Focused on the Community: NerdWallet's Top 10 Community CUs.

by Ron Daly 

Got an interesting link in the mail to an article from a site called NerdWallet. In it, they highlighted ten community credit unions that they felt were doing good work for the people they serve. 

The top ten weren't simply listed, ten-to-one. They were highlighted for specific achievements, such as "Best Business Support", "Most Inclusive", and "Best Loan Assistance Program". 

From the article: 

Some of these credit unions are community development credit unions that serve low-income and rural communities, while others have an impressive number of financial education classes, grants and scholarships, unique loan products, or other community outreach efforts. If you don’t live within a credit union’s area of membership, you may still be able to invest in their projects or make a donation. If you’re looking to take out a loan, or ditch your bank, consider these credit unions first. Your interest payments will fund community development, not pad shareholders’ pockets.

Did your credit union make the list? What do you think of the list? 

Go Ahead, Stay Under the Covers - the Monsters Can Still Get You.

by Ron Daly 

A while back, the credit union Twittersphere had a conversation about blog comments and whether a blog is really a "blog" if it doesn't allow any feedback. 

"A blog without comments is still a blog, it's all about frequency of posting," some said. "A blog without comments might as well be a static web page," said others. Good examples on either side, but my question was always, "why block comments?" 

So...why block comments? I think I know why. It's because someone might say something bad. 

I've heard a lot of hubbub about "negative feedback" in the past five years. With the emergence of social media and the acceptance of blogging as a medium, people immediately skim over all the basics and jump right in on asking, "What if someone says something negative?" 

What if, indeed? 

The Monsters Are IN the Bed 

The idea of "monsters under the bed" isn't new to any parents out there...we've all had to check for them at some point. We know the truth, but if it makes our little ones feel safer? Sure, we'll check. We'll put in a nightlight, or we'll buy an extra teddy bear. We'll make sleep possible and, hopefully, lasting. 

When the "monsters" are not monsters but are instead an unsatisfied member? Don't worry about them being there or not being there. They're there. There IS a monster there, not under the bed, but in the bed. The question is, do you want to DEAL with the monster or PRETEND it isn't there? 

I think the term of choice for bloggers/social media managers/marketing people who consciously ignore bad feedback or go out of their way to hide it is "tone deaf". I also think there's something really sad about wanting to "go after" commenters or social media users who say something negative. Want to see where that gets  you? Read this story about Boners BBQ attacking someone for leaving a bad Yelp review [ABC News]. 

And while we're on the topic, what about social media from INSIDE the workplace? "We don't want people saying anything that might make us non-compliant!" 

And you manage that...how? Turning off social media? You turn off social media on their network, that's not going to stop anyone from doing something anti-compliant from home or on their phone.

"What if they complain about the credit union or our members?" So, let me get this straight - that's something you DO NOT want to know about, AT ALL? 

Monster Resistant, Not Monster Proof

The truth about business is, you'll never make everyone happy. You'll make some people really happy, you'll be fine with a lot of people, and you'll get a couple of folks good and angry. Getting the angry folks back on your side isn't a matter of just throwing money at them - sometimes, complaints and gripes are solved through careful evaluation. 

Let's run this down: 

• The complaint is anonymous and full of cuss words - Probably not something you need to burn a lot of energy working on, as it's just some punk playing with your comment fields or being a jerk on Twitter or Facebook. Moving on...
• The complaint is angry, but seems to be about a genuine problem and has an email address attached - Why not reach out to that person via their email and ask them more about the problem? For every one of these complaints you get, you're probably not hearing several more; this complaint might actually solve a problem you've been overlooking.
• The complaint is addressing a very specific problem, relative to that member - Then deal with it and follow up with that member, who will be VERY appreciative of your time and attention. 
• There are sixty complaints, all dealing with the same problem - Odds are, unless you are a top ten credit union with billions and billions in assets, you won't have enough members for this level of feedback. But if you find yourself dealing with a mob scene on your blog, figure out where they're coming from - who's got a good point, who's just gloming on, who's a defender of the brand. 

