For credit unions, great member service once depended on theavailability of live, empowered and intelligent people who couldanswer critical questions and nurture personal relationships. But,making time for chit-chat is not a priority for Generation Y, noreven Gen X or the Boomers.

Today's technology-savvy consumers want a littleless conversation and a lot more action. For them, speedand self-service through tools like mobile banking are key toachieving satisfaction.

Even when live representatives are available, many consumersprefer to hunt down the information themselves, minus the “bother”of talking to someone. In fact, a 2011 poll found that 40% ofconsumers prefer customer service interactions via e-mail, chat andtext.

Top Five Mobile Activities

Most consumers today are using mobile banking to perform one offive activities: check balances, transfer funds, pay bills, depositchecks or find an ATM.

Being able to access account information from anywhere, at anytime, is of very big value to members. For example, real-timebalance details and money transfers can make purchasing choiceseasier. And, paying bills while away from home is a hugeconvenience for travelers.

Many a credit union has asked: But why do we need mobilebanking? Can't our members simply tab into our online bankingsystem from smartphone browsers?

Most online banking sites are not optimized for viewing on asmartphone or a tablet, which can create major frustration formobile members who expect access from anywhere, anytime. Mobilebanking products program online banking sites to recognize whenthey are being viewed by a smartphone and to adjustaccordingly.

Mobile Banking Triple Play

The ability to provide mobile banking through text, Internet ormobile application is known as the mobile banking “triple play.” Nomatter how members prefer to use mobile devices, there is a way tokeep them satisfied with access to their accounts.

For credit unions with fewer smartphone adopters, text mobilebanking is the best option. Although it provides fewer features, itdoes allow members with feature phones to reap the benefits ofmobile banking.

For the most savvy members, smartphone applications and browserswill be the preferred method of access to mobile banking. Betweenthe two, mobile apps seem to be trending past mobile browsers.As of June 2011, savvy customers were averaging 81 minutes eachday on a mobile app and 74 minutes on a mobile browser.

What Mobile Does for the Credit Union

A core strength of mobile banking is the ability to retain andattract customers, and new research from TowerGroup also shows thatmobile banking is a major cost-saving activity. For example, anin-branch interaction costs about $4 per engagement, whereas amobile banking interaction costs $0.08 per engagement.

On the revenue side of the coin, studies show that mobilebanking users are making more transactions on average than theirnon-mobile counterparts.

Members' preference for on-demand information doesn't have tomean the end of personal relationships.

Moving forward, credit unions will need to focus on givingconsumers the best of both worlds — a live, empowered andintelligent individual to provide financial guidance and answers tocomplex questions, and a simple, intuitive and mobile product toget them the quick information that keeps them moving.

Brian Day isproduct development architect for The Members Group.