Online and mobile banking is boosting convenience ratings of creditunions, helping the cooperatives catch up to big banks, marketresearch firm Chadwick Martin Bailey said Wednesday.

A February 2012 survey of 1,400 consumers revealed that creditunion members use online banking as much as bank customers, and inaddition, give credit unions higher service ratings, the companysaid in a new report.

“These findings suggest a new banking value proposition isemerging,” said Jim Garrity, managing director of the Boston-basedfirm's Financial Services practice. “The growth of online andmobile banking services means convenience and accessibility don'tbelong solely to large bank customers.”

Ten years ago, the firm said in the report, consumers who valuedconvenience chose a bank, while those who valued service joinedcredit unions. However, credit unions are closing the conveniencegap and enhancing their value proposition, as larger banks struggleto positively differentiate themselves without the convenienceadvantage, the report said.

Credit union members reported that branches have less to do with convenience than bank customersdid. Just 58% reported that a nearby branch was importance,compared to 50% who reported that online services were key toconvenience. Comparatively, 65% of large bank customers valuedbranches compared to 46% who favored online services. Nearly 70% ofcommunity bank customers valued branches while just 35% feltonline services were important components of service.

Credit unions blew the field away with remote servicesatisfaction, with 85% of members giving a thumbs up to theircredit union's online and mobile services.

Sixty-six percent of large national bank customers weresatisfied with their online and mobile services, but just 55% ofcommunity bank customers and 53% of regional bank customersreported satisfaction.

As a group, 42% of participants reported using large nationalbanks as their primary financial institution; however, creditunions tied for second with regional banks, with 21% of respondentseach. Community banks claimed just 13% of the PFI pie.

Additionally, credit unions came out on top in length ofrelationship, with the average credit union tenure lasting nearly17 years, compared to an average national bank relationship of 13.5years. Credit unions also came out on top when participants wereasked to rate the value of their PFI relationship: 85% reportedreceiving value from their credit union relationship, compared tojust 56% at large national banks and 52% at regional banks.

Community banks fared better in the value proposition, scoring a72% value rating from their customers.

The report is available for free with registration on ChadwickMartin Bailey's website.