I caught a look at this article from BankInnovation about Bank of America's mobile users. Recently, BofA Senior VP Marc Warshawsky disclosed that the number of mobile logins to their electronic banking services outnumbered the "online" logins (that is, from a personal computer) for the first time. Apparently, BofA customers can't get enough of the megabank's mobile apps. Warshawsky had a few words for how to manage mobile as smartphone penetration increases.

From the article:

How should banks approach mobile? “Think like a software company,” Warshawsky said. But he added a word of caution to developers: “Not everything is the right thing to do for customers just because you can do it.”

A sharp observation. But I wonder what he means by "think like a software company", especially when software companies aren't really "companies" these days - some are just a handful of developers, or even one developer, working remotely to make an app. Hard for a company as large as BofA to tell other large institutions that the key to success is thinking small and light, don't you think?

To try and expand on this very small soundbite and think it out a bit, I made some notes. Tell me if you agree or not: 

Step 1: Function first, form second, platform third

If I were a developer, I would want to create a product first and foremost. What's the pain I'm trying to salve over with this app? Marco Arment, creator of Instapaper, had a single goal in mind: make articles easy to read when you're able to read them. He worked hard to create the code that would strip out all the ads from an article and present the information in a way that was easy on the eyes (Instapaper makes it easy to adjust brightness and font size - great for guys like me who love their iPad and hate having to find their glasses). He then brought that to bear on the iPhone, the Kindle, the computer monitor, the iPad...and now that he's sold a majority stake to BetaWorks, you'll likely see the app on every platform out there. But what makes it worth the time and money? Simple - it does one thing well on the back end and presents it beautifully on the front end, no matter which "front end" you're using.

Step 2: Change is good, and necessary, and (relatively) easy

There's a world of difference between the "software" we were used to in the 90's and early 00's and the "apps" we can't live without today. "Software" was a big, branded box of discs and booklets and download codes. Want to update that software? You need another box and another authenticity code and another set of booklets. And, most likely, you'll wait five years.

"Apps" live in our little icon squares and update every few weeks...maybe every few days. When developers find bugs or want to push updates, it happens quickly and, typically, efficiently. Adobe's taken note of this - their super-expensive and super-sought-after Creative Suite is going subscription, meaning updates and changes will be pushed automatically - no more buying upgrades to CS packages. Don't be afraid to upgrade your mobile offering when the time comes and be sure to focus on bug reports, breaks and user feedback.

Step 3: Find new ways to simplify and specialize

Malauzai, our mobile app partner for our My Virtual StrongBox app, has made a few headlines recently thanks to their common-sense approach to app development. River City FCU has a high number of Spanish-speaking members. The solution? A multi-lingual app that can serve both English- and Spanish-speaking markets effectively. Users complained about having to enter login credentials to check a balance. The solution? An app that will display balances and recent transactions without logging in but requires a full login for transactions. Simple, compliant, effective. 

Our own app's got some smart problem-solving features, too. Some folks don't have scanners and want to make electronic copies of paper documents. Solution? Take a picture with your iPad's camera app and it stores the image in your online safe deposit space. Simple!

Step 4: Always be closing...er, opening, that is.

Warshawsky warns against overwhelming users with too much functionality in an app. While you may not want to jam every possible user action into your mobile app, you should definitely leave yourself open to opportunity. If a member checks in three times a day, how can you be sure they'll be seeing what they "should be" seeing? That is, how can you make certain that when a member's ready to move on a home loan or an auto loan, they think of you first? Better get smart about giving people clear paths to a deeper relationship.

Apps are a way to keep current and bring mobile convenience to members. They are, however, just another mile-marker on the road to mobile dominance in our culture. What happens when that much-discussed "mobile wallet" hits the member's hands? Are you going to be an important player, or an obstacle to progress? How can you be sure you won't be left behind? 

Talk to us about it in the comments.

Yesterday, the Twitter account of the Associated Press was hacked and a misleading tweet was posted, claiming that the White House and the President had been attacked. This, of course, was not true. But the damage was. Oh, yes it was. The stock market dipped ferociously, then self-corrected when it was determined that the claim was false. Twitter went crazy; first, with fear, then with ridicule of the AP, an organization that is assuredly licking its wounds as of this writing. 

