One of the most fundamental methods to keep your credit union thriving is by continuing to onboard new members. Keeping existing members happy is crucial too, but growth will surely happen through a simplified digital account opening process.

Along with members checking their account balances, Remote Deposit Capture is one of the primary reasons mobile banking users take advantage of the technology. According to the Federal Reserve, RDC is the fourth most common activity among mobile banking users behind checking balances, transferring money and accepting account alerts. Something you may not be aware of is that remote deposit capture has its roots in big business.

This time of year promotes reflection on what we should be grateful for in our lives, from family and friends, to work and social life balance. It is a time to count our blessings, share our wealth with those less fortunate, and consider changes we can make to improve relationships and our own quality of life. And while Thanksgiving is a time for family and faith, the holidays often afford us time to evaluate changes we can make for the coming year to improve efficiency at work. Credit unions finalize budgets and plans with board members, and often the idea of a core system review is part of those discussions. When evaluating your current core technology, it is essential to consider how your core makes your work-life easier.

Remote Deposits and the Check 21 Act have revolutionized banking. Johnny Depp has revolutionized the characterization of quirky movie roles. To have a little fun today, we dive "deep" into the commonalities of the famous actor and credit union mobile banking solutions:

No matter what your major was in college, you no doubt had to learn the "Technology Adoption Lifecycle."  Perhaps it was taught in the context of history and the industrial revolution's impact on agriculture. Or, more likely, you remember it within the teaching of your economics or business programs as a way to characterize companies' cultures when it comes to embracing technological advancement, and the resulting adoption of that technology by the market.

We have talked a lot in the past several months about obtaining new members.  We even wrote an eBook entitled Mastering Millennials as a guide for credit unions to attract the 35 and under generation. But I want to take a step back and discuss how to retain existing members, and how to get older members to embrace new technology, and not be afraid of it.  I will talk specifically today about Check 21 and Remote Deposit Capture. 

We reported in the past the 2014 Federal Reserve findings that 51% of smartphone users use their phones for Mobile banking, of which 38% of them have used remote deposit capture in the past year.  We all have heard the findings, reports and analysis that these numbers are going to continue to grow.  And while this may present opportunities for your credit union to obtain new members, it can also present challenges to getting existing members to use the credit union core technology you invested in.

Why you must convince your members and yourself that remote deposit capture is safe

In 1991 Saloner and Shepard found evidence for the role of network effect in their study of ATM adoption.  What was discovered in the case of ATM machines, was that if ATM’s were largely available over geographically dispersed areas, the benefits from using an ATM would increase since customers could access their accounts from any geographic location they wanted.  This implied that the value of an ATM network increases with the number of available ATM locations, and the value of a financial institution’s network to a customer would be determined in part by the final network size of the financial institution. 

How does a $25M asset CU in Washington state beat out their billion dollar peers in mobile banking for credit unions and remote deposit?  Mobile banking through FLEX Core Technology is helping credit unions such as Tri-Cities Credit Union in Kennewick, WA deliver advanced technologies ahead of the larger competition.  Check out this article in Credit Union Times:

BY VERONICA SANDATE CRAKER
May 23, 2013

With just a single location and 4,000 members, Tri-Cities Community Federal Credit Union in Kennewick proved it can provide top notch customer service comparable to any big institution by rolling out its new mobile check deposit app for smartphones.

“Our customers wanted it and there’s good reason they wanted it because we don’t have 50 branches and deposit ATMs — we’re it,” Doug Wadsworth, credit union president, said. “It allows us — a tiny institution — to be just as convenient as a big bank.”