2015 Mobile Trends of Credit Union Members

by Chris Steffes, Remote Services Consultant

The mobile disruption is far from over. In fact, the speed to market for digital innovation will likely increase in 2015. BAI Banking Strategies surveyed financial services leaders, including credit union executives, and identified the top banking trends for 2015. It is no surprise that consumers’ heightened use of digital channels, especially mobile, rank high on the list, along with an amplified focus on the member experience. 2015 will be the year in which consumers shift their view about banking at credit unions - from being an obligation to a preferred lifestyle of convenience and mobility - due to the latest trends in mobile.

Their insight includes the following trends:

• Expedited deployment of digital branch delivery.
  Whether it's pushing member-driven functionality to your mobile channel or changing your branch experience to a self-service model with kiosks and advisory services, providing a digital experience will continue to transform the way credit unions serve their members. Getting out from behind a desk and meeting a member in a newly created space, similar to a lounge or café setting with a tablet, will continue to improve member perception as long as credit unions continue to present themselves as visually appealing, technically savvy and millennial-friendly. This is particularly significant in the middle and up-market demographics, as members will gauge a credit union’s value and progressive vision by their commitment to using digital tools for member convenience and business efficiency.
  
• Mobile-First design.
  According to the BAI article, banking and credit union executives believe 2015 will be the year when banks and credit unions will use mobile design strategies as the basis for all customer touchpoints. Their goal is to position mobile not only as a full-service delivery channel, but as the flagship channel for member engagement. Their strategy of increased revenue-generating functionality on mobile, along with member servicing tools like mobile video chat - especially popular with tablet users – will attract and drive new membership.
  
• Increased digital and social selling.
  Compared to 2014, Forrester Research predicts that twice as many customers will research financial products on their smartphones and tablets in 2015. And as millennials’ appreciation for all-things-social continues to grow, credit unions that transform their marketing tactics from traditionally static ads to more intimate engagement on digital channels and social media will see more success in revenue generation. This requires credit unions to make a fundamental change in how to communicate to members along with developing new strategy for optimizing digital media to engage consumers.
  
• Mass acceptance of mobile payments.
  With Apple Pay setting the benchmark in the mobile payments space, 2015 will be the year when mobile wallets will likely become the differentiator for attracting new members. According to Cap Gemini Research, m-payments are projected to grow by over 60% in 2015. While experts in the wallet space caution credit unions to carefully conduct regulatory due diligence in the payments space prior to selecting a vendor, it is wise to start analyzing device types of your current member base and begin a vendor selection process for a wallet provider that not only provides an agnostic solution among device types, but will feature your credit union debit and credit cards as a payment device within the wallet.

Gearing your digital strategy toward this year’s emerging trends will position your credit union to weather the demands of increasing member engagement and provide a better member experience at every stage of the member lifecycle. 

If your credit union needs help navigating the mobile world in 2015, contact CU Solutions Group - we've got mobile experts that can keep you moving forward.