I think that's the worst part of the decision to completely block out feedback - this idea that you're holding back a tidal wave of negative people saying negative things. We've run this blog for about three years now and we've never had seventy comments to moderate at once. We do moderate, one comment at a time, and we post the ones that meet all our guidelines. Haven't seen our guidelines page? Here it is. Go look at it. That's been here from day one. 

As for social media, we take our own medicine - we use Social Sentry. It tracks social media usage on your office network, public and private, and also tracks public posts from users outside of the office all the time. When I, as the admin, see social media use I don't think is fit for the network, I intervene. When I see an account I want to follow, I follow that account and I get their public feed. I don't spend a lot of time worrying because I stay on top of things. Better than being in the blind, right? 

Managing the expectations and the reactions of members is easy. Just be clear, be consciencious, and be fair. When a problem arises, solve it. But don't think ignoring comments or completely disallowing them will stop people from talking about you. 

Be in charge of your repuation.  

Suze Orman gets into the prepaid card game -- and out of the good graces of the CU Industry?

by Ron Daly 

 Remember a while back when Suze Orman went to bat for the NCUA as an "educator"? She wanted to get the word out about how NCUA served the same function for CUs as the FDIC did for banks. A noble goal, and helpful for those who are confused about what all those letters mean on the bottoms of loan promos and direct mail pieces. It raised the question, "Is Suze Orman the right spokesperson for CUs?" 

Well, it's a false dilemma, really. See, Suze Orman wasn't hired to promote CREDIT UNIONS, she was hired to promote NCUA and their capacity as the insurer of cu deposits. But people read "Suze Orman" and "NCUA" and interpreted that as "Credit Union Spokeswoman".

Which is unfortunate, because Suze Orman just decided to set herself up as a prepaid card magnate. Click here to read about it on US News and World Report's website.

I really don't know how to make heads or tails of this. Sure, Suze Orman has a lot of brand equity, specifically with the "underbanked", but to lend that equity to a prepaid card? She's taken the road the Kardashian sisters weren't able to walk a little over a year ago; the only difference being that Orman actually seems to understand how money works and the Kardashians...well, the less said, the better.

An Associated Press story claims that the aim of the card - which Orman has (reportedly) already pumped $1 million of her own money into in development costs -  is to boost the credit scores of users through a deal with TransUnion. This new breed of credit score would reward users who previously paid for things with cash or other prepaid cards, but Business Insider doesn't seem to think so.

According to the PR Newswire press release, the card comes with "Suze Orman's advice and tips on personal finance," (which are delivered...how?) and is also "insured up to $250,000. The Bancorp Bank; Member FDIC". So, there's a bank involved somewhere along the line, but a few steps removed...

I guess the question is, has this move soured your opinion of Suze? Some of the choice tweets on the topic I read over yesterday and today: 

Yes, much has been made of the $3 monthly fee, which is actually low compared to cards like the Kardashian Kard. But a card that preaches better finance management while taking out $3/month to "cover costs"? Would "Pre-Card Suze Orman" approve of that? 

Ron Shevlin from the Aite Group always has great links and thoughtful reads on the topics of the day, and he found one by Ron Lieber in the Times. In it, Orman swears she won't be making much money on the card and certainly doesn't want to be making money off of the "99 percent's backs" (her words). She insists that if the rates increase dramatically, she'll kill off the product. But surely there's some reward for her, considering how much she's already invested...what is it?

This reaction is one of the more damning, in my opinion. Ondine Irving has worked with Suze Orman in the past to get the word out about credit union credit card programs and has been a pretty big Suze Orman "stumper". She's not happy with these new developments. I sense she won't be the only one. 

I'm eager to hear your comments on this in the comment section. 

 

The Pony Express Returns! -or- Why Electronic Delivery Makes More Sense Than Ever

by Ron Daly 

Nostalgia is bringing back some interesting things nowadays. The Smurfs are in my DVD player (my daughter's choice, not mine), the Muppets are back in theaters, and I could swear I've seen the New Kids on the Block on TV recently. Everything old is new again. 