Now, let's abstract this. What if it were your CU's Twitter account? What if someone "hacked" that account (we'll get to the term "hacked" in a minute), and sent a message to all your followers that told them your CU was going out of business, or that a branch had been robbed? Imagine the blow-back. 

Luckily, there's a website to test the security of your Twitter password. It's called IsYourTwitterPasswordSecure.com. Try it out! Go on, I'll wait. Come back when you're done. 

I'm betting you just saw one of these: 

Now, we can't be sure that anyone at the AP put their password somewhere they shouldn't have. But this website is giving a strong piece of advice, given with a strong hand. Be suspicious of ANY SITE that asks for your user name and password to ANOTHER SERVICE. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social sites have protocols for dealing with authorization. As a user, you can grant and revoke access to devices, web services and even between other social services as you please. 

I'm not sure how the AP managed their Twitter account, but I have to wonder - who made password decisions? How often were those passwords changed? How were notices of change made to the people with access? These are all important considerations.

And if it's as simple as a password guess, why wasn't someone insisting that the passwords get stronger? There's a big difference between "being hacked" and setting all your passwords to be "password". It's the same as locking your door and etching on the doorknob "the key's under the mat, don't worry about it."

These are the kinds of things that credit unions should care about and should teach members. Yes, I'm serious. Members might not be aware of phishing attempts, of proper password construction, or of what your CU's policy is about asking for account information in an email, tweet, facebook message, or online on a website. You can't stop people from making a bad decision, but you can provide them with the right kind of insight that keeps them from doing something foolish...or blaming you for not telling them what to expect. 

Maybe you shouldn't call a member an idiot...but you have to admit, the example above really sinks in.  

I used to love watching Cheers. A funny show with a great cast, Cheers lasted through eleven season, a female lead change (are you a Diane fan or a Rebecca fan?) and thousands of shouts of "NORM!"

Sometime in the middle of its run, Cheers cut down its theme song and opening credits ("Where Everybody Knows Your Name" is stuck in your head now, isn't it?) to get to the show faster. Why waste time? Squeeze in more show, a few more jokes, a couple more beers - don't bother with the song we all know the words to anyway. Get to the point. 

I bring it up because I just read a bit of ON Innovation by author Terry Jones. In it, he talks about how the nature of gathering information has changed. Customers are walking into buying situations with a heaping helping of information and prep. From the book: 

My realtor friend told me the other day, there is no such thing as a "First Showing" of a house anymore. "Every showing is a second showing as all my customers have whittled their list down online and have seen every house already!"

Customers no longer need you for information, they need you for advice! "Actually sir, this color looks better on you", "I drove this model for three months and got about 21 mpg, so that is what you can really expect".

Interesting. As information becomes more and more accessible, people spend more time reading and researching major purchases. It theorhetically makes a sale easier. Theorhetically.

But as a person who sells things and a veteran of the CU industry, I have to wonder about how effective "more information" really is.

Let's say I'm looking into a product. For argument's sake, let's say it's a power washer. I start by searching online for "power washers". It goes from there to Amazon, then to home improvement store websites. I look at reviews ("stars", average prices, write-ups, etc.) and then I check out prices across all the websites I've visited. If I can find any, I'll grab a coupon or two. If I'm convinced, I'll buy online. If I need to look at the whole affair in person, I'll head to the stores. I make my purchase, start power washing everything and, pretty soon, my house is sparkly clean. And my neighbor's house. And his boat. Okay, so I got carried away. 

But that's an item. That's not a credit union. 

If I'm shopping for a car loan, how do I make a choice? Is it anything more than rate? If I'm out hunting, can I read reviews of the bank or credit union I'm using? Do I start with my current lender and work my way out? Can I go "kick the tires"? And how much information can I really gather?

I take three notes away from this: 

1. "The Best Foot Forward Approach" - Is the information people are collecting to make a purchase/account opening decision the most useful information? And how do you determine that? Getting feedback on the lending process is a great idea. Talking with members, making notes, figuring out where the hard-to-understand ideas are - that helps prevent confusion in further one-on-one advising situations. And speaking of "advising"...
2. "What's Your Take?" - Are tellers and MSRs familiar with the experiences that drive a member's questions? How familiar are mortgage specialists with buying a home? Have they purchased one of their own? Experience is a great teacher and opinion does matter.
3. "Tow the Line" - Is everyone in the organization on the same page when it comes to answering questions? Do they have all the most important information at hand? If they can't answer a question right away, how quickly can they get that answer to the member? Good training and a dash of technology can assure that members can get the right answer from anyone at any time and that a qualified representative can answer any lingering questions. 

