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Mar 14
2
Beautiful woman sitting on the sofa looking at smartphone

5 Unexpected Video Banking Customers

By | Benefits, Blog, branch, mobile, Video Banking, Video Banking Features, web | No Comments

Millennials, millennials, millennials.

All financial institutions work hard to attract these young adults born between 1982 and 2000. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, they number more than 83 million and are beginning to represent a significant portion of the economy.

If you want to attract millennials, you must offer top notch digital service – there’s no doubt about that. But what about the rest of your customer base, which prefers face-to-face branch service?

Or do they?

Many POPi/o Video Banking clients have been surprised to discover the digital channel has appealed to far more customers than just millennials. Some of these markets have been downright shocking. Here are five unexpected video banking customers you could potentially serve better with video banking.

  1. Spanish speakers. A sizable segment of the U.S. population – 21%, or roughly 61 million people – speak a language other than English with Spanish topping that list at about 38 million. And those Spanish speakers aren’t only located near the southern border. Pioneer Credit Union, an Idaho institution that has $430 million in assets, refers its Spanish-speaking members to the video call center for immediate assistance when no multilingual branch representative is on duty. This is a huge advantage for staffing and scheduling Pioneer’s 14 branches. And, Spanish speaking members are more confident their questions can be answered anytime during the credit union’s service hours.
  2. Fraud victims. Customers who suspect fraudulent activity involving their account usually don’t have time to drive to a branch to resolve the issue. They need immediate assistance, and mobile video banking is just a click away. Video calls also add an additional element of security, because employees can verify that they are speaking to the account holder through visual identification.
  3. The elderly. Baby boomers and the Silent Generation aren’t often considered when financial institutions estimate ROI for digital technology, but Pioneer Credit Union video call reps have reported that elderly members with limited mobility often prefer to conduct their banking over a video connection from home. Why? Because they feel as though they are burdening their families by requesting rides to a branch to conduct their banking. For some members, video banking has meant the difference between maintaining financial independence and surrendering control to family members. Video banking can also prevent elder financial abuse, which often occurs when seniors trust care workers or people who befriend them with the intention of committing financial fraud. Best of all, POPin Video Banking is as easy to use as FaceTime or Skype, which many retirees already use to communicate with children and grandchildren.
  4. Wire transfer customers. One of the first CFPB regulations required far more work on the part of financial institutions to facilitate wire transfers. One particularly onerous regulation requires verification of the wire transfer from the customer before it can be sent. South Bay Credit Union President/CEO Jennifer Oliver said her employees use video banking to verify wire transfers rather than making the customer visit the branch or returning a phone call.
  5. Loan co-borrowers. Obtaining multiple signatures from parties when a loan has more than one borrower can slow the approval and funding process. Mobile video banking app can obtain signatures from multiple individuals during a live video chat by connecting another call into the conversation, or offline at a time that is more convenient for the second individual. POPin Video Banking’s ability to collect signatures and complete documents within the app can be used in myriad other ways to improve lending convenience and the percentage of loan and new account applications that are successfully completed.

Many other unexpected markets love video banking, and there are probably plenty more of which we aren’t even yet aware. You can hear more about how POPi/o Video Banking is the new face of service by watching our new POPi/o TV channel, in which we interview executives at financial institutions so they can tell their stories. Click here to view them.

Visit our homepage to learn more about POPi/o!

Need to get in touch with POPi/o? Click here > 

What is video banking? Learn more here >

Feb 16
2
African American female agent working at desk

Video Banking: 6 Surprising Benefits

By | Benefits, Blog, branch, mobile, Video Banking, Video Banking Features, web | No Comments

According to a new mobile banking study from Citi, 81% of U.S. consumers use their phone to manage their money at least nine days per month. Nine out of 10 said they preferred using apps over visiting a branch, and one-third of Americans use their mobile banking app more than any other on their smartphone.

“If you don’t have a strong digital and mobile strategy, I don’t know if you’re going to be around,” said Lisa Huertas, Chief eXperience Officer at the $166 million Texas Tech Credit Union in Lubbock, Texas. “I don’t say that to be a doomsday person. Right now, today, you’ve got to be building those bridges between the physical and digital experience.”

Video banking can be that bridge, offering face-to-face service in the palm of consumers’ hands. It’s a holistic solution that allows financial institutions to serve larger geographical territories at lower costs while improving the customer experience.

POPi/o Video Banking also provides robust document support, allowing customers to use the app to submit everything they need to open a new account or apply for a loan. From photo IDs and tax documents to signatures, video banking can provide any service offered in a branch, except dispense cash.

