By Laura Enock
There was a time not all that long ago when credit unions were asked, “Do you offer online banking?” just as my father remembers being asked, “Do you have a telephone?” Today, most credit unions offer some form of online banking and pretty much everyone has a phone.
Of course the range of members actually using online banking very much depends upon membership.
At the higher end of the market, International Airline Employees Credit Union CEO John Gebhard reports that 80 percent of their members use online banking. “I know this sounds high,” Gebhard says, “but our business strategy dictates that we become a web-based credit union.” That’s possible in today’s world, of course, but it requires having a membership that’s open to a web-based experience. Liberty Savings Credit Union in New Jersey also estimates 80-90 percent of its members use online banking.