So, no, don't bother with the full theme song. Get to the good stuff - answered questions, thoughtful advice and opinion, and, eventually, the deal.

And if making your way in the world today takes everything you've got, well...you oughta go where everybody knows your name.

It's always interesting to read an article that challenges convention, then see the blow-back from that article, then see the author's response to the blow-back. With so much media to manage these days, conversations and commentary come out of the woodwork. If they don't reply on your blog, they'll reply on their blog. Or on Twitter. Or on Facebook. Or by phone. Or right up in your face. 

Take, for instance, this opinion piece by Nick Bilton in the New York Times. It's a piece that rails against the "Thank You!" email, the voice mail where a text message should go, the use of friends to answer a question that's made for Google. 

Really, who sends an e-mail or text message that just says “Thank you”? Who leaves a voice mail message when you don’t answer, rather than texting you? Who asks for a fact easily found on Google?

Don’t these people realize that they’re wasting your time?

As you might expect, the lament of a 36-year-old super-geek didn't sit well with readers, many of whom are from a generation removed - one that emphasized penmanship, greeting cards and always saying "please" and "thank you". 

Do I really care about "Thank You" emails? No, not really. They're nice to get, and if they have more information or want to continue a conversation, why not? But I'm not going to lose sleep, nor should anyone looking for a reply from me be upset if I just move forward with the next steps after I get an email with an "action item". 

Bilton again, with a worthwhile consideration: 

How to handle these differing standards? Easy: think of your audience. Some people, especially older ones, appreciate a thank-you message. Others, like me, want no reply. “It is important to think about who the relationship is with,” Mr. [Daniel Post] Senning said.

Audience, audience, audience. The number one consideration in marketing, business, sales, collections, consultations, etc. You have to remember to whom you're talking. 

Based on the reactions he got, you might think Mr. Bilton hasn't considered his audience's reaction. Spoiler alert: they got mad. They called Bilton a "sociopath" (no, really), irrational, impatient, sad...they really didn't like the idea that he didn't want to talk to his mother directly, but rather via Twitter. Bilton later explained that his mother lives in England and, as a San Francisco resident, he couldn't call her at any hour that was convenient for both of them, so they rely on Twitter to fill in the gaps. He talks about how he does, in fact, hand-write thank you notes to friends and relations. But too late - the audience had made up their minds.

Bilton says he doesn't mind being "the punching bag" for people his age. He did lament, however, the extremes people go to when they react to something they don't like. They talk about how disgustingly disconnected from reality he must be to dislike a "thank you" message. Bilton replies that the stewards of Emily Post's legacy of good manners insist that, yes, you should consider the audience when crafting a reply. Some people will love a "thanks!", some won't. Some people will want a voice mail, some will just delete it. 

And then Bilton made a really terrific point about who trains whom in our culture. It used to be that older people taught younger people everything. As technology advances and people develop skills at different ages, it's clear that education moves in two directions: up and down the years, each generation having something to offer the other. 

I had to learn to text if I wanted to get an answer to a simple question out of my kids. My younger employees come to me if they want my input about business or finance. We have many ways of communicating and we all have things we need to get done, so we all have to adjust our methods from time to time to make it work. 

Now...let's talk about "what you've always done" and member communication. 

The truth is, things change. People want to converse and conduct business in different ways, and the methods they use are changing all the time. But in embracing changes, consider the audience's reaction to your messages. Maybe one group really loves hearing from you every month. Maybe one group wants a phone call every once in a while. Maybe there are outliers - people who have adopted new ways of handling all of their inputs and have rolled with the changes. 

Pay attention. Knowing how to talk to people is critical to a credit union marketer/manager's livelihood. Knowing when to say something and what to say is so important, and just as important, knowing when to quit talking and let people get back to their lives. 

My Pet Peeve: When you use an online chat or a toll-free line for customer support and people keep pushing the script on you when you've made it very clear that you're done. 

Me: "Well, thank you, that's all."

Them: "Okay, Mr. Daly, is there anything else I can help you with today?"

