By Ray Birch
MILFORD, Conn.—Nutmeg State Financial CU is partnering with Connecticut’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to boost the credit union’s membership and make sure branches continue to be viable as more people shift to digital banking.
As CUToday.info reported, a new, state-of-the-art DMV Express Center that allows people to renew their licenses and ID cards has opened inside the Nutmeg State branch at 977 Boston Post Road here.
In the first four days of its grand opening, an average of 150 people stopped by each day to use the DMV services. CEO John Holt said that 2.5% of those folks have become new members of Nutmeg.
“All financial institutions have been pushing members to use electronic services,” Holt said. “So, we need a retail strategy that will keep new people coming to our locations so we can talk with them and convert them to members with full relationships. When the DMV put out the RFQ for this service, we applied and they chose to work with us.”
Previously, the DMV had Express Centers in AAA offices in the southern part of the state, but that relationship had ended. The DMV still has Express Center offices in AAA locations in the northern part of Connecticut.
How Branch is Configured
The 1,600-square-foot Nutmeg branch is divided almost in half between space for DMV services and CU offerings.
“You come in and to the right is the credit union and to the left is the DMV,” Holt said.
But before someone is served by the DMV, they first check in with a new kiosk and lobby traffic/greeting system developed internally by Nutmeg.
“We developed our own software that lets two people come into the lobby and register at the same time to be served by the DMV,” Holt explained. “They can pick a time for an appointment if they like, or just get a number for their place in line and be told when they will be served. If they select an appointment time, they can leave the credit union and go shopping, run an errand … and they will receive a text alert or email message telling them it’s time to come back to the credit union. They can also make an appointment to meet with a credit union employee for banking needs.”
Setting Records
The average wait time for DMV services has been about 15 minutes, which Holt said is setting records for DMV service in the state. The lobby traffic system, said Holt, is a big reason why the credit union had no concerns about partnering with the DMV, which Holt acknowledged has a reputation for service that is not on the same level as credit unions.
The $450-million CU, too, staffs the DMV side of the branch. Seven employees are cross-trained to work both sides of the business—CU or DMV. Holt said that also helps with staffing and downtime issues, shifting human resources to where the demand is.
Consumers who stop by to visit the DMV are asked via the lobby kiosk if they want to do any banking at the credit union as they wait for their turn at the DMV. CU staff, armed with tablets, consult with the potential new members. Staff spend very little time with daily banking transactions, Holt noted, as the banking side of the branch is highly self-service.
“This has been a very good arrangement for us,” said Holt, who added that if a consumer does not choose to sign up with Nutmeg during their visit, the CU follows up with an email or text message. “We capture their cell phone and email information at the kiosk. They agree to give it to us so we can contact them about their DMV appointment. This is going very well.”
The Compensation Agreement
Similar to the AAA arrangement, Nutmeg is not paid by the state for delivering its services. The agreement, however, allows Nutmeg to charge an $8 convenience fee to anyone who uses the DMV services.
“That fee is waived if they become a member of the credit union. And, of course, our existing members are not charged for using the DMV,” Holt said.
Holt sees the relationship with the DMV expanding to more of the credit union’s locations, but an agreement to extend DMV services to more CU offices has not been finalized. He also said the credit union is looking to offer the self-service banking technology in its branches to other FIs, and may make available the lobby traffic solution as well.
Nutmeg just acquired technology and professional services provider DaLand Solutions, which will operate as a wholly owned CUSO of Nutmeg. Holt said the lobby kiosk and self-service banking solutions would be offered through DaLand.