Voice extensions. Like land lines, all mobile phones are first designed to transmit voice, with the added capability of built-in voice mail. Enhanced natural language processing can assist all members in navigating menus of choices, but why stop there? Mobile members can sign up for voice alerts to be regularly sent to their cell phones, whether a daily balance or transaction data triggered by an event such as a check clearing or deposit posting. With their credit union's caller ID or special ring tone, they can choose to let these alerts go straight to their voice mail. No sophisticated phone or data plan needed, and no need to call the contact center, either.

Text or simple message service. Today more than 161 million U.S. consumers actively use text messaging, and this number is growing exponentially. Again, credit unions can preempt calls to the contact center by offering member-defined text alerts triggered by transaction events or daily balance updates. The contact center can reduce telecommunications costs and improve the member experience by offering, in the VRU or MSR script, a text response to requests for information. Beyond automated alerts, a short code registered with the wireless carriers enables credit unions to conduct a text conversation with members, answering the most frequent requests for balances, enabling funds transfers, and other self-service functions.

Mobile browser. When credit unions look at their Web site use statistics, they are frequently surprised to see how many hits are coming from mobile phones trying to access online financial services. By 2010, more than one-third of all mobile users will be browsing the Web by phone. By offering a streamlined version of the credit union's Web site tailored to the phone's small screen, credit unions can better serve these high-value members and cement their online financial relationship within the credit union movement.

Proprietary software application. The mobile phone interface can be simplified and customized through a client-side application preloaded by the wireless carrier or downloaded from the credit union or other third party. But achieving this custom connection comes with many challenges. Those include the need to translate the application across multiple wireless carriers, all expecting to control the phone interface, and thousands of competing mobile devices, old and new.

The key first step to leveraging your contact center for mobile financial services is to start identifying mobile numbers and carriers for your members using automated number identification technology to populate the central information file in your core application system. Work closely with your credit union's core application provider.

This enhanced mobile connection is essential to position your credit union for success in implementing the next wave: mobile payments.

If 80% of credit union payment revenue comes from debit and credit card transactions today, then mobile payments, or the phone as payment device, promise to be truly disruptive technology. Payments could move from card to phone and from the credit union movement to a bank or nonbank start-up with astonishing speed. Incredulous? Look at the adoption of PayPal as a payments clearinghouse on the Internet.

More than just reducing the cost of doing business, credit unions that embrace the mobile relationship with their members will be positioned to defend their payments transaction business and actually create new lines of business by delivering new member responsiveness: services at anytime, anywhere, for anything, fulfilling the promise of mass customization.

Richard K. Crone is the CEO and founder of Crone Consulting LLC,
a San Carlos, Calif., advisory firm. He can be reached at
650-740-5239 or at [email protected]