Thanks to feedback from our early adopter clients, we’ve discovered some unexpected benefits of video banking. Here are six exciting uses for video banking you may not have considered.

Lower Loan Loss: Southwest Financial Credit Union, a $63 million institution in Dallas, Texas, reported that mobile video banking’s document support has reduced loan loss. Before the credit union implemented the platform, loan applicants often forgot to email or fax required documents.

“I want to unplug the fax machine,” said Luke Campbell, Vice President of Sales and Service. “I don’t want to use it anymore.”

He went on to say, “Having (the ability to get a) guaranteed signature has been the benefit. Our employees are seeing their loan numbers go up because they’re not losing loans anymore.”

Fraud Verification: Customers who suspect fraud on their account are already under stress, and don’t welcome the added inconvenience of being asked to visit a branch to resolve the issue. Mobile video banking offers immediate assistance. And, the fact that the call happens over video adds an additional element of security. Employees can verify they are speaking to the account holder through visual identification.

Wire Transfer Verification: Whether wire transfers are domestic or foreign remittances, regulations and fraud mitigation responsibilities require verification.  Jennifer Oliver, President/ CEO at the $102 million South Bay Credit Union in Redondo Beach, Calif., said her employees use video banking to verify wire transfers rather than using a phone or making the customer visit the branch.

“That was an unexpected benefit of deploying this type of platform,” she said, noting that it resolves a growing business problem experienced by nearly all financial institutions.

Multilingual Access: Branch employees at the $450 million Pioneer Credit Union in Mountain Home, Idaho, are referring Spanish-speaking members to the centrally-located video call center for immediate assistance when no multilingual branch representative is on duty. A sizable segment of the U.S. population — 21%, or roughly 61 million people — speak a language other than English with Spanish. This is a huge staffing and scheduling advantage, particularly for institutions that serve ethnic populations in their market.

Maintaining Customers Who Relocate: Losing customers and accounts due to job transfers or career changes used to feel unavoidable. In the past, customers simply felt they couldn’t take their financial institution with them when they moved far away. Southwest Financial only has one branch, but video banking makes it possible to serve all Kroger employees – the grocer is its primary SEG – no matter their geographic location or where they may relocate in the future.

Serving Elderly Consumers: We’ve talked about this before, but it’s such a fantastic use of video banking it bears repeating. Elderly members with limited mobility struggle to maintain financial independence because they must rely on family members to provide transportation to a branch. Elderly consumers have adopted POPin Video Banking more than expected because it provides them with the face-to-face service they prefer, and spares them the embarrassment of feeling as though they are burdening their families by requesting rides. The app has a similar look at feel to FaceTime or Skype, which many retirees already use to communicate with family members.

Here’s something that’s not unexpected: video banking also provides exciting brand differentiation, especially because the technology is still relatively new. South Bay Credit Union CEO Jennifer Oliver said, “Right now it’s a wow factor. People think it’s cool. Down the road, I think they’ll start to think of video first rather than getting in the car and driving to us. And when that happens, that’s when we’re super-convenient.”

Busy consumers are searching for time-saving technologies in all areas of their lives, and banking is no exception. And yet, they also want personalized service. Mobile video bridges that gap between declining brick-and-mortar branches and rapidly rising digital and mobile apps. According to recent research, two-thirds of banks and credit unions anticipate offering both in-store video systems and mobile video platforms in the near future. As more of them provide mobile video capabilities, more customers will demand access to this technology — and the convenience it brings.

Written by: Gene Pranger

Visit our homepage to learn more about POPio!

Need to get in touch with POPio? Click here > 

What is video banking? Learn more here >

Jan 01
1

What is Video Banking?

By | Benefits, Blog, branch, mobile, Video Banking, Video Banking Features, web | No Comments

What is Video Banking?

What is it and where did it start?

Video banking is the concept of utilizing video collaboration services to deliver live agents to you consumers from anywhere for the purpose of serving, selling, and completing banking related transactions remotely through video without the use of a physical meeting place.

Video bankings first introduction in an assisted service format came when Gene Pranger created uGenius technologies. uGenius began to develop the PTM (Personal Teller Machine) which delivered patented video-assisted services to ATM devices and allowed the ATM to expand its functionality based on the video interaction. Gene Pranger and Jed Taylor ultimately sold uGenius Technologies to NCR in January of 2013.

Gene Pranger’s vision was to ultimately take video banking across channels and deliver video-based virtual branches, web Video Banking SDK’s, native video banking applications that include white labeled apps and mobile SDK’s that can give any mobile application full video collaboration functionality.