Which is why the post office is returning to delivering mail via pony. Yes, the USPS has invested what's left of its money in the purchase and upkeep of a fleet of ponies to deliver the mail that keeps our country moving. Yes, it will take longer to get your mail. Yes, rates are going to increase. But hey, at least you get to pet a pony once in a while? 

...Huh. Wait a second. I think I have my facts wrong. Service on first-class mail is going to slow down, and postage is going up, but...no ponies? No, the USPS is just gumming up the works as a cost-saving measure. According to the video below, they lost $4 billion in the last year, they've got to stem the loss of funds somehow.

[Can't access the video? Click here to watch it on the Today show site.]

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I guess we've played a part in their trouble...in the past ten years, we've delivered more than 27 million eStatements for financial institutions across the country.  

Is the American postal system dead? No, it still has its place. And it's pretty impressive that you can send a letter from anywhere to anywhere else in the U.S. for 45 cents. But as any project manager, CEO or business pro can tell you, the three choices are "good, fast, cheap", and you can only pick two. You want it good and cheap? You can't get it fast. You want it good and fast? You can't have it cheap. You want it fast and cheap? You can forget about quality. You just can't have it all.

...or can you?

For month-to-month statements and daily notices, encouraging members to switch to e-delivery means you can hold all three corners of the triangle at once. Think about it:

• Good - eStatements and notices can be presented in a way that's identical to printed statements and notices. You don't sacrifice the "look" or readability and the e-docs are compliant with all regs (ours are, anyway). 
• Fast - electronic documents are processed on your schedule and are available whenever members want them. Just send them an email and they can log in to a secure host that shows them an archive of docs that they can print out for themselves (if they want), or just keep online to reduce clutter. 
• Cheap - Printed, mailed documents cost a minumum $.44  .45 cents - you're already saving  that much per user, and that's not even counting what you save in printing and paper costs. With the right company and the right e-documents model (ahem), the MORE e-document users you have, the LESS you pay per statement/notice. What's not to love?

We've been saying it for years and, by George, we keep getting it right; the Post Office's business model can't sustain cheap, speedy, quality delivery. They don't have a war chest to help with the cost - they have to charge more. But e-documents? They've been the same price for a good long while now and they keep providing the same benefits. It's easy to get more members using eStatements - the hard part is not kicking yourself when you see what a HUGE difference it can make on your bottom line!

The truth is, there are very few - if any - documents that used to go in the mail that can't be sent and stored online. Need to get more electronic document users at your business? Click here to get in touch with me. Just ask for Ron! 

We're declaring national "Take your Compliance Team to Lunch" month!

I'm not sure why this is, but most CU people I know don't look forward to an appointment with their dentist, NCUA or their Compliance Officer. Compliance and Internal Audit are thankless jobs that play an important role in keeping financial institutions safe and on track.

With all the bad rap Compliance Teams get, I thought we'd point out some recent conversations of how Compliance Officers are looking for ways to make Compliance a profit center. Once you CEOs and CFOs stop laughing, read on.

Compliance as a Profit Center?

Banks and Credit unions are finding ways for their organization to save money based on recommendations derived from the Compliance Team. So when you think about it, if they save enough money for an organization, Compliance could be a profit center when looking for ways to reduce costs and still be in compliance.

For example, are there paper disclosures that are printed over and over again due to regulatory changes that can be switched to electronic delivery? How about daily notices that are printed and mailed that are more a "courtesy" than a required mailing?  Are there ways for the CU to go "green" and still comply with ESIGN? (good ESIGN info in this compliance post but you'll need to be a subscriber to read it online)

In this post on the Trinovus Blog "Make Compliance a Profit Center", they suggest three ideas for financial institution Compliance folks to consider which help improve the bottom line.

Anthony Demangone, NAFCU's Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, when asked if his view of compliance changed due to his new role at NAFCU, shared five ways folks can really help themselves as compliance officers.

