What do credit unions need to focus on to stay relevant in this new future of banking?
Though we may not have known it at the time, COVID-19 has created a need for better digital solutions. The hurried changes that were made to continue business operations as the coronavirus pandemic took hold have changed the world, and many of these changes are here to stay.
There is a unique opportunity to update and digitize your credit union’s process in ways that will keep you and your customers safer and cut costs over time.
Disaster Planning vs. Pandemic Planning
Disaster planning is a necessary exercise and typically includes processes and protocols to “tide your business over” during a short-term but high-impact event. The goal is to use the disaster plan to get through hardship or an unforeseen issue by mitigating the damage so you can return to your normal business practices.
Unfortunately, this pandemic has changed the future of banking in such a way that “getting back to normal” is probably never going to happen. The good news is: now is the perfect time to implement large and radical changes in your virtual offerings and security.
A Virtual New World
The ability to work, and bank, from home has been gaining momentum over recent years, but 2020 created a trend that will likely have virtual desktops and remote offerings become a staple in businesses of all sizes. The future of banking will require digital solutions like these to keep people safe in the coming months and create consistent expectations for how your credit union conducts business.
More and more young people are flocking to businesses that have a jump on their digital offerings, and implementing virtual processes will not only keep you, your staff, and your customers safer – it can also increase your value proposition and allow you to reach more customers in these tech-savvy demographics.
Off-site Peace of Mind
Diversifying and flexing the physical space in which you do business not only opens up many doors for customers who aren’t willing or able to come to your branch’s location, it also protects your business by spreading out your assets. If backups and other important items are stored off-site, the risk of losing everything at once will decrease drastically.
Sounds like more risk, you say? Before this year, many companies had strict policies prohibiting credit unions and other businesses’ employees from taking computers and files off company property. But now, it is imperative that some or all of your workforce be able to work remotely.
Rather than worry about the liability, credit unions that are investing in the future of banking will take this time to survey their digital offerings and security measures in the hopes of implementing newer, bolder solutions like IaaS (infrastructure as a service), virtual desktops, cloud storage, and offsite data backup.
Many of these solutions have the added benefit of being more cost-effective than their previous counterparts.
Let IMS Help
Contact us to see what solutions we can create for your credit union.
