Teachers Credit Union On Using Technology To Drive A Personalized Member Service Approach

Credit unions (CUs) have witnessed plenty of positive developments in recent years.

The space has experienced robust expansion, with one report noting that more than 17 million consumers around the globe joined CUs in 2019. Membership stood at a record 291 million across 118 countries last year, and research shows that these figures are poised to stay steady or grow.

CUs cannot rest on their laurels, however, given that competition in the banking space has been intense during the current economic downturn. Studies have shown that CUs must personalize their in-branch and digital offerings with products and services tailored to individual members’ needs to stay competitive.

Getting the customer service angle right is so crucial to CUs’ success that many CUs are investing in emerging technologies to help them better hit their marks. These include South Bend, Indiana-based Teachers Credit Union (TCU), which has nearly $4 billion in assets and serves more than 300,000 customers at 57 branches across Indiana and southwest Michigan.

PYMNTS spoke with Dan Rousseve, TCU’s senior vice president, about the approach the CU is taking regarding customer service. He explained that TCU’s data team has leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) technology to examine eight weeks’ worth of members’ direct deposits in two-week increments, enabling it to better determine individuals’ financial statuses and what they might want from their banking services.

“We made note of where we saw deviations outside the norm,” he said. “Then we picked up the phone and personally called members. We asked, ‘How are you doing? Can TCU be of any assistance?’”

The insights allowed the CU to tailor its approaches to helping members hit hard by the pandemic. This resulted in the CU calling about 37,000 members and ultimately waiving 20,000 fees and deferring 26,000 loans.

Using AI to Meet Members’ Needs

Rousseve explained that advanced technologies such as AI-powered platforms with data analytics features are starting to create more personalized opportunities for CU members. He said AI has enabled TCU to determine which members do not use their smart devices to make remote deposits, for example, which allows the CU to contact those members to let them know they have access to safe, secure check deposit options from home.

“As AI evolves, systems can generate recommendations on other products and services in real time to tailor what we recommend or avoid offering,” he noted.

Meeting members’ needs also entails understanding distinct generational preferences. Younger members often feel comfortable banking online, for example, but Rousseve said some of the CU’s older members still prefer to speak to CU employees in person. TCU has therefore kept a select number of physical branches open during the pandemic to safely serve the needs of members who still want to physically interact with tellers and other staff. Part of the CU’s mission has also been to reach out to these members to emphasize the safety of its digital offerings.

“Some fear [that] if they join the online banking community, some tech-savvy fraudster will steal their information,” he said. “Our challenge is showing them that online banking … is more advanced and secure than ever.”

Rousseve said offering access to online and in-person services gives members more seamless experiences because they can easily handle their banking needs in the ways that are most convenient and comfortable for them. Leveraging AI can also help generate recommendations for other products and services in real time, he noted, allowing CUs to further tailor their solutions.

Mixing Digital, In-Branch Banking Approaches

Some more senior CU members may still be leery of digital banking, but Rousseve said one of the pandemic’s few bright spots has been its acceleration of members’ shifts toward electronic banking solutions.

“This year, we’ve seen a significant trend in the adoption of electronic services by our older members,” he said. “We’re now focusing on how we can maintain and increase that momentum as some new normal arrives.”

TCU has adopted technological enhancements that include robotic process automation (RPA) as well as AI to streamline workflows. The implementation of these tools can free staff from having to conduct the mundane processes involved in transferring information between systems and manually checking data entries for errors, for example.

“AI allows RPA systems to learn and adapt as processes evolve over time, making the day-to-day maintenance much more manageable for mid-sized organizations like TCU,” he said. “Leveraging the combination of these two technologies allows TCU employees to focus on the most important aspect of service: personal touch.”

Rousseve stated that combining advanced technologies such as machine learning (ML) with natural language processing has yielded another powerful tool: chatbots. TCU’s ML chatbot — dubbed Alice, in honor of the CU’s first member — allows members to get answers to their questions 24/7 year-round. This can offer members more engagement and personalization, even when live agents are not available to answer their queries.

The ultimate key to driving economic recovery is confidence. CU members need to feel confident that they can spend, save and invest in ways that accommodate their daily lives. Leveraging advanced technologies like AI and automation could therefore be key to delivering personalized services to members and encouraging them to adopt new digital tools now and after the pandemic has passed.