The increasing awareness of and demand for mobile deposit has placed credit unions at an interesting crossroads.

Waiting too long to launch the service places them at risk of losing members to competition. However, hastily rushing to market with a mediocre solution and fragmented strategy could be even more costly in the long run.

Credit union executives also continue to debate whether to launch mobile deposit as an integrated or stand-alone component. The answer to this debate hinges on the member's experience.

In the mobile world, credit unions are not simply competing with other financial institutions, but also players such as PayPal who are encroaching on the banking services historically provided by credit unions.

How your institution deploys mobile deposit will directly impact your member's reactions and the adoption rate of the solution.

When deployed as an integrated function within an existing mobile banking platform, mobile deposit can be instrumental in attracting new members, increasing deposits and strenghtening member relations.

According to a study by Javelin Research, approximately 25% of Americans would like to deposit checks using a mobile device. That number increases to 50% when the sample is narrowed to current users of mobile banking.

The research further supports early adopters of mobile deposit capture will be the credit union's current mobile banking users.

Integrating mobile deposit as yet another feature in your existing mobile banking platform will result in a feature-rich application that members can rely on for all of their banking needs. Delivering the best user experience boosts member adoption and the success of the mobile channel.

Put yourself in your member's shoes. As the end user, making a deposit in one application, exiting that application, opening the “primary” mobile banking application, and then checking to ensure the deposit went through is anything but seamless. In fact, it's frustrating.

When launched as a stand-alone app, members may be required to switch applications multiple times to complete a simple transaction, as well as remember various sign-in credentials. Mobile deposit should add valuable functionality and convenience to a mobile banking platform, not create additional headaches.

In today's environment where there truly is an app for everything, members expect a seamless, effortless experience. Launching a standalone app, even as a stop-gap measure, is a risky move for any credit union. A dissatisfied member will begin to look elsewhere for service.

Andrew Tilbury is chief marketing officer at Bluepoint Solutions in Vista, Calif.