3 Areas for Credit Unions to Prioritize During Economic Uncertainty

The combination of rising interest rates, forecasts of a potential recession and the shift to an increasingly digital-first world have left a notable mark on 2022 so far, influencing what the rest of the year might entail.

While economic uncertainty presents challenges, there is also a strong opportunity for credit unions to shift strategies and embrace innovative technology to position for future success. Here are three areas credit unions should watch for during the remainder of this year and beyond.

Re-emphasizing Member Support as Interest Rates Rise

As members face higher interest rates and rising inflation, more are looking for broadened support from their trusted credit unions to help insulate them against economic uncertainty. Those who are experiencing sustained rising interest rates for the first time, such as millennials and Gen Z, might need even more resources, education and tools.

As economic concerns cause a surge in member questions, it will be critical for credit unions to prioritize member support, making it easy and quick to receive instant, personalized guidance. This means departing from the traditional phone-first service strategy many still rely on, which creates a frustrating, inefficient experience for members and employees alike.

Instead, leading credit unions are transforming their approach, digitalizing member service to enhance engagement. Digital customer service enables staff to meet members where they are on-screen and easily transition between chat, voice or video for a seamless experience. This creates more meaningful interactions that quicken time to resolution and lower abandonment rates, which is especially important during challenging financial times.

Enhanced support also helps members complete more complex tasks, such as applying for loans. This is especially valuable now as loan origination and servicing have become an important business driver for credit unions. Boosting loan conversations can help balance out the decreased demand for mortgage applications, for example, helping credit unions maintain a strong financial position.

Leveraging Conversational AI to Drive Efficiencies

To further manage the uptick in inquiries, a growing number of credit unions are deploying virtual assistants to lower costs, improve resolution times and provide round-the-clock service. In addition to providing real-time support, virtual assistants are powered by AI to learn and improve over time.

Credit unions have many options, including toolkits to build their own chatbot, off-the-shelf solutions and even pre-integrated virtual assistants optimized to handle a wide range of inquiries. Vertical chatbots, created specifically for financial institutions, are changing the game. Look for virtual assistants that can quickly manage a wide spectrum of member questions and can also easily transition a member to a live human representative, as needed. Conversational AI that offers a frictionless member experience across both virtual and live human support are experiencing significant efficiency improvements.

Abandoning the Unfulfilled Promise of Omnichannel

Although omnichannel was a great concept in theory, the industry has grown frustrated with its unrealized promise. Omnichannel has fallen short largely because the platform is based on outdated phone-based technology when in reality, members want a fully digital experience. This rings especially true for digital natives, who will no longer tolerate being forced to disconnect from the digital domain to make an old-timey phone call.

Millennials and Gen Z are driving this transition, but it’s not just younger generations that are sick of the digital disconnect. According to a recent Ipsos-Forbes Advisor poll, nearly 80% of members now favor digital banking over all other options. Credit unions that provide financial services must be able to engage new and prospective members digitally and right at their moment of need, leaving omnichannel in the past. The ability to not only offer chat, voice or video, but to easily transition members between channels for a seamless experience, has become a competitive advantage.

As uncertain economic conditions continue to cause trepidation in members, credit unions have an opportunity to be there for them as a source of comfort and guidance. However, to do this effectively requires a digital-first approach, meeting members where they are in the digital domain. This digital engagement model also increases loan conversions, which boosts credit unions’ own financial standing. Those that embrace digital customer service are well positioned to strengthen member relationships and better serve their communities through any potential storms.

Dan Michaeli is the CEO and co-founder of Glia, a New York, N.Y.-based provider of digital customer service solutions.