In the eyes of the customer,credit unions have always been perceived differently thanlarge-scale banks. Despite offering all the services that customershave come to expect from their financial institutions, creditunions have been considered stymied by their traditional focus onsmall, regional communities.

I too have fallen victim to the perception that credit unionsare limited by their regional focus. Though I conduct most of mytransactions through my local credit union, I still feel the needto maintain accounts at larger banks for any financial needs whiletravelling (something I do a lot of in my job).

But why? In this day and age, anything I would need a physicallocation for can also be handled directly through my mobile device,essentially erasing the barriers previously established bygeography. Mobile innovation has seeped into every facet of ourlives, and banking shouldn't be any different.

Although financial institutions seem stuck on the idea ofmaintaining physical locations, they too, have seen progressthrough mobile. The Pew Research Center noted that the number of bank-by-cellphoneAmericans has nearly doubled in the past two years – and thisgrowth will only increase in time.

Big banks have been slow to adopt new mobile practices, whichleaves the door wide open for the underdog credit unions to furthertheir feature offering, and change current consumer perceptions. Byimplementing the following three features in their mobile offering,credit unions will be able to erase geographic limitations andelevate their small, regional presences to a national (or evenglobal) level on par with industry powerhouses.

Remote account opening. Opening a new accountis often one of the only banking services where customers are stillencouraged to visit an institution's physical location. Sure, whenopening a new account, we're often dealing with sensitiveinformation, but the level of security now available for onlinedocuments is incredible. If I can manage my stock portfolio or signa legal document through my mobile device, I should be able to setup a new bank account.

I've often wondered why remote account opening is not a morewidely offered banking service when it's clear that it cancompletely revolutionize the way consumers interact with theirfinancial institutions. Through this, there is nothing stoppingsomeone from California setting up an account with a New Yorkcredit union because they found that institution's personality andservice offerings more compelling than the services offered intheir home state.

Remote account opening truly allows banking to become a globalinstitution, and gives smaller banks and credit unions a way tocompete with established banking institutions, despite having alimited physical presence.

Read more: Instant loan approval and biometrics…

Instant loans. Often times,we can anticipate when we will need to take out a loan, as whenbuying a car or a house. But other times, the need for quick cashis more unexpected. Unfortunately for us, securing a loan is atime-consuming process that can require multiple visits to thefinancial institution or extensive background checks.

What if that wasn't the case? What if credit unions could offertheir members the ability to instantly take out a loan at the pointof purchase, removing major customer pain points in the process? Asa member, my credit union should already have my pertinentfinancial information on file and be able to pre-approve me for aloan before I ever have a need for it.

Biometrics as authenticator. With mobile makingit possible to do your banking from anywhere, finding secure andreliable authentication methods will become increasingly important.One way to do this is through biometrics. There is nothing asunique an identifier as you, making your individual characteristicsa secure form of account authentication.

Already, a variety of banks, including U.S. Bank, are testing the success of voice biometrics as a wayto securely access card accounts. Voice is only the beginning. Thefingerprint scanner on the iPhone 5s may allow for mobile accountlogin via fingerprint scan, and wearable devices make possible theidea of authentication through biometrics. One example, theNymi, is a wearable band thatuses a wearer's heartbeat as their unique identifier.

As with any new method of security, there will be challenges toovercome with biometrics, but finding a way to eliminate the hassleof logins and passwords is a surefire way to win over yourcustomers, and gain new ones.

When it comes to innovating with mobile, the opportunity isthere, but it's up to individual financial institutions to embracethe change. Credit unions have a major opportunity, as they havethe most to gain in the eyes of the public and place the strongestemphasis on maintaining a service that provides the most value tomembers and their needs.

TarunNimmagadda is co-CEO of Mutual Mobile in Austin, Texas,and Hyderabad, India.