Originally published on CUInsight.com

A few months ago, I slipped a mention of my own credit union relationship. My CU of many years was no longer my PFI. Banking shouldn’t be an exercise in compromises and hassles, yet that was what it had become. My PFI is now an institution which is so seamlessly easy and tailored to my needs that I often forget what it was like to have problems (Anything that has come up was handled within a few minutes, no matter the medium).

So, not all credit unions are the same. Besides being designed for differing memberships, they can also have a varied capacity for improvement. It’s why I keep talking about finding the right partners. Maybe a dozen CUs can afford to keep up with innovations on their own; the rest must find strategic partners. However, I digress. My CU wasn’t doing either.

During my time as an active member, here’s some of the challenges I encountered:

  • My debit card was compromised. It happens. But replacement taking 2 weeks? I asked for sooner and they wanted to charge $25 for a 3 day timeframe. The Big Banks replace overnight. Build the cost in; the alternative will only upset members.
  • A $100 member reward program failed to deposit funds when promised. Noticed a month later and had to speak to them to get it resolved.
  • Customer support hold times have never been less than 5 minutes. Typically, it was up to 45 minutes, with no system for callbacks in place.
  • No service on weekends after 1
  • Poor support on their mobile app (see post about the security issue, still unresolved)
  • Hard limit on mobile check deposit amounts less than 10% that of competing institutions. Their suggestion was to visit a branch to deposit instead.
  • Online secure contact form takes 48 hours to get a reply

I’ve actually had a number of other issues, but have forgotten the details for inclusion here. The credit union mission is special amongst banking institutions, but it’s not the only thing which matters. You still have to be a top-quality solution for your members. And, if your members have a problem, your resolution process needs to be seamless. It’s as if I’ve written about these things before.

After sharing some of these things on Twitter, I had more than one credit union trying to gain my membership. Unfortunately, I was not eligible by geography or work. However, they were on top of member recruitment and ensuring they were serving not only their members, but potential ones anywhere. Alliant still wants my loan for that Tesla I’m totally getting eventually. 🙂

What are you doing to ensure your members adopt you as their PFI, and not, as I did, fall away from the relationship?