News

For Canadian CU, use of video teller yields results, accolades

July 22, 2013

North Peace Savings and Credit Union, a community-based FI serving northeastern British Columbia, has won the National Credit Union Innovation Award in Canada for its implementation of interactive video technology. The CU also has reported positive results from its deployment of APTRA Interactive Teller from NCR Corp.

In the 12 months since the the technology was installed, nearly half of the CU's 11,500 retail members used the solution and gave it an average satisfaction rating of 79.1 percent. Moreover, the FI saw net assets grow 13 percent and membership grow 5.7 percent as a result of personal teller machine technology, said a news release from NCR.

"[W]e immediately saw [interactive video] as an opportunity to increase value to our members with extended branch hours, as well as to provide new services to a remote town in our area," said Mitchel Chilcott, CEO of North Peace. "Beyond those goals, we've been pleased with how PTMs have allowed us to deepen our relationship with our members and increase their banking activity with us."

NCR APTRA Interactive Teller connects bank customers to a live, remote teller via a two-way audio/video conversation over an ATM. The remote teller has full control of ATM functions, allowing an interactive experience in which members can complete more than 95 percent of typical branch transactions, with transaction times typically 33 percent faster than an average teller interaction, according to NCR. 

Besides deploying PTMs, NPSCU also opened a new "virtual office" in remote Taylor, B.C., which included a PTM as well as video conferencing capabilities — allowing a face-to-face relationship without travel. Ninety-eight percent of existing members living within a 5 kilometer (3.2 mile) radius of the Taylor branch moved their accounts to that new branch, and those members have increased their assets with NPSCU by 15 percent.

"Our members in Taylor went from having no local access to financial services to having 12 hours of service, six days a week," said Chilcott.

The Innovation Award was presented on July 17 at the World Credit Union Conference in Ottawa, Canada.

Read more about multi-function ATMs.