Financial institution Credit Union of Texas is targeting clients ages 18-30 with a round of mobile products aimed at making banking easier and faster.

Credit Union of Texas’ move to mobile stems from the company’s expansion of clients in 2000. The mobile offerings include applications for both Apple and Android devices.

“Our clients still prefer to come into bank locations, but they like the ease of mobile,” said Karen Coffey, vice president of marketing at Credit Union of Texas, Dallas.

“Our new expansion into mobile will be a benefit to younger audiences that have mobile banking as a priority,” she said.

Multi-platform game changer
With the Credit Union of Texas mobile apps, consumers can view their account balances.

Users can also view their account history and transfer funds between accounts.

The app also uses GPS to find the nearest branch offices and ATM locations.

Clients can also find contact information for locations in the app, including phone numbers, fax and mailing information.

Users can find the nearest bank locations via the apps

Consumers can also research rates on the app to learn more about the bank’s offerings.

Additionally, consumers can connect with the company’s social media via Facebook and Twitter.

The apps are available on the iPod touch, iPad, iPhone and Android devices.

The apps can be downloaded from either Apple’s App Store, Google’s Android Market or from a QR code placed on the company’s Web site at http://www.cuoftexas.org/Mobile.

Credit Union of Texas can use the apps to notify clients of unusual banking activity via alerts.

“Our thinking was that as we attempt to reach a younger generation, we need to bundle multiple products so that they can bank from anywhere, whether it’s in a bank, online or on mobile,” Ms. Coffey said.

“At the same time, we need to maintain our service to existing clients,” she said.

Bank building
Mobile banking is a huge trend that every financial institution is pushing, regardless of size.

Additionally, it is crucial that financial institutions offer more than just one platform for consumers to bank on.

Most recently, AIB rolled out a mobile site that consumers could access their accounts from their mobile devices (see story).

Credit Union of Texas’ mobile push is part of the company’s larger marketing initiatives.

The bank is celebrating its 80th birthday this year and focusing on new company goals.

Credit Union of Texas is known for being primarily focused as a credit union to local schools.

However, in 2000 the company decided to expand its membership, which included a large number of younger clients.

“We started looking more at what we can do to have products and services to appeal to a younger generation,” Ms. Coffey said.

“Our end goal is to provide the best service to our customers and make it as simple as possible for them to bank with us,” she said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York