Learn How Truliant Federal Credit Union Offers On-Demand Banking for Mobile-First Members

PYMNTS interviewed Jeff Hibbard, chief digital officer at Truliant Federal Credit Union, on the tools CUs must use to attract younger members.

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Young consumers want banking on demand — and they want it now. With the same ease that they can instantly summon an Uber, these consumers expect to be able to accomplish virtually any banking task quickly and easily, preferably from a smartphone.

“I would say that you can’t be in the financial services space in 2022, almost 2023, without being a direct banking organization,” said Hibbard.

Hibbard explained that the expectations of these consumers are created by their experiences with products outside the financial services realm. The convenience technology offers for shopping and entertainment carries over to other aspects of consumers’ lives, causing them to ask why they cannot secure a loan or open a bank account just as easily as they can sign up for a new subscription box or order food to their doors.

Addressing the demand for on-demand banking

Truliant has made meeting members’ on-demand banking needs a priority. Hibbard referred to a sign in his office that reads “mobile first and digital everything,” and noted that this has become his mantra when thinking about working with younger consumers.

For the millennial and Gen Z demographics, the two key sources of interaction with their FIs usually originate with either their mobile devices or debit cards, Hibbard said, adding that 35 or more interactions can be expected between those two sources per consumer every month. As a result of this proclivity, Hibbard and his team have emphasized making most transactions possible instantly with the use of a smartphone. The reception to Truliant’s digital-first, real-time strategy has been positive, according to Hibbard, enabling Truliant’s members to quickly access credit on demand, without any roadblocks or hassles.

“We do personalized loan preapprovals. That is a program that’s been running with us for a couple of years now. We’re going to keep on offering that. … It’s a great experience and a great process for somebody who needs a preapproved auto loan or credit card, or some of our other credit products,” he said.

New functionalities Truliant plans to create in the near future will be geared toward offering members increased control over their bank accounts, such as more targeted alerts and processes that allow members to approve transactions from anywhere, at any time, with a single tap of a finger on a phone screen.

CUs take on the neobanks

As on-demand banking becomes a higher priority for consumers, CUs will often compete with neobanks for members.

“[Neobanks are] great at reframing some of the challenges that have been present … for a number of years and delivering solutions to meet those challenges in very innovative and interesting ways,” Hibbard said.

Additionally, because the technology is the strongest part of a neobank’s product, they can consistently deliver technically excellent experiences to their customers. While this is difficult for any FI to compete with, Hibbard strongly believes it is beyond doable for CUs.

“How we respond as an organization is to … think about how we really get a laser focus [on member experience] and understand what our members want and how they want it, and then do a really great job at adapting our offering to meet that need.”

Hibbard believes CUs can quickly innovate to meet the challenges of the moment, both presented by the competition and to meet millennial and Gen Z member needs for banking on demand.