Me (in my brain): "Are you not listening? Or are you just forced to do this, like a robot?"

Me: "No, that's it."

Them: "Okay, thank you for calling our help line. You can reach us online any time at www..."

Me (in my brain again): "Come ON, just say goodbye and hang up the phone."

I like dealing with people, not people ordered to act like a computer. Here's my dream customer service call.

Me: "Well, thank you, that's all I needed."

Them: "Okay, Mr. Daly. Have a good afternoon."

Me: "Okay, bye!"

I've had maybe three of these calls in my life. And I make a lot of calls. 

All it takes is a little listening. People unsubscribe from your newsletter? Fine, but make a note of that. Don't chalk it up as "this person's not interested"...find a way into their lives that works for them and you. It exists, I'm sure. 

And when they talk, listen. And when they reply, read it thoroughly. And when they care, you should care, too. 

Don't let technology fool you into thinking that etiquette and thoughtfulness don't mean anything, to any given age group. Treat members with respect and you'll earn theirs. 

And for what it's worth? You should call your mom on the phone. Unless she's totally into Facebook now. 

There are times when the leader of a business knows he or she has to kill off a product. In some cases, this is celebrated. In others, it's met with many loud groans and much sadness.

Google Reader is a perfect example of the latter. Widely used, widely adored, free to all - but on July 1, it gets the proverbial knock on the head from Google. This simple, lovable web service is going to that big farm upstate to chase rabbits. Yeah, that's it. Rabbits.

Hopefully, this won't affect the "CU Blogosphere" too much. Heaven knows there are plenty of places to get your fill, including CU Insight, the CU Watercooler, various Twitter feeds, Facebook feeds...the list goes on, but you get the point. Just because Google Reader dies, that doesn't mean the stories stop coming.

But for those RSS-heavies, it's going to be a rough few months. Where will they go for their stories, their thought pieces, their news?

Humbly, I submit a few suggestions.

1. Outlook Users, Rejoice! - I'm forever in Outlook (Neil Diamond, where are you? I've got a song for you and you don't even need a new melody!), so the Reader news doesn't bother me that much - I had one of my Nerds-in-Residence set up my RSS feeds in my Outlook. It's a simple, painless process and it means you can use Outlook for more that just email churn and booking meetings. Here's the Outlook team on how to set it up for yourself.
2. Mac Users, Hit the App Store - The Mac App store has a few dozen RSS-app options, a few of them free, the rest only a small amount. One thing I did notice - many apps are "Google Reader Apps", meaning they integrated with Google Reader. Wonder if their developers will try and adapt or simply close up shop.

   One highly recommended app, Fever, is $30 (yikes!) and its developer has stated, publicly, he really doesn't have the time to work on it. Plus, you self-host the service. A big turn-off for the non-technical.

   So what are our lonely Mac Lovers going to do? I turned to my go-to on things like this, Jimmy Marks, and - after several minutes of teasing him (he's a big-time Google Reader Believer) - asked what he planned on doing.

   "Feedly's probably the way to go. It's not as cut-and-dry as Reader is, but it focuses on the newest content and lets you navigate around on your terms. I don't use Mac's Mail app, or I'd do what you did and add the RSS feeds there. Now stop throwing paperclips at me, I'm in a bad enough mood as it is!"
   
   (Editor's Note -- I wasn't throwing paperclips at him. That you know of.) 

3. See If Your Favorite Blogs Have Social Feeds/"Updates by Mail" Options - Many blogs have their RSS items go directly to their Twitter or Facebook feed. Others still use direct-to-inbox delivery to get the message out when it's time. The CU Soapbox's posts go to a mail audience in the hundreds, many of whom prefer to read their feed from the comfort of their email inbox. Giving people different points of entry doesn't do anything to the results - if they're reading and engaged, you're doing your job.
4. Google's Cleaning Up, Why Don't You? - If you're anything like me, you've gathered quite a few blogs over the years. Many of them stop posting and you just sort of forget about them. Go ahead and delete those feeds. This frees you from the struggle of bothering with too many blogs and sets you up to find something new and exciting out there in the blogging world.

There are plenty of people who want to petition Google to save Reader. They're probably the same kind of folks who are waiting on that Arrested Development movie. Want my take? Let's give Reader a good send-off and then move on to bigger and better. There are always better apps out there, and if there aren't, it's our duty as lovers of technology to create them. Necessity is the mother of invention.