1. Bone up on your communication skills.   
2. Think globally about your credit union. 
3. Options. 
4. Understand statistics, PowerPoint, and Excel. 
5. Come with solutions.

(Read the full post here)

Granted, not everything from Compliance will save money. But if Compliance folks just find one big way to save money, make the recommendation with an estimate of how much the organization will save and watch management's attitude change as compliance helps improve the bottom line in these tough times.

So, we're declaring national "Take your Compliance Team to Lunch" month! There's no one better equipped inside your organization to figure out how to comply with all the regs and save you money. In November, walk down the hall and just say hello. Or bring them coffee and a pastry when the office is having a breakfast meeting without them. Even better, add a little more light and turn on the heat in their work areas. Compliance Officers are people, too!

What do you think? Can it work? Have ideas to suggest where your Compliance Team has saved you money and improved your bottom line?

 

The Unengaged Member- Whose fault is it? The Credit Union or the Member?

Reactivation and growth from unengaged members seems to be one of the hottest topics in credit union marketing circles. Why?

Most credit unions just received their annual report on member profitability. Executive Teams and Boards are staring at a section that lists the percentage of their members that are considered "unengaged" by the profitability model. From the clients we've talked to, the percentage is staggering - ranging between 20% and 30% of total members. To put that in perspective, if you are a 50,000 member credit union, you’ve got 10,000 to 15,000 of those members unengaged! 

So now the bigger debate - whose fault is it that most credit unions have a significant number of unengaged members? The member’s or the Credit Union’s? 

I recently found out that a colleague had gotten his last car loan indirectly from a credit union through his car dealer because it offered the lowest rate. He took the credit union up on the offer and put $5 in an account to get the loan. After the loan was paid off he became the typical “unengaged” member. When I asked him why he didn’t do more with the CU he replied "I heard from the CU once or twice over the course of the four years when they sent me a paper newsletter. As far as I’m concerned, it’s their job to let me know what products and services they could offer and they didn’t do a very good job." 

Key take-away, don't assume members know your product set as well as you do and that they all use the same communication channel.

Want to get engaged?

A recent article on the Bank Marketing Strategy Blog "Collecting Behavioral Insights Increases Value of Relationship" states that best-in-class financial organizations supplement traditional new account opening with an onboarding process that includes a short survey of needs and behaviors of the new customer. While this survey can also measure customer satisfaction with the new account opening experience, most banks focus on gathering insights into the reason for opening the new account, communication channel preferred, the financial goals of the customer and what financial services the new  customer holds elsewhere.

In addition, some banks ask questions to determine key life events that may be on the horizon and determine who in the household will be in charge of managing the new account. 

Forget whose fault it is!

 If you believe the saying that "It is cheaper to get an existing member to do more with you than it is to find a new member", then marketing should be focusing heavily on the unengaged number in their reports.

As Jim Marous points out in the Bank Marketing Strategy article:

A deeper knowledge of the customer's financial goals, channel preferences, product usage, preferred channels and reason for coming to your institution is needed to personalize the onboarding communication and move the customer from product engagement to relationship entrenchment.

Think about it, an unengaged member could be viewed as a new member that may not even know about all the products and services available to them. The same on-boarding email engines and surveys used to educate new members could be turned towards unengaged members to learn more about their original reason for joining the credit union, gather current financial needs and to introduce them to the benefits provided by the CU. Click here to see some actual onboarding examples from one of our clients.

Bring us your Tired, Poor and Unengaged.

 Technology offers a fast, inexpensive way to reach your unengaged members. We’ve built an online survey to see what we can learn from unengaged members to help credit unions just like yours. If you’ve got the list of unengaged members and can supply ones that you have email addresses for, we’ll supply the online survey and email engine to try and reach out to them. We’ll survey you members and provide you with the feedback. It’s FREE for the first ten credit unions that take advantage of the offer. Simply go to our Onboarding page and click "Ask for more info". We'll contact the first ten credit unions that apply and get them started.

