Author: Denise Wymore

The convenience of eSign for both credit unions and their members helps explain why such solutions are becoming more prevalent. For credit unions, the cost savings that result from using fewer supplies and improved workflow efficiencies are evident. For members, the ability to sign documents from anywhere is crucial and only becoming more valuable in a post-pandemic society. Cooperative CUSO eDOC’s solution, eDOCSignature^®, has now enabled over 500 credit unions and their members to realize the benefits of eSign.

“The growth of eDOCSignature has been very strong, especially since the onset of COVID-19,” commented eDOC CEO Mark Fierro. “Over 150 credit unions have been added to the platform in just the past six months, demonstrating not only our commitment to the credit union industry but also our team’s ability to rapidly adjust to the changing priorities of our owners and customers. Credit unions—regardless of size and membership base—have embraced the ease of use, safety, and member convenience that eDOCSignature provides. I am very proud of the entire staff at eDOC for rallying to help credit unions while dealing with the personal challenges brought on by COVID-19.”

About eDOC Innovations, Inc.

eDOC Innovations is a leader in mobile enterprise digital transaction management solutions for credit unions. For more than 25 years eDOC Innovations has been designing solutions to reduce overhead, increase operational efficiency and provide convenience to members. eDOC Innovations’ products include solutions for remote mobile and in-branch closings, mobile eSignature processing, digital asset lifecycle management, intelligent and interactive form automation, mobile remote deposit capture, electronic statements and more. To learn about our technology visit:http://edoclogic.com/products/doclogic/  or give us a call at: 800.425.7766 Option 3.

Lincoln Maine Federal Credit Union (LMFCU), based in the river community of Lincoln, Maine, and Point West Credit Union (PWCU), headquartered in Portland, Oregon, became the two newest owners of eDOC Innovations. LMFCU ($80M) serves roughly 5,700 members, while PWCU ($98M) serves nearly 11,000 members.

“We are grateful to have two fantastic additions to the ownership of our credit union service organization,” said eDOC CEO Mark Fierro. “It may be symbolic that these new owners come from opposite sides of the continental US, with each serving their communities in their own unique way. However, both share with us a strong commitment to the cooperative principles for which we all strive. These new owners represent a varied national interest in eDOC and demonstrate what we stand for in the credit union space. It is my great privilege and pleasure to welcome them both to the ownership group at eDOC Innovations. I very much look forward to collaborating with each of them.”

About Lincoln Maine Federal Credit Union

LMFCU was formed in 1966 and is a non-profit cooperative. The credit union serves members who live, work, or worship in Penobscot County, Maine. Service is extended to immediate family members and the organizations to which they belong.

About Point West Credit Union

For more than 80 years, PWCU has strived to bring financial inclusion and empowerment to the diverse communities in Portland’s metro area. PWCU is a proud not-for-profit, member-owned financial institution working to uplift the underserved, including immigrants, communities of color, and small businesses.

About eDOC Innovations, Inc.

eDOC Innovations is a leader in mobile enterprise digital transaction management solutions for credit unions. For more than 25 years eDOC Innovations has been designing solutions to reduce overhead, increase operational efficiency and provide convenience to members. eDOC Innovations’ products include solutions for remote mobile and in-branch closings, mobile eSignature processing, digital asset lifecycle management, intelligent and interactive form automation, mobile remote deposit capture, electronic statements and more. To learn about our technology visit: http://edoclogic.com/products/doclogic/  or give us a call at: 800.425.7766 Option 3.

Report focuses on aligning member expectations with current payments infrastructure

Accelerated by the global COVID-19 pandemic, credit union member demand for faster – and more digital – payments has increased exponentially in 2020. A new report commissioned byPSCU and independently produced by Javelin Strategy & Research, “Fast Access, Fast Payments,” provides guidance on the key elements required to begin the initial phases of faster payments and how credit unions can best align member expectations with their current payments infrastructure.

“To meet the increasing demand for immediate access to funds and the ability to conduct routine banking activities – like bill pay and debit transactions – through digital channels, it is more important than ever for credit unions to understand, adapt and plan for faster payment deployment,” said Scott Young, vice president, Innovation at PSCU. “Through this white paper, we aim to help credit unions understand what they need to do now to keep pace with the evolving needs of current and future members.”

Credit unions traditionally provide financial services for which their members have an immediate need, with implementation and adoption of new technologies dictated by member demand. During economic downturns, especially those with far-reaching impacts like the COVID-19 pandemic, faster access to funds is essential.

