Innovation was a dominant theme at the 2023 PSCU Member Forum in Tampa, Fla. last week, culminating with a panel discussion featuring Curinos’ Brandon Larson and experts from the credit union industry.
During “Your Digital CX and Your NPS,” discussion moderator Bryan Moffitt highlighted some sobering statistics from a PSCU survey that showed credit unions scaling back on digital innovation at the precise moment many of their members are seeking it. Fully 27% of members surveyed said they would leave their current institution for a more innovative option.
“It’s frightening because we know banks that have multi-billion-dollar technology budgets and there’s nothing we can do about that,” said Chris Harlan, president and CEO of the University of Illinois Community Union. “You have to invest, you have to innovate and you have to show it to your members. That’s been the process for us – let’s find something that’s out there that we think our members will respond to. That journey has no end point,” concluded Harlan, “it will continue on forever.”
Larson, Curinos’ Head of Omnichannel Sales and Experience, agreed:
“Simplicity is a key component. Getting to something that members can easily adopt after they try it once makes them more likely to stick with it. We sometimes see people rushing things out the door. If a member uses a new feature the first time and it doesn’t work well, they won’t try it again. And it’ll be that much harder to get them to try your next version a year from now.”
Curinos data show that about 30% of consumers open their accounts digitally even though more than 70% of survey respondents indicated their preference to do so over visiting a branch.
“It’s evident that people are being constrained by the digital channel, by their perception of it, or both” Larson continued. “It may be that they don’t know a capability has been built or they assume things will go wrong.” But, says Larson, digital access is here to stay. “Ultimately, digital is not going to be a project that we’re going to build out and then stop. It’s going to have to be a continual effort in terms of staying on top of what members are looking for and evolving toward that.”
PSCU, a Curinos partner since February 2022, supports the success of more than 2,400 financial institutions representing nearly 7.7 billion transactions per year. Together, the two firms collaborate using the Curinos’ Digital Banking Analyzer solution within PSCU’s Advisors Plus digital consulting service.
Curinos’ place as the industry leader in digital innovation was evident both in the solutions shown and in conversations throughout the week.
“As we talked to credit unions this week, assessing the effectiveness of digital offerings was a common theme,” said Brian Day, PSCU solutions sales consultant. “That’s one of the reasons we partnered with Curinos – they provide that data and give you a market view of how your credit union stacks up.”
PSCU’s annual Member Forum brings together more than 1,200 attendees from credit unions and industry partners, as well as members of the media. A dynamic Solution Showcase, which included Curinos’ Digital Banking Analyzer and Amplero Personalization Optimizer, was open throughout the event, where guests were treated to provoking keynotes and breakout sessions and countless networking opportunities.
To learn more about how Curinos helps credit unions, click here.
About PSCU
PSCU, the nation’s premier payments CUSO and an integrated financial technology solutions provider, supports the success of more than 2,400 financial institutions and processes nearly 7.7 billion transactions annually. Committed to service excellence and focused on continuous innovation, PSCU’s payment processing, fraud and risk management, data and analytics, digital banking, strategic consulting and real-time payments platforms, along with 24/7/365 member support via its contact centers, help deliver personalized, connected experiences. The origin of PSCU’s model is collaboration and scale, and the company has leveraged its influence on behalf of credit unions and their members for more than 45 years. Today, PSCU provides an end-to-end, competitive advantage that enables credit unions to securely grow and meet evolving consumer demands. For more information, visit pscu.com.
About Advisors Plus
Founded in 2004, PSCU’s Advisors Plus offers consulting services for credit unions to help fuel growth and achieve financial and business goals. From project analysis to implementation and management, Advisors Plus offers an end-to-end portfolio of consulting services including business strategy, business and affinity cards, credit and debit cards, contact center optimization, risk and collections analysis, branch sales training, marketing services, and B2C campaign execution. Whether your credit union is looking to expand its offerings, build a legacy of community involvement, create the strongest possible capital footing—or all of the above—Advisors Plus consultants bring the strategic vision, deep industry expertise, and proprietary data analytics needed to help credit unions better serve their members and their communities. For more information, visit advisorsplus.com.