Want to share your re-engagement strategy? Let us know about it in the comment section.

The 5th of November: Is "Bank Transfer Day" going to do more harm than good?

by Ron Daly 

Occupy Wall Street might not be making much headway in terms of policy changes, but they've certainly got the public talking. They're showing up in major cities across the US, not just New York. They're reaching all demographics, from 99% to millionaire Rap stars (Kanye West and Russell Simmons showed up). Maybe more importantly, they've started a "holiday" called "Bank Transfer Day". 

On the fifth of November (Guy Fawkes day, or so says Wikipedia), people are encouraged to go to their bank, gather up their money and take it to a smaller, community institution -- namely, a credit union. After these last few years of "Move Your Money" rhetoric and an implied desire for a national CU campaign, we might just have one handed to us. 

But is that a good thing? 

Some people think the time is right. CU marketers across the country recently launched "no debit card fee" campaigns to counter the move made by Bank of America to charge $5 per month for debit cards. One credit union even went so far as to say they would pay members for debit card usage.  In no time at all, the Bank Transfer Day was born, causing a cheer among marketers who finally had enough spotlight and a groan among CFOs who are worried about a sudden influx of deposit accounts that will need servicing. 

Some experts see these new accounts as a positive, arguing: 

“Those aren’t high-balance accounts and are the most profitable accounts that credit unions have because of the fees they generate,’’ he said. “Also, any increases that credit unions see will take place gradually because those accounts are the hardest to transfer because of changes that have to be made when designating direct deposit and automatic bill pay.”

CUNA Chief Economist Bill Hampel agreed with Dollar that any increase in deposits will come gradually. But Hampel said that the challenges to credit unions won’t come in the form of increased liquidity as much as additional strains on their operations.

“It’s a nice problem to have and that’s where they could see challenges for their staff,’’ he said. (full article here)

Some worry that an outflow of bank customers to credit unions would draw the attention of the FDIC and that they would shut down the process entirely. Rob Rutkowski: 

Let’s assume for the sake of argument that a good percentage of the population actually did get that mad and moved their money in one day. What would happen? It’s actually easy to predict: utter chaos. It turns out that having too much by way of assets is not a good thing for a credit union. The influx of cash to the credit union movement would immediately plunge the receiving credit unions into a state of ill-health.

Meantime, on the bank side, we have historical evidence of what happens when everyone takes their money out of the banks at once. It’s called a run. During the depression, many banks went out of business for that reason. The exposure would be so great that the Federal Reserve would act, most likely, to close down consumers’ access to banks and credit unions until the dust settled.  You think people are mad now?  Imagine hundreds of millions of people not being allowed access to their bank accounts for a week!

On his blog Marketing Tea Party, Ron Shevlin thinks BofA is using the $5/month fee as a purging fire to get rid of do-nothing accounts. From his article:

If they’re truly the least profitable customers, BofA’s average customer profitability increases. And with less unprofitable customers to serve, the bank can more easily shrink to a more manageable size.

But you know what else happens?

Unprofitable — or potentially unprofitable — go join credit unions or open accounts at community banks. The credit union folks think this is great because it probably means the average age of members goes down. Hooray!

But oddly, the credit union’s profitability is adversely affected. Because if it’s low balance accounts  walking in the door, the income accelerator — the revenue generated on deposits beyond the spread and fees — is diminished. (This by the way, is one of the key reasons why high-yield checking accounts are more profitable than no-interest accounts. See my report on Why High-Yield Checking Accounts Trump Free Checking).

So, the big questions that need answering:

1. How many of the "99%"  will actually move their money?
2. Will the regulators get involved?
3. Will the sudden rise in bank accounts help or harm credit unions in the long run? 

I'm not saying I have the answers, but those are the big questions. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section. 

 

Bringing a Knife to a Gun Fight - Why Cutting Marketing is a Bad Idea

by Ron Daly 

I'm sure you've heard the old adage "never bring a knife to a gun fight". Good advice - even though I've never been in a gun fight, I know I'll never be bringing a knife. Why? Because you're not only under-prepared, you're going up against someone with a huge advantage. 