The “Fast Access, Fast Payments” white paper, which includes checklists designed as tear sheets to guide credit unions during the planning and implantation process, focuses on addressing key member needs to manage financial uncertainty, the rapid deployment of technology and operational considerations required for planning before launching digital and faster payments. Other key topics for adoption highlighted in the report include:

• Enabling the receipt of real-time deposits
• Migration to digital experiences
• Immediate card issuance and provisioning
• The building blocks of a successful payments strategy
• Consumer protections
• Staged integration to The Clearing House
• Preparation for FedNow

The white paper also features information on how to make payment modernization manageable, with an emphasis on the member experience and design, operational rigor, enterprise fraud management and compliance with faster payments initiatives.

Click here to download “Fast Access, Fast Payments.”

About PSCU

PSCU, the nation’s premier payments CUSO, supports the success of 1,500 credit unions representing more than 3.8 billion transactions annually. Committed to service excellence and focused on innovation, PSCU’s payment processing, risk management, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital banking, marketing, strategic consulting and mobile platforms help deliver possibilities and seamless member experiences. Comprehensive, 24/7/365 member support is provided by contact centers located throughout the United States. The origin of PSCU’s model is collaboration and scale, and the company has leveraged its influence on behalf of credit unions and their members for more than 40 years. Today, PSCU provides an end-to-end, competitive advantage that enables credit unions to securely grow and meet evolving consumer demands. For more information, visit pscu.com.

 

CO-OP and Filene Publish Report that Shows How to Gain a Primary Financial Relationship with Members

Consumer preference for a single provider and addressing “financial fragility” as a source of dissatisfaction are among the key findings of a new study suggesting credit unions are strongly positioned in the current marketplace.

To help credit union executives, CO-OP Financial Services commissioned Filene Research Institute to study the socioeconomic and technological changes expected to have the greatest impact on consumer behaviors and preferences. The study, titled “Payments, Personal Financial Management and Prospects for Credit Union Growth” is now available here.

Filene’s research and recommendations are based on two nationally representative surveys of U.S. consumers conducted in late May, well into the “new normal” of COVID-19. Many of the key takeaways cited by the report’s authors indicate a strong potential for stickiness among today’s financial consumers. The takeaways also highlighted a vast opportunity among people often ignored by major banks.

Continue reading NEW RESEARCH SHOWS PRIORITIZING PAYMENTS AND LEVERAGING DAILY TOUCHPOINTS WITH MEMBERS LEADS TO GROWTH

PSCU, the nation’s premier payments credit union service organization, has updated its weekly transaction analysis from its Owner credit union members on a same-store basis to identify the impact of COVID-19 on consumer spending and shopping trends. An infographic is also attached.

To provide relevant updates on market performance, experts from PSCU’s Advisors Plus and Data & Analytics teams today released year-over-year weekly performance data trends. In this week’s installment, PSCU compares the 37^th week of the year (the week ending September 13, 2020 compared to the week ending September 15, 2019).

