The Andera Blog

Last week we released some aggregate data on the average number of deposit account applications and approval rates for our client base in 2012. You can download our report, "Online Account Opening Success Rates"  here.

The aggregate figures we quote come from over 400 clients using our original Andera account opening platform.  (The rest of our clients use our new oFlows platform; if you're not in the loop check out the overview on our Solutions page) Results are segmented by institution type and by asset size; for banks we have six asset classes and for credit unions only five.

On June 27^th, Andera is hosting a webinar highlighting best practices in website design for community financial institutions who want acquire accounts and loans online. The webinar will feature representatives from both People's Credit Union (CU) and Pannos-Winzeler Marketing, the firm that designed and built People's CU's new website, www.peoplescu.com. All webinar registrants will receive a copy of the detailed case study we developed to share their story.

As a sneak preview, here are a few things that People's CU got right:

1. Make your website sell

A foremost objective for all financial...

Last month Pete Cashmore, the founder and CEO of Mashable.com, wrote "2013 is the year of responsive web design."  His statement is powerful endorsement from one of the most powerful voices in technology today, but if you've been keeping up with the trends, it probably comes as no surprise. Today "responsive web design" seems to be on the tip of everyone's tongue, just like "mobile" was a few years ago. But what is responsive web design, exactly, and how does it apply to credit unions? Is this something credit unions need to start thinking about now, or is it still a novel concept, not mature enough to warrant immediate adoption?

Responsive Web Design, The Basics

The term "responsive web design" was first coined by developer-designer Ethan Marcotte in a 

Although I've been working in retail bank marketing for many years now, a decade ago I was managing marketing for JPMorgan's two online brokerage brands, BrownCo and JPMorgan Invest.  Often I'm struck by the similarities between the problems I encounter now and the problems I encountered then. In many ways, I feel like the banking industry is where the brokerage industry was 15 years ago. 

I recently came across a case study that comparing Charles Schwab and E*Trade, written in 1999.  (You can access it here). When I read it, I felt like I could have been reading a publication about retail banking written in 2013. Just take these excepts and replace the bolded text with "banks and credit unions:

In person, identity verification is easy. Ask for a photo ID, check to make sure the hair is the same color and the age looks right, shine it under a purple light if you want to be extra sure it's real.  Online, it's a little more difficult.  As the famous 1993 New Yorker cartoon states, "  On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog." Although we've come a long way in online identity verification since 1993, it's still an imperfect process. This is how identity verification in online account opening and lending works:  

Step 1:  Verify that someone with the applicant's name, address, and social security number exists.

To complete step one, most online identity verification systems call out to one of the big three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, who then search for an identity match within their vast repositories of consumer credit data.