As far as how this applies to credit unions' blogs...you went to all that trouble to create a blog or a news feed or an events feed. Will people still follow it when Reader bites the dust? Better be sure they do. Find new ways to get the same content to the same people without the crutch of Google Reader and you're good to go.

by Jimmy Marks

On Monday morning, just as the CUNA Government Affairs Conference (GAC) was getting underway, Chip Filson, Chairman of Callahan & Associates, Inc. was gathering a crowd of CU professionals for a press conference. As the room quickly filled and places were taken in chairs and along the walls of the meeting room, Filson announced a new vision for the NCUA and for credit unions - a vision based on the seven cooperative principles. Filson's proposal would encourage the administration to allow credit unions to have a say in which individuals would be selected for open NCUA board seats.

From the Press Release that accompanied the conference: 

"The cooperative design is foundational to the success of credit unions and their member-owners. Yet there is widespread concern that the Agency is not practicing cooperative solutions," Filson said. "How can credit unions fulfill their special role in providing Americans with real choices for their financial wellbeing if a cooperative regulatory perspective is lacking?"

Filson called on all attendees - and, in turn, all credit unions and credit union members - to sign a petition on the White House public petitions website, asking the Obama Administration to fill upcoming NCUA board-seat vacancies with "leaders who understand the shared economic value for people and communities created by the Cooperative model". As of this writing, the petition has received 549 signatures and needs 99,451 more to be considered formally by the White House. The 100,000 signature benchmark must be met by March 26, 2013 for the petition to be considered.

When asked whether or not the petition would hold any real significance, Filson seemed adamant that the petition itself was an important example of the openness of governance and leadership, whether the 100,000 signature goal is met or not. NCUA board members are currently appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

Filson's release also served as his declaration of candidacy for the upcoming board seat. Planks in Filson's platform include:

• Reestablishing cooperative principles as the foundation for the credit union regulatory system
• Providing credit union members and leaders an opportunity to demonstrate their support for leadership based on the cooperative principles
• Advancing the vision of a 21st century cooperative regulator.

Filson has a long history of working with credit unions, CUSOs and other finance-based businesses. Between the years of 1981 and 1985, Filson served as the Director of the Office of Examination and Insurance and the CEO of NCUSIF for the NCUA. He was a co-founder of Callahan & Associates, an organization he now serves as Chairman, and sits on the board of several organizations, including DigitalMailer, the owners and operators of this blog.

Remarks and response in the conference room were positive, with some mild confusion about the tone of the message and how to best convey the sum of the ideas expressed to credit unions and their members. Simply put (at least from the writer's viewpoint) - credit unions should want to have a hand in choosing the people that regulate them and the direction the NCUA takes in the future. Members should understand a desire to use a democratic process to choose their leaders - it's a part of the American experience.

If you're interested in the petition or the finer points of Filson's campaign, go to www.coopsforchange.org.

How do you feel about a more cooperatively-minded NCUA? If not Filson, who should take the seat, if credit unions get to choose? Talk to us in the comment section.

Yes, it's that time again - the Government Affairs Conference (GAC) is only a few short days away and we here at the CU Soapbox couldn't be more excited. This is the one time of year when everyone eschews the warm, calming comforts of a casino or a far-off resort in paradise for the chilly, wind-swept streets of Washington, DC. But even with the sub-arctic blasts and the almost-being-hit-by-a-motorcade, GAC attendees always seem to be in high spirits. 

We're looking forward to being there this year. If you want, swing by the Filene Charging Station from 12:30 to 1:30 on Monday and you'll see me and Jimmy Marks. Feel free to drop by and have a chat while your phone, laptop, or tablet is charging.  I'm happy to sign autographs on any of my merchandise you might happen to have with you (kidding, of course). We'll also be bouncing around town in our usual whirlwind of lunch-having, drink-buying, event-attending and, yes, even Thunder-punching.

In the interest of making your GAC go a little more smoothly, I went a grabbed some light reading for the plane, train,  or automobile ride there. I also threw in a few notes about GAC, the Washington Convention Center, the surrounding areas and our favorite restaurants and bars for all your nightlife needs. 

