BOSTON — Online account opening is a maturing technology, but there's plenty of room for growth, experts say.

The credit union space is particularly prime for that, according to research from Boston-based Aite Group, which found that 80% of the top 20 banks and 60% of the top 20 credit unions offer the service. "What these numbers do not show is that there are literally hundreds of smaller institutions without online account opening solutions today," says Aite Group analyst Eva Weber. "Competitive pressures and consumer demand will eventually convince these institutions to provide the functionality." She says several vendors have told Aite Group that they are experiencing "a burst of activity" from mid-sized and smaller credit unions.

Charlie Kroll is having that experience. The CEO of Andera, a Providence, R.I.-based provider of account opening tools for banks and credit unions, has seen his company add more than 20 customers in recent weeks, bringing to more than 100 the number of banks and credit unions Andera serves. (More than 85 are credit unions, Kroll notes.)