There are countless opportunities for credit unions to spend money and improve services. But how about where they can save money and do the same?
We’ve put together a quick introduction to a few cost-cutting services for credit unions. As a bonus, they all provide opportunities to improve your products or services.
So, if you need to save money—or just make room in your budget for something else—look no further.
5 Ways Your Credit Union Can Make Room in Its Budget
Okay, so you still have to pay for these services. They’re not giving out freebies. But you can literally measure your savings from these vendors in both hours and dollars.
1. Savings on Audits and Exams: Redboard
We won’t lie, compliance isn’t exactly the most glamorous cost-saving measure for your credit union. But if you have a robust audit and examination program, this tool can save a lot of time.
How much time? Point West saw a 25% reduction in audit time, and early returns from DCU are promising as well.
They back their money-saving claim with an ROI calculator, so that’s a very promising sign.
2. Savings on ATMs: Tellerex
If you’ve ever shopped for a car, you know the value is in the used market. The same is true in the ATM industry.
Refurbished ATMs come at a fraction of the cost of new ones, but they perform just as well. If you’re updating or expanding your fleet, this can save your credit union some real money.
3. Savings on Benefits: CU Benefits Alliance
At CU 2.0, we recently realized that not all employees were using their benefits—but we were still paying for them. You can be sure the same is true at your credit union.
Wasteful spending on benefits can eat into your credit union’s budget. Freeing up a bit of unused or unnecessary benefits spending can make life quite a bit easier.
4. Savings on Member Communications: XDI
Sending out statements, notices, and forms costs both time and money. Frankly, this is one job that we can’t imagine doing in-house in the long term.
Outsourcing your member communications means no more spending time on sending mail. Plus, vendors pass their bulk sending savings onto your credit union.
5. Savings on Call Centers: UPLevel
How much time and money do you spend on member service requests? What could you accomplish if you let a dedicated group of experts handle them instead?
Bringing on a vendor to handle member service issues can save you money over staffing full-time. Plus, you’ll know you’re in very experienced hands.
6. Savings on Member Services: Posh Technologies
What if you could help people navigate your website, help them bank with Amazon Echo, or speak with them through social media? Without hiring additional staff?
Posh Technologies’ conversational AI can make that happen. Using AI to automate tasks presents a huge savings opportunity for credit unions.
7. Savings on Vendors: SRM
While all the vendors above will save you money, their services also cost money. So, what if you could make them cost less?
Companies like SRM help credit unions through vendor contract negotiation processes. They’ll bargain down vendor contract pricing to save you even more money. And they’re really good at it (they have lots of practice).
Further Reading
While there are many ways to save your credit union money (and time), these are some quick, easy wins that don’t require a change in culture or processes.
Notably too, each offers a little help in reaching scale. So, if your credit union is growing, these might ease some of those growing pains.
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