Snapshots and misc. stories of interest
May 19, 2009 | Free Subscription
Here are recent stories and other items of interest from around the web.
Click on the hotlinked headlines to read more.
Burning Rubber? Or Money? BofA defends its NASCAR race sponsorship
Banana Strawberry Checking Accounts? Smoothie shop opens in Reliant Bank
The C Suite: A good, strategic look at how to tough it out in 2009
Q&A Interview: ING’s head of U.S. sales explains their café strategy
Instant Online Deposits: Why doesn’t every financial institution do this?
I Should’ve Known Better: NYT economics writer shares his personal financial crisis
Gen-Y Recipe for Success: Technology + financial literacy
Failure Fridays: No banks fail Friday May 15, but one credit union is seized
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More stories about: Briefs, BofA, Gen-Y, ING Direct, NASCAR 
“Instant Online Deposits: Why doesn’t every financial institution do this?”
The CU I work at actually has been offering electronic instant deposits since last November. We call it E-Deposits, and I believe are the first FI to offer this in Southwest Ohio, if not all of Ohio (but don’t quote me on that). Of course you have to be a member to use it, but it’s the same general concept – deposit your check online by entering the check information, then mail in your check within 7-10 days, all while having instant access to the funds.
It is very convenient, especially for our out of town members who don’t always have a branch to go to when in need of depositing checks.
The only downfall, and why I think other FI’s don’t pick it up right away, is a lot of people are confused by the product. It’s hard to get people out of the “ATM or Branch only deposit” mode. But once they do, they couldn’t enjoy the product more.
Thanks for the comment Monica.
I would think you’d have a high rate of success with your online banking members — folks who are already out of the “ATM and Branch” mindset. Are you marketing to them specifically, say with a banner ad or splash screen within the online banking platform?
Also, are you using some sort of merit-based system, where members can deposit larger checks after establishing a history of mailing checks in on-time?
We do have success with our online banking members – you are correct.
Since we launched this product a while back, the banner ads haven’t been as robust as they first were when the product launched. To non-internet banking members we had inserts, in-branch promotions & displays, and snail and electronic mailings. Most of the feedback was “we don’t understand what this product is” which was very interesting. So we are thinking of new ways to promote it while explaining it and hopefully it will attract the segment of membership that didn’t understand it the first time.
A merit-based system is interesting. Members have to be eligible for the product in the first place, and can deposit the maximum check amount from the get-go. Your idea could work out if well-thought out. It never hurts to throw new ideas into the brainstorming sessions. Thanks for this one!