• Overall card payment volume growth rates decelerated in Week 37.
  • Debit card spend was up 16.4%, in line with the four-week average of +16.9%. Transactions were up 2.8% and have been positive for eleven consecutive weeks.
  • Credit card spend was up 0.9%, which is lower than the four-week average of +2.3%. Transactions were down 4.1%, below the four-week average of -3%.
• Consumers continue strong usage of contactless, mobile wallets and card-not-present (CNP) alternatives, while using less cash.
  • Contactless “tap-and-go” transactions via dual interface cards continue to gain adoption. Debit contactless transactions as a percent of card-present activity on contactless debit cards have grown from around 8% in mid-January to 13.9% in Week 36. Contactless credit transactions have also grown from 6.5% in mid-January to last week finishing at 9.9% of card-present activity on contactless credit cards.
  • Mobile wallet (i.e. “Pays”) transactions and purchases for both credit and debit cards had positive results. Debit mobile wallet purchases finished Week 37 up 73.4% year over year, slightly higher than the four-week average of +72.4%. Credit mobile wallet purchases were up 55% year over year, higher than the four-week average of +43%. These results represent six supported mobile wallets: Apple Pay, Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay, Google Pay, LG Pay and Samsung.
  • We continue to see more volume conducted via Card Not Present (CNP) transactions. For credit, 51.3% of purchase volume and 40.9% of transactions were CNP. For debit, 40.9% of purchase volume and 28.2% of transactions were CNP. Purchase mix has held steady and is up 5 percentage points year over year for credit and 5.6 percentage points for debit. Transaction mix is also steady, up 8.1 percentage points for credit and 6.9 for debit year over year.
  • Cash withdrawal transactions at the ATM remain down year over year. For the most recent week, the number of cash withdrawals was down 20.8%, in line with the average for the past four weeks of -20.8%.
• From a merchant category perspective, purchases in Week 37 receded from the strength of the Labor Day holiday week, but trends remain positive overall.
  • Grocery was strong this week, with purchases up 11.8% for debit and up 20.6% for credit.
  • Utilities also remain in positive territory, with purchases up 14.5% for debit and up 4% for credit.
  • The purchase volume of consumer goods across retail stores decreased from the Labor Day holiday uptick, but remain very strong, with debit up 36% and credit up 23.4%. Growth was broad and included strength in Electronics, Sporting Goods, Home and Automotive.
  • Debit spend for Restaurants stayed positive in Week 37 at +9.1%, with both Fast Food (+10.2% for the week, down from the four-week average of +11.1%) and Full Service Restaurants (+8.4% for the week, up from the four-week average of +3.6%) posting strong results. Credit spend for Restaurants improved to -13.4%, which is above its four-week average of -14.5%.
• Our regional analysis of spend utilizes the segmentation used by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) for economic analysis. Please see the attached infographic for a map of changes to credit and debit purchases by region.
  • Overall U.S. spend was up 1% for credit purchases. The Great Lakes (+3.2%), the Plains (+5.1%), Southeast (+3.4%) and Southwest (+1.8%) finished as the strongest regions for Week 37. Hawaii (-11.8%) and the Rocky Mountain region (-4.7%) had the lowest credit purchase performance.
  • Overall U.S. spend was up 16.4% for debit purchases. The Great Lakes (+18.9%), the Plains (+19.7%) and the Southeast (+18%) finished above the U.S. average for Week 37. The regions with the lowest debit purchase results are Hawaii (+3.1%) and the Far West (+7.9%).
  • PSCU’s Weekly U.S. State/Territory Analysis is available at www.PSCU.com/COVID19, ranking U.S. states and territories by year-over-year performance for debit purchases, credit purchases and ATM transactions.
• This week’s deeper dive explores the Service sector, which makes up 21.7% of overall credit purchases and 16.2% of all debit purchases. Within the Service Sector, two-thirds of the purchases (for both credit and debit) are represented in the top three segments: Professional Service & Membership Organizations, Service Providers and Contracted Services.
  • The Professional Service & Membership Organizations segment comprises healthcare and many other professional service categories, including legal, accounting and engineering services, as well as political organizations. For Week 37, debit spend was up for this segment by 2.1%, lower than the four-week average of +12.9%. For credit purchases, the segment was down 8.6% last week, much lower than the four-week average of +3%.
  • Service Providers, which includes many insurance-related categories, has been strong with debit purchases up 13.5% in Week 37, but below the four-week average of +20.4%. Credit purchases were up 5.3% last week, also below the four-week average of +13.9%.
  • Contracted Services, which includes general contractors, electrical, air conditioning and roofing services, has seen overall strong performance, especially in debit purchases. For Week 37, debit purchases were up 21.1%, with a four-week average of +37.2%. Credit purchases were up 6.3% in Week 37%, down from its four-week average of +23%
  • The balance of the Service sector, representing the remaining one-third of credit and debit purchases in the sector, comprises five additional segments: Business Services, Personal Service Providers, Repair Services, Government Services and Digital Goods. Results in these additional segments are mixed and have largely trended in line with consumer behaviors over the course of the pandemic.

“We saw good volume overall in Week 37, albeit with an expected decline from last week’s Labor Day holiday uptick,” said Glynn Frechette, SVP, Advisors Plus at PSCU. “Consumers continue to show resilience, especially now that we are just over six weeks past the end of primary government support and unemployment and layoffs remain elevated, as the Labor Department reported last week. It is also interesting to note that as in-person spend has returned – including the Service sector, which we explore in this week’s deeper dive – consumers are still transacting digitally via CNP, contactless and mobile wallets, reinforcing that consumer behavior shifts that have been accelerated will continue in the post-pandemic world.”

PSCU will continue to develop and share analysis of transaction trends on a regular basis.