AUSTIN, Texas—Two early-adopter credit unions are launching SmartwearApps for the Apple Watch.
Malauzai Software said it is working with Alabama Teachers CU in Gadsen, Ala., and Greater TEXAS FCU and its division, Aggieland CU, here to provide members who purchase an Apple Watch with easy access to their most relevant banking information, including balances, transaction history for all available accounts and a branch locator. The SmartwearApp is available in English and Spanish and provides credit unions with a screen for advertising and educational alerts, according to Malauzai.
“The Apple Watch app provides our credit union with an ideal opportunity to jump ahead of the rest of the market and offer our members the latest technology,” said Brandy Conway, VP marketing at GTFCU, in a statement. “With its similarity to our current mobile banking offering, the wearable app requires no new hardware or software and will provide an intuitive user experience for our members. Now members have another way to conduct banking at their convenience.”
Malauzai reported that it is currently working with eight community financial institutions to have an Apple Watch app live on April 24 when the device is launched. Current Malauzai usage data indicates that 70% of active mobile banking users stay registered on a mobile device. The company said it believes the engagement level will be significantly higher for the watch in its initial phase.
“We are confident that consumers who purchase an Apple Watch will use the mobile banking app for its easy, ‘at-a-glance’ features,” said Robb Gaynor, chief product officer of Malauzai, in a statement. “These credit unions are taking advantage of a strong opportunity to lead the way in giving today’s mobilized consumers what they want from their financial institution; access to account information whenever and wherever.”
Pre-orders for the Apple Watch began April 10. More than 1 million devices were ordered, leaving some models on back-order until June. The official launch is set for April 24. The watch is available in various models, ranging in price from $349 for the entry level sport model, to $17,000 for the 18K gold edition.