14 Sep CU Mobile Apps Light Version Released

In today’s highly competitive financial marketplace, he who lags behind in member service is often lost, and credit union members are increasingly demanding the mobile app convenience their friends enjoy. Smaller credit unions, however, with limited staff and resources, have found that including a mobile app in their benefit package was often beyond their reach—until now:

In March, CU Mobile Apps (a partner of CUNA Strategic Services), introduced a specially designed “Light” version of their successful mobile app package for credit unions—and it has already proved to be a real game changer, according to Mary Arena, CEO of New Jersey’s Middlesex County EFCU, one of the first to subscribe to the new “Light” mobile app on behalf of their 1,700+ members.

“We had previously investigated a number of different mobile app providers, since our members had been asking for a Middlesex County app,” Arena explained. “The CUMA Light product was the first that was not only eminently affordable, but offered real value—including wanted features like customized links to our website and social media, mobile banking, branch locations and so forth. At less than $7 a day, the system actually costs less than providing coffee in our lobby!”

Another early adopter of the CUMA Light app echoed Arena’s gratification: “Justifying the cost of a mobile app has been the real challenge to this point,” said Lindsay Risiner, CEO/Manager of Louisiana’s Barton FCU. “But the functionality we’re enjoying is beyond anything we had expected to find within our budget. This app came customized with our logo graphics and set up just as we wanted; it even includes an alternate language feature for our Hispanic members. And, best of all, it essentially maintains itself with oversight from the CUMA Light tech support team.”

That support team may indeed be the app’s most popular feature. Arena admits that Middlesex County FCU’s board of directors had concerns about embracing technology that required additional training to operate and administer.

“‘User-friendly’ is often an optimistic exaggeration on the part of technology providers,” she observed wryly. “It has been an immense relief to know that the CUMA Light app arrived fully customized, with its own tech team in place—ready to respond to our questions and make needed changes and updates so we need not worry about self-maintenance.”

The list of ‘Light’ features includes internet/mobile banking access, social media integration, dual language capability, branch locations, customizable links to shared networks, and enhanced mobile app security that includes unlimited in-app push notifications for fraud alerts.

The start-up investment of under $500, plus a monthly subscription rate less than $200 is “a virtual steal,” says Risiner, “compared to enrollment fees of $2,000 or more; and monthly maintenance fees that are nearly double the Light rate.
“The CUMA Light app has only been available for 8 weeks,” she noted, “but it is already proving to be an excellent mobile app solution for us. The CUMA team made it easy for our size credit union to introduce an outstanding mobile experience for our members.”

CU Mobile Apps (CUMA, LLC), a national leader who helped pioneer the credit union mobile app field in 2011, has seen its original mobile app product’s growth explode as more than half of the nation’s credit unions now embrace mobile app technology and have watched their memberships—and their members’ satisfaction—increase significantly.

CUMA, LLC, now lists more than 100 of the nation’s most respected credit unions among its clients—representing over a million members and more than $10 billion in combined assets, according to Paul Matejcak, Executive Account Manager, Mobile Products, for LSC, a CUMA partner institution. Recent analytics reflect more than 1.2 million active users of their apps, which offer robust mobile strategies for larger markets, as well as the new CUMA Light product designed to benefit smaller to mid-sized markets.
“This is a set-it-and-forget it product—a totally customizable, turnkey, fast-to-market app—affordable and flexible,” said Matejcak. “It was designed to offer an efficient and economical way for a smaller credit union to initiate a presence in the mobile app arena. The CUMA Light app is an ideal foundation app that also allows the credit union to stay ahead of the technology curve if they want to upgrade to an enhanced mobile app at some future date.”

The Light mobile app should not be confused with a mobile web app, since it offers both native and URL-based functionality, Matejcak stressed. “This app will be live or available for download in the iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon marketplaces. Its name may be ‘Light’ but it’s a heavy hitter when it comes to performance.”

CU Mobile Apps (CUMA, LLC) is a partnership of three industry leaders:

LSC (League Services Corporation) has provided support services and fresh solutions to credit unions for more than 45 years. (www.lsc.net )

Member Service Solutions, LLC, creators of the CU Mobile Apps content management system and platform, has been serving the needs of credit unions for more than 40 years. (www.cumobileapps.com)

Metova, Inc., is a respected developer of custom applications for Web, smart phone, and table platforms, including Android, iOS, Blackberry, and Windows Phone. They serve government and commercial clients worldwide. (www.Metova.com )