People are more glued to their mobile devices than ever before.In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, nearly two-thirds ofAmericans own a smartphone, and 19% of Americans rely to somedegree on a smartphone to access online services and information,and simply to stay connected to the world, either because they lackbroadband at home or have few Internet access options aside fromtheir mobile device.

Plus, a new report from the U.S. Federal Reserve says the use ofmobile phones to access accounts, credit cards and other financialtransactions is now commonplace among U.S. consumers.

One concern for U.S. financial institutions is that Millennialsincreasingly call the shots when it comes to finances. More thanhalf of them (53%), according to the Millennial Disruption Index,don't think their financial institution is any different from otherfinancial institutions, and one-third believes they won't need abank at all in five years.

So what should credit unions consider to stay relevant when itcomes to mobile banking?

1. Make it easy to move money via payments andtransfers. According to Javelin Strategy & Research,nearly 63 million Americans made $95 billion in bill payments viamobile devices in 2014. The capability to send or transfer money(through P2P-like services) also plays an increasingly importantrole among Millennials. But, 73% of them, according to theMillennial Disruption Index, would be more excited about a newfinancial services offering from Google, Amazon, Apple, Square orPayPal than their own financial institution. Ouch!

2. Give members the flexibility to use any channel atany time. An omnipresent, omnichannel hunger amongconsumers appears to be pretty robust. The Economistsuggested omnichannel is a strategy that allows consumers to “shopwith smartphones, tablets, laptops and even in stores as if waitedupon by a single salesman with an unfailing memory and uncannyintuition about their preferences.”

3. Leverage smartphone capabilities. According toa Federal Reserve report, “Consumers and Mobile Financial Services2015,” consumers who use mobile banking are also becoming morecomfortable with remote deposit capture – electronically depositinga check to a banking account using a mobile phone camera. Thesurvey said more than half of mobile banking users had used theirmobile phones to deposit checks in 2014, compared to 38 percent in2013. Remote Payment Capture (RPC), the ability to remotelycapture, clear and post a payment transaction, is another emergingpart of the overall remote capture market.

4. Go beyond the password with authentication. Injust the last year, biometrics has virtually exploded as a securemethod for authentication in digital banking. Touch ID, Apple'sbiometric verification tool, was introduced with the iPhone 5S as asecurity device. Users can press their fingerprint on the homebutton on their iPhone to unlock it, verify their identity, or makepurchases via Apple Pay. According to a Deloitte report, 72% ofconsumers would appreciate the use of biometric identification(such as fingerprints or iris recognition) as a means of deviceauthentication during financial services transactions.

5. Be mobile friendly. Google announced last week that its mobile searches will labelsites as mobile-friendly, plus, mobile-friendliness will be used asa determining factor in site ranking results. Google said it ismaking these changes mainly to offer a better mobile experience forsearchers, and to give people what they really want. As mobileInternet access grows, and the mobile banking competitionintensifies, the formula used to determine a page's ranking must beadjusted to accommodate these usage patterns.