ORLANDO, Fla. — Can mobile banking help a credit union betterserve more unbanked and underbanked consumers?

That was the tantalizing idea behind a NACHA panel that broughtsenior executives from the $187 million Hope Federal Credit Union in Jackson, Miss., to talk abouttheir mission of serving the economically disadvantaged in theMid-South and how mobile banking helps them do that better.

Hope serves a vast territory, said Richard Campbell, Hope's CFO.Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee are all in Hope'sgeography. The credit union has 16 branches, with two more slatedto open, but a key to bringing financial services to the people isputting it on the phone.

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“We can't compete in real estate but mobile banking lets usbring services to our members,” Campbell said at the session Mondayat the Payments 2014 NACHA conference at the Orlando World Center Marriott.

Hope's region also has a sizable unbanked population, saidCampbell, who indicated that 15% of the Mississippi populationqualifies, a number twice the national average.

The region accordingly has a sizable number of alternativefinancial services providers, meaning payday lenders and pawnshops, said panel moderator Andrew Tilbury, chief marketing officer at Bluepoint Solutions, animaging and document management company based in Henderson,Nev.

Many of their locations are looking more like traditionalbranches, said Tilbury, who added, “Except for the high fees.”

Many Hope members, stressed Campbell, do not own a home computerand many do not have an in-home Internet connection. But,increasingly, they all have smartphones, he said.

He threw out some numbers. In 2012, Hope had about 800 membersusing a mobile app. In 2013, with the introduction of a new, morerobust app developed for Hope by Austin, Texas-based Malauzai, that number rocketed up to 3,000, said Campbell.

“We are very excited with the growth we are seeing in mobile,”said Campbell. He added that Hope now is rolling out features – hepointed to a new personal financial management tool – as mobileonly.

Members also are using social media – especially Twitter butalso Facebook – to tell their friends and family about Hope, saidthe credit union's marketing vice president, Scot Slay. He saidthat kind of cyber word of mouth is crucial to the institution'sgrowth.

Particularly useful for Hope in member recruitment, saidCampbell, has been mobile remote deposit capture because it shows people that theycan get branch-type services even if they are far removed from abranch.

The one nudge Hope has been resisting when it comes to mobile:Introducing a tablet app. Campbell acknowledged that some tasksthat are not suited to a phone, such as a loan application, wouldwork on a tablet. But, he poignantly noted, “Our members don't owntablets. That's why we're not going there.”