Digital disruption is taking over and swiftly transforming the financial services industry. Due to their strong commitment to enhanced member experience and member satisfaction, credit unions especially need to capitalize on digitally-assisted channels that have become the primary modes of member engagement in a digital-first environment. If your Credit Union does not value digitization, then it does not value its members. To thrive, Credit Unions need to provide superior experiences to all stakeholders and deliver on increasing expectations in a faster, more agile way.

Today’s tech-savvy financial clients are now selecting their services based on the level of personal service and privacy provided. They have no patience for the mounds of paperwork and lengthy processes that were the hallmark of traditional lending. They require easy-to-use digital technologies that give them greater control over their data.

In-person meetings, lengthy application forms, detailed reference checks, physical signatures, etc. are all being junked in favor of a seamlessly integrated, fully on-line process that is not only faster but more secure and compliant than anything the industry has witnessed till date.

The Pandemic is re-shaping Credit Union functioning

For so long, “personal” has been practically synonymous with “face-to-face.” Yet as the world adjusts to a new, more remote reality due to the coronavirus, customers are understandably reluctant to visit physical branches. Customers expect a higher caliber of digital service considering the coronavirus, and Credit Unions stand to gain a great deal from accommodating these digital expectations. By adopting agile and scalable customer-facing technologies that incorporate remote agent involvement, credit unions can ensure that a warm human experience and digital journeys co-exist harmoniously.

Digitization helps Credit Unions compete with larger banks.

Once digitization is properly implemented, benefits are huge. Not only will it give a distinct competitive advantage to the firm in a cluttered marketplace where quality borrowers are spoilt for choice, but also have a disproportionately positive impact on its bottom line.

“Credit Union clients require easy-to use digital technologies that provide greater control over their data which are the driving force for digital transformative initiatives.

Digitization can offer immense benefit to Credit Unions in multiple areas:

• Acquire customers anywhere: With fast and intuitive mobile customer onboarding and loan origination.
• Work even off-line: Remote, underserved markets with low or no connectivity are one tap away.
• Instant Validation, Intelligent Data: Smarter data entry with auto-populated fields and real-time verification
• Reduce Paper, Decrease Cost: Accurately capture documents and ID cards, use optional OCR.
• Easily Monitor and Plan Tasks: Track completed and pending tasks, plan day-to-day work to boost team efficiency.
• Benefit from a 360-customer view: Focus on building relationship across products.
• Better credit decisions: Real-time credit bureau lookups and 3rd-party scoring integration.
• Reduced fraud: Through secure biometric, eSignature or OTP authentication.

The future is here and now

“Digital-first” is not a buzzword in financial services anymore — it is reality. Digital accelerated to the forefront amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has become clear as governments lift stay-at-home orders that it is now many consumers’ preferred way of getting things done. Mobile and digital banking have become crucial in servicing credit unions members or prospective members. It is critical for credit unions to get it right on these initial experiences, as these are opportunities for challenger banks to swoop in and capture that credit union member’s relationship by having the right digital strategy. So, it is no longer a question of whether to digitize or not, but how fast a firm can digitize and keep pace with the changing demands of its customers.

How Insight Consultants can help

Insight Consultants specializes in digitizing the Credit Union ecosystem. We serve Credit Union entities in the technical advisory, software development, and fintech services space.  We will help you transition from an offline way of working to a digitally streamlined one that includes paperless operations, workflow-based automated decision-making, and credit scoring powered with insightful analytics.

Contact Us to learn how we can help you.