"Call for credit union access through Post Office network"

...“Everyone who would like access to a credit union should be able to do so through the network. Problems are identified too often, and this would be a good solution. After people had drawn their cash by means of whatever follows the Post Office card account—a similar arrangement, I hope—they could save through credit unions. That would provide all the advantages that the socially excluded do not currently have, and we ignore it at our peril.”

Not until the second or third paragraph in the above article do you realize that this is a UK credit union news release. However, before you dismiss it as irrelevant to US credit unions, I feel it serves as a prime example of the benefits of looking outside our own industry “box” for innovation. It made me think about similar “why not” opportunities for credit unions here in the U.S.

Too often, we focus only on internal industry partners for enhancing service & capability when external practices and relationships may present as much, or greater, opportunity. For example, there are numerous online service strategies & lessons to be learned from consumer e-commerce websites. Yet, I know of only a couple credit unions who attend the conferences regarded as important events for the B2C e-commerce industry.

Instead, we tend to focus on “best practice” and “innovation” only when it directly applies to our industry. This doesn't just apply to individual credit unions but also to the vendors or CUSOs who serve them (Callahans not excluded). Imagine the possibilities of a similar partnership among credit unions and the US Postal Service…or, any other nationwide retail organization?

Think it can't happen? Have a look at USAA Bank's QuickPost service offering "over 4,200 nationwide deposit drop off locations" where deposits "are generally credited the next business day." This innovation is from a relatively new bank that doesn't have a single brick & mortar branch or ATM.

Who is negotiating to give U.S. credit unions this level of community presence?

What are the other opportunities that could be explored outside our industry?