths, elevating both fears and priorities that may not be yours. Some appeal to your marketing sense, promising the inside track to car buyers or social media users. Others push their product like candy on the street, offering abstract highs like improved wallet share or return on member. The cheapest products are often the most dangerous, because they hook users into a path of add-on acquisitions that are ultimately destructive to core system efficiency.
If you have read our eBook "Mastering Millennials" you have learned that credit union lending through Mobile Lending is one important aspect to gaining younger members to your credit union. If you haven't read our eBook, what are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD HERE
Read More
Adobe Corp’s Mobile Consumer Survey provided insight into the potential for mobile lending solutions and even suggests that if mobile lending is not a part of your short term strategic plan it should be. According to Adobe, roughly 29% of men and 42% of women shop for financial services using their mobile device, but less than 10% apply for loans or open accounts through the mobile channel. This is evidence that consumers, including credit union members, are doing their due diligence in researching what is available to them. At this point, only the few credit unions who have caught "the mobile lending wave" are yielding loan growth through the mobile channel.
A 70 year old man happened upon a genie one day who promised to grant him a single wish. Without hesitation, the man cast a mischievous grin toward his aging wife and chuckled, “I wish I had a woman that was 20 years younger!” Poof! And just like that, the man was 90 years old.
Credit unions are also trying to tap that fountain of youth. Those that succeed in attracting younger members soon discover that they, like the 70-year old man, must also radically change. But it’s not a tummy tuck transformation. It’s not hair implants or a new sports car. Credit unions that drink from this fountain must actually become younger, changing the way they think and the way they invest in technology.
