By Ray Birch
PHOENIX–Offering members the convenience of banking in their home will soon mean voice banking to many more consumers, predicts Desert Financial, which is investing heavily in the service.
Desert Financial was the first in its market to offer banking at home via Amazon’s Alexa, and it is expanding soon to offer the same service through Google Assistant, claiming to be one of the first FIs in the nation to provide that alternative.
Members can download the CU’s app, link their account, and then use the prompt, “Alexa, open Desert Financial” to check their account balance, transfer money, request rates, hear account history, get financial tips and ask questions.
Wayne Oleksak, vice president of innovation and member experience at Desert Financial, told CUToday.info that banking at home through the smartphone—even if that is mobile banking—does not offer the convenience of voice banking through a smart speaker.
“Soon enough, many consumers will expect to be able to transfer money while they are making dinner, without picking up any device to get that done,” he said. “We are really big on digital transformation, and we have all the basics—online account opening, mobile…We felt voice banking was the next logical extension of our service. As the largest and oldest credit union in the state, we thought we needed to take a leading position on voice banking.”
Creating Separation
To really be seen as a leader in voice banking by consumers, Oleksak contends a credit union must offer voice banking through Google Assistant as well as through Alexa.
“That is what will really separate you from the competition here,” said Oleksak. “We believe it is really important to offer both to raise the image of the credit union. It places us on the cutting edge of technology in the minds of our members and within our community. We’re meeting our members where they are, and today that means right in their home without a device in their hands.”
Desert Financial began offering home banking through Alexa mid-June, and at the time of the interview expected extend the service to Google Assistant in August.
“In launching home banking with Alexa it has been very well received by our members,” said Oleksak, saying interest has been strong from the start.
The credit union has not yet formally measured results.
Wayne Oleksak
Oleksak said Desert Financial has yet to heavily promote voice banking, and is waiting to pull the trigger on a large ad campaign once Google Assistant is on board.
Primary Goals
Oleksak said a primary goal with voice banking is member retention.
“But it's also about acquisition,” he said. “We're the largest credit union in Arizona and we want to continue growing our member base. And without voice banking, we are not so sure that would be easy to do in the coming years.”
Desert Financial said it implemented the technology through its SwitchThink subsidiary, working with Tampa-based Best Innovation Group (BIG) to create the secure voice banking system. The credit union reported BIG is a consulting partner ensuring that credit union accounts have a firewall between the financial institution and the technology.
Changes Made
Rachel Hunter, director of creative services at Desert Financial, said the credit union tested voice banking with Alexa first with staff and the reaction was extremely positive, with most employees citing the convenience of not having to work with their smartphone for mobile, a phone for IVR, or the call center.
“With our members so far we have received very positive responses as well,” said Hunter. “In our informal survey, about a 99% positive rating.”
The testing with staff and responses from members led to a few points being raised that led the credit union to make changes, the first being some members felt uncomfortable sharing their PIN by saying it out loud, said Hunter.
“And the real reason is so other family members can’t hear it and get the PIN,” she said.
The credit union now will send a token—a special code—via text message to the member to use when they log in if the member prefers.
“They just tell Alexa to send the token and they get the code right on their phone,” Hunter said.
The CU also heard many members ask when the credit union was going to add Google Assistant.
A Split Universe
Oleksak said he was not surprised members were asking for Google.
“The universe of members is split,” he said. “Some like Alexa, some like Google for their smart speaker. So we have to offer what our members want—plus, as I said, this really sets us apart right now from any other financial institution because no one else is offering home banking through Google.”
Oleksak noted Desert Financial has coupled voice banking with email and text.
“Because there's some things, like account history, that are just too long to hear out loud,” he said. “Members can ask Alexa to send them an email or text with that information, if they prefer.”