More than 40% of borrowers abandon a loan application if funding takes more than a few days. Mega banks and fintechs are funding in minutes. Many credit unions are still taking days or weeks, and losing members at the very moment they need them most.

Every loan is a little stressful for the borrower. Maybe they really need the money. Or maybe they’re just triple-checking they can pay it all back.

Or maybe they just forked over a ton of personal information and risk in return for…

Well, in return for what? How long will they have to wait?

What Is “Member Experience,” Anyway?

The average member experience is increasingly digital. People visit their app far more frequently than they visit their branch. And apps are all about convenience, accessibility, and speed.

Consequently, convenience, accessibility, and speed are what members expect. It’s not just that your app trains them for that. Rather, every app does.

Digital user experience (UX) is critical. UX is all about reducing friction and making sure people can do what they need without thinking too hard.

If a member gets lost or confused in the app, they might find themselves somewhere less confusing.

The member experience today is about digital ease. Period.

Where Can Credit Unions Improve Member Experience?

This is a big question. More than we can cover. But since we’re talking about lending here, we’ll keep it about lending. And the answer is simple: lending.    

Mega banks, neobanks, and fintechs can take a borrower from application to decision to funding in minutes. That’s the kind of ease members now consider normal.

For credit unions, the time from application to funding must shrink. Not days. Not weeks. Minutes.

Improving the borrowing experience is key. Modernizing lending turns a stressful, laborious process with traditionally long wait times into a breeze.

Here essentials:

• Automate decisions. Approvals should be instant whenever possible.
• Enable digital closings. Digital signatures, simplified document uploads, etc.
• Fund immediately. If the loan is approved and signed for, don’t make the borrower wait.

A member applies for an auto loan on their phone at the dealership, funded in minutes. A first-time borrower never sets foot in a branch. A credit union cuts loan processing from days to minutes. That’s the leap members expect.

Credit unions are losing ground on digital ease; modern lending platforms give them back speed, automation, and member delight.

The Case for Valiify

Valiify is an all-in-one digital account opening and loan origination system. It’s fully integrated, instantly decisioned, and designed for a frictionless experience.

With Valiify, applications take minutes, not days. As a result, members have shown a 5x increase in completed loan applications.

But that doesn’t mean 5x more loans. It’s actually way more. Because Valiify has also shown a 211% boost in loan application rates over the legacy systems they replace.

Additionally, Valiiify features:

• Immediate core updates
• Cross-sell after loans
• Automated ID checks, compliance documentation, and underwriting

These aren’t just considered “good to have” anymore. For anyone who banks primarily on their phones—which is a lot of us—these are expectations.

Valiify and LOS providers like them are offering member experience in a bottle. For digital banking users, their benefits are already table stakes.    

Don’t let fintechs set the pace. Download the one-pager to see how leading credit unions are matching their speed.