William Aguilar

Assistant Manager, Contact Center
American First Credit Union, California, USA

Business case

Contact Center is a Destination

Many people think of Contact Center jobs as being order takers only, or even a dead end job. Not so! Contact Centers often have some of the best trained front-line employees in the credit union. They are responsible for not only day-to-day banking tasks, but need to have knowledge of all the products and services the credit union offers.

With the pandemic, the need for well-trained, knowledgeable credit union staff with great customer service attitudes who could and would work the phones was never more evident.

The Contact Center is the voice of the credit union and for many members, their only encounter with us. A top Contact Center has the right people, in the right place, to deliver the best service. To do that, we must offer growth and opportunities within the Contact Center. This helps not only improve performance, but also staff motivation and retention. A well-designed, well-executed plan to provide career pathing to our valuable Contact Center staff is the focus of this business case.

Krista Baum

Security Architect
WSECU, Washington, USA

Business Case

Removing the Password: Streamlining Member Access to Online Banking

COVID has sparked the usage of digital channels. Risk using digital channels are higher than ever from personal identity theft and website attacks on the financial institution. Challenging how WSECU authenticates members by using new technologies will protect identities, make members feel safe and enable the business. These technologies include multi-factor authentication methods that members do not know, but something you have and something you are.

Yianni Harbis

Manager, Branch and Commercial Banking
Sydney Credit Union, Nova Scotia, Canada

Business Case

Community Solar Financing: The Cooperative Approach to Sustainable Community Building

This business case is designed as a concept for credit unions, who, through the utilization of solar energy want to enhance the environmental stability of their members’ lives and their communities, all the while enhancing a buildings infrastructure. Specifically, the business case is centered within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM), an oppressed and aging populous with aging infrastructure, reliant on migratory work, government equalization payments and social supports for a population of 95,000. By utilizing a revolving fund, credit unions can create a sustainable investment fund and partner with like minded community groups, for profit businesses, government (municipal, provincial and federal) and, experts to work toward sustainable communities.

Alex Hsu

VP, Planning and Change Management
SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, California, USA

Business Case

Innovation Center of Excellence

The creation of an Innovation Center of Excellence within my credit union would enable our organization to evaluate individual pain points holistically, and avoid approaching any potential solutions with a silo mentality or an over-reliance on technology vendors. It would allow for the necessary discovery effort to understand potential approaches to solve problems, and consider the best approach as it relates to people, process and technology. The Innovation COE would be gradually set up within a 2.5 year period, and operate indefinitely as long as its benefits outweigh the costs.

Daniel Valley

Member Experience Manager
Lake Trust Credit Union, Michigan, USA

Business Case

Financial Inclusion: Adopting Alternative & Trended Credit Data

Credit unions were built on the philosophy of “people helping people” and the financial inclusion of the masses. Alternative and trended credit data is an innovative solution to gain better insight into member credit history by utilizing data not reported on traditional credit reports and to better understand their credit trajectory over time. This additional insight can be crucial to credit scoring during times of economic stress and the shift to a gig economy. Using all available data to better score our members’ credit history can increase Lake Trust’s ability to extend credit to more members, reduce the dependence on predatory alternative financial service providers and build on our credit union’s mission of financial inclusion and improved financial well-being.