Organizational Must-Haves

Here's a link to the Official GAC Schedule. Bookmark it, instagram it, make it the lock-screen on your iPad...whatever makes it easy to remember. There's also a full breakdown you can download as a PDF and save in your e-reader, if you're so moved.

Here's a quick link to the street address of the Washington Convention Center so you can quickly map your way there while mobile. Enter your starting address and it should get you there. One note about Googling for this address: the "pin" is dropped at the rear of the convention center - it's accessible from right in front of Mt. Vernon Square and this is probably the entrance and exit you'll want to use to get to the Chinatown area where most of the nightlife happens.

If you plan on exploring the greater DC area while you're in town (assuming you have the free time), you may want to go to a Metro station and grab a Metro card. Embark is an app that can help you navigate the often-confusing (and sometimes delayed) Metro. You can grab the Metro at either the Mt. Vernon Square OR Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro stops, both a short walk away from the Convention Center.

If you're in need of cash, there are two ATMs that are part of the Co-op network. This map shows the convention center and the two ATMs closest to it (GSA and Justice, just fyi). These are marked on the map with a red pushpin. 

Good Eats

You have a multitude of options for food in the GAC area. On the map above with the red pushpins for ATMs, we've added yellow pushpins for places to grab a bite. 

High Class Dining

There are three restaurants we really like in the Chinatown area. Matchbox does great pizza and American cuisine and has a great cocktail selection. The 901 Restaurant and Bar has a chic style and some tasty food. Acadiana is the most pricey, but the cuisine - a kind of Creole fusion - is to die for.  

Good, Fast, AND Cheap

Need something speedy that doesn't cost a bundle? There's Chipotle, Fuddruckers Burgers, Five Guys, Potbelly and Chopp'd (a salad joint, if you're into that) all in the same block.  

As far as bars go, just walk toward Chinatown and you'll see them in the same area as your dining spots. There are too many to mark and our map's crowded as-is, but there's Fado's (Irish pub), RFD, Rocket Bar...the list goes on. 

And coffee? There's always a Starbucks around, including one right inside the Convention Center. Fear not...there will be caffeine.

Good Reads 

Go ahead and save these articles to your Instapaper or Evernote apps, or throw down a bookmark. There's a lot of good food-for-thought here and it'll help you get through your travel. 

5 Places to Spot Washington Celebrities While at GAC

Who to See at GAC

CUSOs Look to GAC to Step Out of the ‘Vendor’ Category

“How to Hike the Hill”, a CUNA Mutual Group Instructional

GAC – Traditional Media & Social Media…Hand in Hand

There's what people know, and then there's what people "know". 

And whaddayaknow? Typically, they're complete opposites. 

 You see, there's "conventional wisdom" - what people think they know based on their personal experience - and then there's "real, actual wisdom". "Real, actual wisdom" typically shows up in the form of unbiased research with clear results. Is it more "trusted"? No, not likely, because nobody wants to feel like they're wrong. But it is a reflection of the truth. 

What got me going on all this is a recent Nielsen Group study on teens and technology. Now, "conventional wisdom" tells us that teens are wired and great with technology. What does the "real, actual wisdom" tell us? 

Teens are not technowizards who surf the web with abandon. And they don’t like sites laden with glitzy, blinking graphics. Teens are often stereotyped as only wanting things that are bold and different. They’re also often viewed as being fearless about technology and constantly connected to some form of media. Although this might be partially true, it’s an oversimplification and letting this steer your design can lead to disastrous outcomes.

The study Nielsen conducted focused on the ability of teenagers to gather information and see a process through online. What did the study find? That teens had poor patience and attention spans, poor reading skills, and bad research methods. They weren't as good at finding the info and making the right decisions based on what they found. 

The study goes on to talk about what works with teens and what fails. What works?

• Smart, concise writing
• Large, readable fonts and big images (to compensate for small screens)
• Self-selecting social and email (yes, email) options. 

Wait, that sounds like a list of things older users would like!

Not to sound like a teen, but...DUH. 

Who doesn't like reading things that are easy to understand? Who doesn't like a website that's built large enough to read and use? Who doesn't like to have the option to not socialize every single online interaction? 

