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."
Bruen, who described his CU as consistently on the "bleeding edge" of new technology, often an early adapter which then has to suffer through the bugs new technology brings, estimated that the new machine costs about 25% more than the other mainstream ATMs his CU has in branches already. The premium might seem high, but Bruen pointed out that this machine allows a member to do so much more than a standard ATM-virtually everything a CU member can do at a branch can be done at one of the shared branch kiosks.
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First Entertainment has found that members have accepted the machine slowly, in part because its location in the headquarters makes it difficult to draw members' attention to the machine. But Bruen said members have been warming to it and that the CU feels confident that it will be able to roll it out to members in a new location whenever it establishes one.
"We are looking at different places where we think the machine can do the most good," Bruen said, "but we aren't on a timetable."
The $456 million Hanscom FCU, headquartered on Hanscom AFB, has the same idea and the machines, which are manufactured by Tellagent and have software provided by Ensenta, have already allowed the CU to upgrade two of its branches without using tellers.
Instead of tellers, the branches have member service representatives and a shared branch kiosk, which the credit union brands as "Fast + Easy" terminals, to serve member needs. The terminals allow members to get an official check, deposit checks without an envelope, deposit cash, make loan payments, and get a printed account history.
"The MSRs are in place to help with other issues such as applying for loans," explained Scott Post, a vice president with the credit union. "We like to say that these branches are advice based branches, as opposed to transaction based branches."
Post explained that the arrival of the machines, which only work because of the CU's relationship with FSCC, is the natural outgrowth of a philosophy through which the CU is leveraging its FSCC relationship as a delivery platform. Although the CU has only been a member of FSCC for three years, it already uses FSCC's call center option to handle after hours and overflow member service calls, he said.
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