Oregon Community Credit Union has launched phase one of its digital platform, a move meant to “set the foundation” for the credit union’s new focus toward automation, Chris Whittaker, vice president of consumer lending, told Auto Finance News.
The Eugene, Ore.-based credit union, which originated $350 million in auto and RV loans last year, launched the platform in May — called MyOCCU Online & Mobile. OCCU works with 400 dealerships in 28 counties across the state.
The digital banking system took “a good year and a half” to integrate, Whittaker said. “[The platform] is an advancement where instead of just unplugging one thing and plugging in another, we stopped, paused and tried to bring [digital banking] to our systems. Now we have more control.”
In addition to creating better customer experiences, the online and mobile platform enables OCCU to analyze data in its “data warehouse” to target messages based on member preferences, including customizing auto loan rates for individual members.
“If I have three different members, they see three different ads, and so on,” Whittaker said. “We have messages that are built into those platforms,” he added, noting that the CU leverages data from direct email campaigns sent to members, as well.
Over the next six to 12 months, OCCU will evaluate the digital platform and determine what areas can change to enhance the experience for members. On top of that, the credit union is interested in partnering with fintechs to drive expansion — depending on how phase one pans out with members, Whittaker said.
“We want to look at [the platform] and know how it’ll set us up better for the future, so we don’t have a bunch of disparate systems,” Whittaker said. “We’re never going to be able to compete with [big banks]. We’re never going to be that bleeding edge, and we’re not going to be first to market. However, we do have a strong desire to be quick to follow.”
To that end, OCCU is homing in on its “one app” digital platform that combines all banking into a single login for members, Whittaker said. “Big players will have their credit card app, and then say: ‘Here’s our mortgage app,’ — but [consumers] want [one] app, right?”
The goal is for OCCU members to access all of their finance business with the credit union. “Now we’re getting closer and closer to that kind of an experience for our members,” Whittaker said.