A little research goes a long way. For a while, when I would describe our newest product, My Virtual StrongBox, the people I talked to would tell me that their older users wouldn't like it. After pulling demographic information for  My Virtual StrongBox's users, we discovered that use was highest among ages 30-39, and second highest – yep, you guessed it – among users in their 40s and 50s. "Conventional wisdom" made it seem like a product built for Gen-Y. "Real, actual wisdom" proved the real market had a touch of gray. 

Long story short? Take the time to ask, to record, to report, to study – to really, truly know.

Then, act.

I'm an iPhone guy. When most of my peers were pecking away at a Blackberry hard-key, I was tapping and swiping my touchscreen wonder-phone. I'm currently working with an iPhone 4s, having bequeathed my old phone to one of my kids (who dropped her iPhone and shattered the screen). 

As someone who sits watching at the cross section of technology and finance, I'm fascinated by the idea of the "mobile wallet". I read a little more about it every day and, despite all my reading, I'm not quite sure what to think. Yes, interest is growing, but it's still small. Yes, the tech advancements are impressive, but also scattered between the people who were already handling payments (Visa, Mastercard and the like) and the start-ups (or is it "upstarts"?) out to stake their claim (Paypal, Square, Isis). Cheap, plastic doodads jut out of your phone that let you physically swipe a credit card with your smart phone. Suddenly, your smart phone's a wallet AND a cash register.

And a bank account? Time will tell, I suppose, if the merger between your phone and your wallet puts CUs at risk.

I pulled a few recent articles about the topic that I think are worth reading: 

Mobile Monday: Square Wallet Provides a Sneak Peek at the Future of Proximity Payment (Jim Bruene, NetBanker, full story here)

"And all your previous transactions, with full itemized receipts, are available within the Square app... It's truly the future of payments available for a sneak peek today. I highly recommend giving the Square Wallet a try."

Are Bankers Ready for The Bank 3.0 Reality? (Jim Marous, JD Power Banking Blog, full story here)

"[Quote from Brett King] The problem is that there are so many start-ups in the financial services and payments space that are impacting the way people view financial services that significant technology projects need to be undertaken by traditional banks just to keep pace. Investing in a technology layer, combined with the new costs of compliance, will be a challenge for smaller institutions. That doesn’t eliminate the potential for smaller organizations to collaborate or to build partnerships to respond to market realities, but I don’t see this happening."

Will You Be Ready When Mobile Wallets Turn Banking Upside Down? (Jeffry Pilcher, The Financial Brand, full story here)

"No matter what consumers today say they think of mobile wallets today, mobile wallets will triumph. Why? Because mobile wallets will simplify consumers’ lives in very personal and relevant ways. For starters, they eliminate the nuisance of thick, cluttered wallets. They also reduce the transmission of germs, because they eliminate  plastic cards, pens/signatures, touchscreens and keypads."

Mobility Matters: The Mobile Wallet Wars (Robert McGarvey, cutimes.com, full story here)

"If you are skeptical about digital wallets know that the skeptics may outnumber believers, at least among financial services executives. Forward motion towards wider wallet adoption has seemingly gotten just about nowhere in the past year. Few consumers have ever used one, few mobile devices have a digital wallet capability, and not many more retailers are equipped to accept them anyway.

But ask the experts and their advice is consistent: ignore digital wallets at your own risk because they are the future.

That clock is ticking."

Stop Spewing Mobile Wallet BS (The irrepressible Ron Shevlin, at Snarketing 2.0; full story here)

"If I've learned anything about doing consumer research it’s this: You can’t ask consumers their opinions about things that they don’t know. So, feel free to publicize your research about which mobile wallets are most popular with consumers, if you want, but I’m not buying any of it."

What are your feelings on the topic? Are you eager to pay for things with your smartphone? Think it's trouble brewing? Tell us more in the comments. 

Well, my plan to invest my retirement in forever stamps is paying off nicely.

Yesterday, the United States Postal Service increased the price of a stamp to $0.46. The rest of the postage prices jumped, too, but it's good news if you've got a bunch of forever stamps sitting around - they're gaining value all the time. 

The USPS has the right idea - postage prices should increase, considering the fact that letter volume's dropping the way it is (heading to about 150 billion pieces of mail - seems like a lot, but that's actually waaaay down). And, lest we forget, the post office is bleeding about $25 million every day according to the postmaster general. Some estimate they'll be out of money and out of service in the next six months to a year. Will a penny more per mailed letter really save them? No, but it's better than standing still. 

