A new white paper from The Members Group suggests that mobilebanking is enabling credit union members to take over the notion ofcustomer service.

“Self Service as Customer Service” argues that credit unionmembers want mobile banking because it allows them to quickly andefficiently do things that they would previously need customerservice representatives to do.

“Making time for chit-chat is not a priority for Generation Y,nor even Gen X and their parents, the Boomers,” the paper said. “Weare a busy, mobile society, and we expect our financialinstitutions (FIs) to stay in stride. When they can't, we wantaccess to our information on demand, regardless of our location orthe time of day.”

The paper reported that the top five actions that mobile bankers take are checking balances, transferring moneybetween accounts, paying bills, depositing checks and finding anATM.

“Imagine a customer whose direct deposit hasn't yet arrived inhis checking account,” the paper noted. “Yet, he needs to buygroceries at a debit-only retailer today. With plenty of money inhis savings, he is able to transfer $200 into his checking accountright from the grocer's parking lot.”

TMG is a subsidiary of the Iowa Credit Union League and based inDes Moines. The white paper waswritten by Brian Day, a product development architect at the CUSO.