Today’s consumer has high expectations for his or her financial institution, whether it is a community bank, credit union or national bank.
As if we didn’t already realize this, we all recently saw what happens with disgruntled consumers when Bank of America decided to start charging for the use of debit cards.
The Credit Union National Association estimated that between the time Bank of America announced the plan to charge a debit card use fee and the week following Bank Transfer Day at the end of 2011, about 700,000 people moved their accounts from their banks to a credit union. That’s a pretty astounding number. But whether credit unions can keep those 700,000 new members happy depends on how well they meet these members’ expectations. That includes how they are serving them online and whether they are providing the same services they can get at a major bank.
In the world of online banking, solutions have evolved from simply checking one’s account balance to transferring funds to paying bills online to applying for loans. All of these actions create instant gratification that today’s banking consumers have come to expect. But while members can check balances, pay bills and fill out mortgage loan applications at their local credit union branch, when they go to their credit union’s website, they often find these same services missing. New credit union members will find this situation particularly odd. After all, the banks they just left all had these tools.
Big Dogs, Big Tricks
Remember that old saying “If you want to play with the big dogs, then get off the porch?” Well, that applies with member services readily available through your website. Yes, members expect to log in through your website to see their account balances. But they want more, especially if they are in the market to buy a home or refinance their current mortgage. They want access to accurate mortgage quotes, as well as the ability to fill out mortgage loan applications.
Borrowers expect to be able to compare rates, create different scenarios based on their criteria (which might change from day to day), fill out and submit loan applications, and get a response back from a loan officer not within days, but within minutes. They want to know exactly when mortgage rates change to fit their scenario. They want to analyze different options. Basically, they want control.
The truth is that it really isn’t that hard to give consumers what they want. Technology has progressed to the point where it’s easy for credit unions to automate rate quotes as well as the entire application process. Borrowers are pulling credit and receiving disclosures electronically, and a growing number of credit unions are easily and more efficiently generating loan files that can be read by other banking systems.
In fact, because larger institutions are often locked into their own internal proprietary systems, the solutions that are available for credit unions can actually be more efficient and effective. What some might not realize, however, is just how affordable this technology has become.
With so many Americans dissatisfied with big banks, credit unions find themselves standing before a monumental opportunity. But to capitalize on this opportunity, they must acknowledge that today’s consumers are all about convenience and instant gratification, and being served online with the same level of attention and skill than they would be treated in person. And if you don’t measure up, they are only a click away from the competition.
Customer loyalty is not what it used to be, as proven by the 700,000 people who made the switch to credit unions late last year. Now, the challenge for credit unions is to make sure they don’t switch back.
