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Christmas Archives - POPi/o

Dec 04
1
Young boy using smartphone to visit with Santa Claus

Video Brings Santa Claus to Town

By | Blog, Video Banking | No Comments

PCSB Bank has already won Christmas.

The leaders of this $1.5 billion financial institution in Clarinda, Iowa, were crushed to learn that officials had canceled this year’s community Santa House. The cancellation left no place for local kids to meet Santa, share their wish list, and pose for a photo.

Even with social distancing and frequent photoshoot wipe downs, COVID-19 has turned Santa House into a risky spreader event. While the decision made sense, CEO James Johnson felt like he had to do something. The bank couldn’t let local kids miss birthdays, graduations, summer with friends, school, trick or treating, and Santa. It was just too much.

PCSB and his team brainstormed ways the bank could help bring Santa Claus to town. The answer was our video banking.

PCSB is offering free video visits with Santa to local children using its video banking channel, which is available to customers through PCSB’s website and mobile app. The 10-minutes video chats are by appointment only. PCSB is making Santa available to both customers and non-customers. Parents can schedule visits for kids by calling the bank or filling out an online form that provides the jolly ol’ elf with important personal information that makes the moment magical.

I think this is such a great idea because it’s not only good for local kids and the community, it’s good for the bank’s bottom line, too. Here are four benefits, for starters:

  1. Joy for local children. Sure, we love to achieve career success, but real leaders get even more fulfillment out of using their resources and influence for the greater good. They couldn’t have picked a better year to do this!
  2. Corporate citizen goodwill. Community financial institutions are the foundation of healthy communities. By making Santa available to kids for free at a time when families are struggling financially and feel unsure about the future, the bank is providing a sense of normalcy and hope for the future.
  3. Video banking demonstration. I can’t think of a better way to motivate people to try video banking than a visit with Santa. Customers are often impressed with how easy video banking is to use and return to use the channel again and again.
  4. New Customers. All FI marketers know the key to getting new business is being top of mind when the customer is ready to buy. Not only does Santa raise awareness and the bank’s reputation, it cleverly showcases new technology that sets PCSB apart from its competitors. And, I’m sure Santa’s elves are able to transfer Mom or Dad to a service representative if the topic of a credit card to pay for all of those toys comes up in conversation.

“When we learned that the children in our town would miss out on meeting Santa Claus this year, we were crushed—and determined to find a way to help,” said James Johnson, CEO of PCSB Bank. “We’re thrilled to bring some merriness and cheer to all the people we know and love in this great community.”

How can you use POPi/o video banking to spread good cheer? Drop your ideas in the comments section below.

Dec 11
6
Blue holiday infographic of staff saying thank you to customers with gift

We’re Grateful for Video Banking’s Unexpected Gifts

By | Benefits, Blog, Video Banking | No Comments

The Holidays are a time to reflect upon the past year and focus on gratitude and service. Gratitude can take many forms, such as feeling grateful for financial success, heartwarming gifts, the important people in your life, and even the wisdom you’ve gained from life’s ups and downs of the past year.  As we dig even deeper into gratitude we begin to feel grateful for the things we take for granted, like our health, mobility, food, clean drinking water and even our freedom.

Freedom isn’t just political; it means different things to different people.

Blue holiday infographic of staff saying thank you to customers with gift

According to the Center for Disease Control, more than one in four adults in the United States live with some type of disability. The most common disability is a lack of mobility, which makes the freedom of being able to walk severely difficult or impossible for nearly 14% of Americans.

Many of us take for granted the freedom of being able to handle day-to-day tasks on our own without relying on help from someone else.

When we first started exploring video banking and the impact it would have on people’s lives, we always focused on convenience and how to get services directly to a consumer without friction. Never once did we think it could help so many gain freedom in the way they banked.

But we are incredibly grateful it did.

For example, Idaho Central Credit Union a $4.8 billion credit union headquartered in Chubbuck, Idaho, was able to use video banking to serve a quadriplegic member face-to-face that was an hour away from any branch location. The ability to see and talk to his loan officer allowed him to feel like a piece of independence was given back to him. Service provides assistance to those in need, even when you’re not aware of it, and we are grateful video banking was able to help this happen.

Cobalt Credit Union, a $1 billion institution in Council Bluffs, Iowa, shared a different kind of assistance success story. This member, who is deaf, wasn’t able to access the credit union’s call center and if they needed assistance beyond what was available online or through the mobile banking app, they had to visit a branch in person. With Cobalt’s new video banking channel, however, the member was able to both see the representative on screen and use the app’s chat feature to clarify their banking needs. Now, this member can enjoy full service, at-home banking. We are grateful video banking was able to change how this member interacted and accomplished their banking needs.

Pioneer Federal Credit Union, a $500 million institution located in Mountain Home, Idaho, was able to serve a member who was severely injured in a rodeo accident and had to adjust to depending upon others to assist with their financial transactions and business. We hear a lot about accessibility when it comes to your financial institution’s digital channels, but providing accessibility to your people can mean the world to those in need. We are grateful Pioneer was able to go above and beyond with video to help serve this member and countless others who have let Pioneer know that this engagement channel “has given them their freedom back.”

There are countless more stories of how video banking has supported financial freedom and accessibility. We’ve heard about pilots making video banking calls from the tarmac, consumers accessing financial assistance via video from overseas, parents receiving face-to-face service without having to drag kids along to the branch, and working class Americans who were finally able to connect and accomplish their financial needs.

We didn’t anticipate video banking would change lives. But this Holiday season, as we reflect upon the past year, we are beyond grateful that it did.