Wait a minute, Mr. Postman...

In 2006, the USPS turned a $900 million dollar profit - yeah, you read that correctly. A profit. Hard to believe about an organization that in 2012 lost $16 billion. Where's all that money going? Is the sharp drop-off in mail volume to blame? Is it all the Postal Service's fault?

No, it isn't. As with just about everything these days, you can blame Congress. 

See, 2006 was the year Congress passed a law requiring the USPS to fund pensions through the next 75 years. I can tell you, this is unheard of in business - nobody's shoring up that much cash to pay employee pensions. Nobody. It's suspected that $11 billion of that $16 billion lost in 2012 went to pension funds and labor. Add to that the fact that mail volume's dropping off and Congress has been inflexible on the idea of killing off Saturday delivery (a measure that could save the USPS about $2 billion annually), the USPS has been fighting with one hand tied behind its back.

So, what's the solution?

There are plenty of people nationwide who are eager to see the post office saved for future generations. This Esquire article goes in-depth about the problem's the USPS is facing and how a complete dissolution of the entire postal service would be a blow to the American way of life. There's a new petition on WhiteHouse.gov to "save the postal service". But how to save it?

One possible way out? Undo the curse of the pre-funded pensions and let the money in that fund be dispersed to the post offices and carriers that need it. But that would require Congress's action in undoing what's been done. 

Congress? Action? Hmm...what's our other option? 

Oh, right...a taxpayer funded bailout. Taxpayers would fund the pension program and alleviate the post office's responsibilities. 

Feel like bailing out one more industry that can't handle the future? 

And speaking of the future...how bad off would USPS retirees be without the pensions in question? 

Not that bad, says Jen Wieczner at SmartMoney: 

Despite the Postal Service's debt, its retiree benefit coffers are beyond full. Its pension funds are more than 100% funded, compared with 42% for all federal pension funds and 80% for the average Fortune 1000 pension plan. That "astonishingly high figure," according to Williams, amounts to a "war chest" of resources that will take care of older workers for decades to come. 

So either way, it comes down to Congress. Keep your eyes peeled, there'll be a brouhaha on the Hill about all this, likely before the summer rolls in.

And in the meantime, what should you be doing, oh weary credit union marketer? 

The Broken Window Problem

You might be thinking, "yes, let's save the post office - we'll send out more mail!" It turns into the old Broken Window Fallacy - someone breaks a window, the window gets replaced for a certain cost, everyone starts a window repair business, and then all of a sudden...no broken windows. So what do people do? Start breaking windows to save the window repair businesses. 

It's wasteful and stupid. And so is trying to inject more mail into a beleaguered system because you feel bad about its shortcomings. When Western Union announced it would stop delivering telegrams, where did all the protests occur? Where was the petition saying an outmoded form of communication must be saved? 

I like my postal carrier. I like getting a letter every so often. But I don't walk around with 400 pieces of mail in my pocket every day. I do walk around with a small, touch screen computer that manages all my email, sends me text messages and even places phone calls. 

Now, let's look at credit unions. In a time when many CUs are closing their doors or getting merged, who can afford to overlook the significant cost savings that come from online banking, online account opening, eStatements, electronic bill pay, debit cards...the list goes on, but I get the sense I'm not telling you anything new. 

We started  DigitalMailer 13 years ago because we knew that the two things credit unions really want (operationally speaking) are to A) generate revenue and B) cut costs. You can't do that when you're chained to the giant rock of printing and postage. We've delivered close to 60 million eStatements over the years. At $0.46 saved per eStatement, that's $27.6 million that would go out of the pocket of the Post Office (sorry we're not sorry) and back into the pockets of the credit unions we serve. We've created products like One-Click Enrollment to help make that transition easy, and most eStatement converts never look back. Promoting education and organization to members through online account and document management is part of the greater mission of credit unions.

Heed that call and stop worrying about whether or not the Postal Service can survive. It'll take a fight with Congress, but it can be done. And even when it is, don't be surprised if the USPS still cries foul at the drop in volume. They had the chance to latch on to emerging technologies and ignored it, favoring the old ways instead of a new path to profitability. They didn't take it. 

Time for you to consider that new path for yourself. We're famous for avoiding bailouts. 

As for me, I hope postage jumps to $1 - my all-forever-stamp portfolio is looking better and better.