FORT KNOX, Ky. – Combining targeted marketing and employee incentives, Fort Knox Federal Credit Union is proving members will easily forgo mail for electronic statements, with yearly savings for the credit union on processing and postage expected to reach $100,000. That's the view of the CU's president and CEO, William J. Rissel, who reports Fort Knox Federal is getting 500 members a week to sign up for the statements since an enhanced online program on e-statements was debuted in August. The $320 million Kentucky CU launched its upgraded online program, Branch@Home by introducing full size imaging of cleared checks – both front and back. So far the push on e-statements and the imaging are drawing converts at a brisk pace. Out of a checking base of 40,000 accounts, 12,000 have already signed for the e-statements, said Rissel, adding the service demonstrates "a win for the member in convenience and a reduction in costs for the credit union." The Kentucky CU utilizes Users Inc. of Valley Forge, Pa. as its core data processor, which identified Fort Knox as one of its most "aggressive" clients in rolling out web-based products. The CU's program on e-statements, said Users, both increases member satisfaction and permits the CU "to operate more effectively" as evident by the adoption rate of the product. Of Fort Knox members "who have Internet home banking, more than 95% also get e-statements" while "most other credit unions are struggling to get that figure up to 20%," said Users. The net result of the Kentucky program is that members have access to statements on the first day of each month "while Fort Knox saves over $7,000 a month in mailing costs," said Users. Rissel credited the CU's incentive and marketing program with helping build e-statement acceptance. The CU has promoted its e-services in newspapers and direct mail using a "movie premiere" theme and giving front-line employees $2.50 for every account moved into the program. In its promotion, the 61,000 member Fort Knox said its new services has opened "a virtual new frontier of online account management." With Branch@Home members can view the cleared check images within 24 hours of posting. The single monthly statement showing all accounts "is now available online on the first or second day of the following month. CU members "no longer have to wait a week or more to get their monthly statements in the mail," said Fort Knox. Members can also apply for loans online "and there's even a loan calculator to help members determine likely payments." Meanwhile, the $2.3 billion America First Credit Union in Riverdale, Utah said it also has managed to achieve savings on e-statements at the rate of $12,600 a month or $151,000 a year by skipping mailings. The Utah CU launched a check imaging service in 1999 and averages 116,000 checks viewed a month. America First launched its website e-statement in November 2000 and currently has 9,700 members receiving their statement electronically. "Monthly we send out approximately 260,000 member statements," said an America First spokesman adding, "We save $1.30 per statement when members discontinue their paper statement." -

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