In the past 20 years, the credit union landscape has drastically changed from over 18,000 credit unions in 1985 with about 60 million members and $140 billion in assets, to just under 9,000 credit unions now with about 80 million members and $700 billion in assets. There is a growing number of mergers and expansion of larger credit unions. One critical factor driving this trend is the evolution of credit unions from a single employer based institution to a group or community based charter which includes a broader membership base. Members are demanding that their credit unions be full-service financial institutions, which meet many of their financial needs. Let’s face it; credit unions have to do everything a national bank does and more.

Not too long ago, ING Direct changed the game and entered the bank market without opening a branch and, in the first quarter of 2005, it acquired one million new customers for a total customer base of 12.5 million. Big banks continue to get bigger, benefit from technological advances, and try taking away your customers.

uMonitor Financial Solutions to the Rescue
Thanks to technology innovations, the same technology that made such market penetration possible by large banks is now available to every credit union at an affordable price. Technology can be a great differentiator, and it can also be a great equalizer. Can you imagine a credit union with $45 million in assets using the same member service technologies which cost a large bank spent upward of $10 million? Well, it is happening now.

Bring Your Vision to Reality
If you have a vision, you can now offer the best banking experience to your members in every branch, on every call, and online. You can offer new members as well as returning customers novel services that will meet every financial need and make you their primary financial institution.

Review Your Account Opening Process
Create the best first impression with a streamlined new account setup process, so prospective members can open an account or take a loan anytime, anywhere in real time. Make sure ID verification, ID authentication, and all compliance processes are seamless and invisible. Do the same with risk management and fraud finding. Expand the possibilities with direct funding and loan decisioning. Offer an online switch kit and account-to-account funds transfer services.

Use Technology to Offer Targeted Services to Your Members
Don’t miss out on an opportunity to serve your members better with personalized cross-selling and up-selling. Allow members to have powerful online experiences that are customized to meet their financial needs. Unleash the full potential of one-on-one marketing with operational efficiencies that will position your credit union as a role model for banks to follow.The best thing is, you can do all this and more by taking advantage of solutions offered by uMonitor.

For more information about the uMonitor financial solutions like New Account Application and Online Funding with switch kit or account-to-account funds transfer service or other services and how they can be implemented at your credit union, please contact Richard Whiddon, Vice President, uMonitor, at (901) 757-1212 x 118 or visit www.umonitor.com.