News

Between mobile and branch, no contest at PenFed CU

One of the nation's largest CUs says mobile and Web account for 8 out of 10 member interactions, leaving phone calls and branch visits in the dust.

July 16, 2015

Don't look for PenFed Credit Union to go on a branch-building spree anytime soon.

The CU — one of the nation's largest, with $18 billion in assets and more than 1.3 million members — recently revealed that in 2014, 80 percent of its member interactions involved a Web-based or mobile device. Phone calls accounted for 15 percent, while branch visits came to a mere 5 percent.

"I won't say that branches are obsolete, but our members are now accessing information via mobile devices at a rate that has surpassed branch visits and telephone calls combined," PenFen President and CEO James Schenck said in a press release.

PenFed will continue to operate branches where it makes sense from a strategic standpoint, but adding new branches "is not a part of PenFed's growth strategy," Schenck said.

Instead, the CU has added a "user experience team."

"Part of the strategic vision of PenFed involves the investment of some serious time, energy, emotion and resources in mobile," said director of user experience Brandon Harris. "[O]rganizations that are unwilling or unable to adapt to become mobile friendly have already been left behind. The fact that both mobile and digital are such critical components of PenFed's future makes it a very exciting and rewarding place to be."