Channels for Delivery

In-Branch 

Full-service branches are currently limited to the amount of space and the number of experts available based on the branches size and location. With micro-branches becoming more and more popular video banking enables you to deliver full-service branches across your branch distribution channel. Video banking centralizes your workforce allowing you to reduce the number of employees it takes to serve a single branch, continue the micro-branch strategy, and reduce overall branch banking costs while delivering full-service experiences. You can read more about retails journey here: Retail’s Digital Journey

Learn more about in branch implementations here.

Web

Currently, web and mobile traffic continues to grow and will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. However, based on current abandonment rates and overall delivery of solutions websites are not generating the perceived income based on the high friction users have when landing on product education pages and applications. Inserting collaboration through video banking can help guide consumers to the appropriate place while improving their experience, and increase your share of wallet.

Mobile

White-labeled mobile apps and integrated mobile SDKs can help monetize mobile channels. Current mobile conversion rates hover around 0% on applications (Read Financial Brand Article for more info) for certain products and services in a pure self-service environment. Video banking can again deliver highly interactive video-assisted interactions that will enable prospective consumers to get the information they need to make a purchase decision. Often consumers that experience friction due to limited understanding of the product or service on your site and didn’t know which service was right for them, couldn’t figure out how to apply, couldn’t ask you a financial service question or didn’t feel comfortable applying from their mobile device. Read more about friction here. Enabling experts to provide financial service advice at the moment of need can prevent abandonment and increase your conversions across channels.

You can read more about the delivery of video banking here: The Engagement Gap is Digital’s Biggest Challenge

What features that you can expect from a trusted video banking provider focused on Financial Services?

Integrated Video E-Signature: Allow consumers to sign documents electronically while talking face-to-face. Get guaranteed signatures.

Document Sharing: Share documents back and forth with your consumers. Consumers can send you documents you need such as w2s, pay-stubs, and other required documentation. Representatives can share applications and other documents for the consumer to review all while in a video chat.

Integrated Financial Service Workflows: Allow your experts to select which product or service workflows they need to go through with your consumers. This ensures that business processes are followed.

In Video Text Chat: Allow your experts to communicate with everyone. Video services that don’t offer integrated text chat are not delivering an experience that is compliant for use with all consumers of your Financial Institution.

Smart Video Call Routing: Route video calls to the most relevant experts, either to groups or individuals. You can customize call routing to the needs of your organization.

Integrated Screen Share: Allow your financial service experts the ability to share their screen with consumers from any channel: in-Branch Video Banking, Web Video Banking, Mobile Video Banking.

Co-Browse: Easily allow your reps to take control of the screen and work through items with consumers in the branch and on the web.

Emotional Recognition: Understand the emotional intelligence of your organization and how effective you are when working with your consumers face-to-face.

Seamless Video Interactions: Signature actions can happen within and outside a video call. Video calls can easily be added to signatures so questions can be answered and document processes can be finished quickly. You can read more about this here: Science of Friction Blog

Benefits of Video Banking

It is not longer just a cool science project.

Convenience

As technology continues to shape our culture travel to make purchases, complete actions or have conversations is becoming less and less relevant. Video banking takes you direct to the consumers living room, office, kitchen or nearby park in a matter of seconds, without burdening the consumer to drop what they are doing and drive 30 minutes to the branch.

Guaranteed Signatures

One of the benefits highlighted by Southwest Financial Federal Credit Union has been their ability to get signatures completed while on a video call. Anytime consumers are asked to do something outside of the first engagement drop off rates increase dramatically. Video banking can help decrease the number of steps it takes to complete applications and ultimately get signatures.

Serving the Underserved

As Pioneer Federal Credit Union started their video banking project they identified several markets that they thought would be ready for the convenience of banking from anywhere. What they didn’t expect was that underserved markets that include their senior membership and bilingual membership to so quickly take advantage of utilizing video to complete their everyday banking needs. Allowing consumers to complete actions from anywhere at their convenience is a must.

Read more about what Millennials expect from their FI here. 

Full-Service Virtual Branches

Through video banking, several financial institutions are utilizing video to bring services to their branch network. This process allows them to offer a complete array of services at any given branch without having to have an expert located at that branch. Branch banking becomes easier when one service expert can serve the entire distribution of branches as opposed to having 10 experts at 10 different locations.

You can read more about the benefits of video banking here: 21 Benefits of Video Banking.

Want to learn more about video banking?

Video Testimonials. Watch here >

6 surprising benefits from Video Banking Here. Read more >

5 surprising video banking customers. Read more > 

Pioneer Federal Credit Union Case Study. Read more >

Video Banking White Paper. Read more >

The Science of Friction Infographic. Download here >

Get in touch with POPi/o. Start here >