FSCC Kiosks Promise More than Facilitating Shared Branching, CEOs Say; Some Members Still Wondering What they Are

SAN DIMAS, Calif. – Member credit unions of shared branching network Financial Service Centers Cooperative have been beta testing the network’s new shared branching kiosks since mid- to late-2005. But the credit unions doing the testing say they have much bigger plans for them than merely increasing shared branching volume.

“Frankly, if all we had planned for the machine was to take shared branching transactions, there is no way it would be cost efficient,” said Charles Bruen, CEO of the $594 million First Entertainment CU, which has had one of the new machines in its headquarters since late 2005. “But when we consider it as a way that we can expand our branch presence and offer our own members, as well as any members of other credit unions, services less expensively than at a branch-then it starts to be a savings proposition.”