DigitalMailer Inc. has launched an electronic service that credit unions can offer their members to safely store financial documents at their online banking site.

The Virtual StrongBox service allows users to perform such functions as retrieving a copy of a will or insurance documents via a smartphone while sitting at an attorney's office, said the Herndon, Va., provider of electronic communications services to about 180 credit unions.

The first user of the electronic document libraries is the $2.1 billion Northwest Federal Credit Union, also in Herndon, which said it has set up virtual strongboxes for each of the 68,000 online bankers among its 110,000 members.

“Helping our members organize their financial lives all under one roof is exactly what a financial partner should do,” said Greg Gibson, the credit union's chief operating officer.

The strongbox uses the same SaaS technology that DigitalMailer uses to deliver online statements, notices and tax documents and can be branded by the credit union, the company said.

DigitalMailer President/CEO Ron Daly called the virtual strongbox a “sticky product that adds value to trusted financial advisors when tied to customers' checking accounts, online banking, investment relationships and personal financial management tools.”