I'm sitting in a restaurant andin the booth across from me are two young people on a date, bothwith their faces buried in their phones working away. What happenedto communication? What happened to personal interaction? Whathappened to basic people skills?

Technology happened, and it is turning the art of communicationinto raw information exchange. Technology is also changinginteractions between people and how our credit unions areinteracting with our members, and it appears to be changing almostfaster than we can keep up.

Innovations in the finance industry seem to rival the pace ofthe vast technological advances in the medical industry. Weekly thebar of innovation is raised, and what was cutting edge a year agois now the new norm. From websites to online services to mobilebanking to electronic signature capture to remote deposit ofchecks, the technological advances keep coming.

Not only are tech advances changing the ways members interactwith the credit union, but they are also changing the expectationsmembers have for our traditional services.

The Kabbage Patch

Kabbage.com is a pioneerin online business lending services and is a leading provider ofworking capital for small businesses. Whether your credit unionoffers small business loans for members, participates in CUSO's oronly makes traditional home and vehicle loans, Kabbage will have animpact on your member expectations.

Why? Because Kabbage promises to approve or deny funding withinseven minutes for loans of $500 to $50,000. Their slogan is “FastFlexible Funding at Your Fingertips.” This can be a game changer inthe marketplace as it resets the attitude for wait time on loans. Non-traditional providers offering faster and easier (online)loans will no doubt provide pressure on traditional lenders toexpedite their current loan processes.

OnDeck.com is also a playerin this market with loans up to $250,000. Their cutting edgeservices include decisions in minutes – no paperwork, no waitingand no obligations, with transparent terms and conditions. They saythe borrower can get funded within one business day by wiretransfer.

I've already heard board members in my audience ask, “If theycan do this in a day why can't my credit union process car and homeloans faster than we do?” This is the expectation shift created bythis new technology. How are you expediting your loan processing in2014?

Self-Serve Branches

There remains a gap between those members who are embracing thetechnology of mobile banking and online services and those memberswho still prefer to walk into a brick and mortar building. Thedemise of branches has obviously been overstated and branches arehere to stay for the foreseeable future. However, that doesn't meanthey aren't going to change with technology.

A decade ago airlines began to offer customers online servicesfor printing boarding passes, yet many travelers still preferred tospeak with an agent at the airport. Do airlines still offer agentsfor assistance? Yes. Has the form of that transaction changed? Yes.Agents are now there to assist travelers with operating theself-service machines for check-in instead of doing it all forthem.

In a similar step of efficiency of time and cost savings onpersonnel, credit unions should be rapidly moving toward a moreself-service branch, where tellers are more of an assistant withmembers conducting their own transactions with member-friendlytouch screen technology.

The Shark in the Tank

Imagine pairing a well-known financial name with the largestretailer in the world to offer credit and debit services targetingthe unbanked at over 22,000 ATM and retail locations around thecountry. This reality puts a big player in the middle of everycredit union's field of membership. American Express and Wal-Marthave done just that with their Bluebird service. Bluebird.com tells the story of achecking and debit alternative that is “Loaded with features. Notfees.” This is a significant game-changer for credit unionsattempting to work with the under-served.

Wal-Mart kiosks allow for easy sign up supported by AmericanExpress 24/7 customer service. In their marketing they speak thelanguage of their target audience: no overdraft fees, no annualfees, and no inactivity fees. Paychecks or government checks can bedirectly deposited, and cash can be added to any account atvirtually any Wal-Mart store. Bill pay is also available.

As technology gets more user-friendly, those financialinstitutions with the fastest, easiest to use member interface withminimal fees will take a leading role in the technological battleall credit unions are facing. What technological advances are youmaking in 2014?

Russell J. White is president of Banking Agility inCharlotte, N.C.