I bring this up because of an article in the CU Journal by Paul Lucas, a branding consultant who's worked with a number of CUs and companies (including my own) on their branding. Based on a recent Bankrate article about what consumers shop for in a financial institution, Paul came up with some pretty interesting conclusions about the role branding and marketing play.

From Paul's article:

...17% of shoppers start looking for a new bank because of dissatisfaction with rates and fees, but only 4% of them choose their new bank because of rates and fees.

Why does that happen?

Because shoppers are swayed by brand image, advertising and bank branches in convenient locations. Perhaps this disconnect helps explain why more people are changing banks more often.

How did they choose which institutions to shop? The selection drivers lead me to believe that brand awareness is the key, and of course that's heavily driven by brand image. The big banks get strong awareness by buying it.

Paul also mentioned that BofA spent $2 Billion dollars on marketing in 2010. Two. Billion. Dollars. Spent by one bank. In one year.

What percentage of your budget goes into marketing? Paul makes a good point: 

The banking industry spends around 5% of income on marketing. If the credit union industry spent 5% using smart, targeted creative we could increase awareness, making us more competitive against banks.

Instead of spending more, however, many credit unions have cut the very things that sustain brand image: advertising, branch maintenance and member services staff. It's a downward spiral that left spinning long enough can take a credit union out of the game.

While CUs might have it where it counts (low fees, better rates, more specialized service), every inch of ground they gain gets thrown out the window when they don't pay to make it known.

Now for my two cents -- You really want the business? Time to start asking for it. Maybe the "gun" you bring to the fight isn't $2 Billion, but as any shooter will tell you, firepower's not the only important factor - having a better aim means a LOT. Time to really focus in on the member/potential member. What do they need? What do they want? What do they fear? 

One other important fact from Paul's article says the main reason people start shopping for a new FI is because of a shift in their life's circumstances. Maybe it's time you started wondering what those circumstances are...and how you can be there to help. 

I welcome your feedback in our comment section. 

 

 

Not Measuring Results -- Some Jaw-Dropping Insights into Credit Union Social Media

by Ron Daly 

Recently, to gauge our clients' level of interest in our new social media "getting started (or not)" course, we decided to send out a survey and see where our clients were (or weren't) with social media. 

The course that Jimmy Marks, our Creative Media Director, spent the summer building focuses on: 

1. Deciding whether or not to get into social media and the information you'll need to gather first
2. What it takes to make good content
3. Getting fans and followers that match your goals
4. Safeguarding yourself against compliance and security issues
5. Monitoring your results

...and we wanted to see how useful that advice would be to current clients who were interested in social networking. 

We sent out a simple survey. The results we got back were shocking. 

First, some table setting:

Average size of credit union surveyed: ~400 million

Average year-over-year share growth: 5.04%

Average number of members: 35,216

Now, the numbers worth noting:

• 63% of CUs surveyed are involved with and using social media in some form. 
• 54% of those are using Facebook, the winner by far. Second place was a tie between YouTube and LinkedIn
• Of the CUs that said they are using social media, 51% had been using social media for less than two years.

Interesting thusfar, but here's the number that made my jaw hit the floor: 

• Of the CUs surveyed, 76% DO NOT MEASURE THEIR SUCCESS OR THE RESULTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA AT THEIR CREDIT UNION. 

What??? 76%??? It's true, according to our results. 

Now, I'm not one to just hear numbers and completely ignore how they got there. As I looked at a later question, where we asked respondants what information they would want to hear in a social media workshop, many people said they needed measurements and better metrics. As a result, part of me wonders how much the lack of measurement has to do with not understanding what these CUs are measuring or how to measure it.

Some of the results were actually very helpful - many CUs are measuring their results in feedback and next-steps in the marketing/sales funnel, not just numbers of "likes" or followers. I worry, though, that much of the problem with social media is how people think it's a solution to something. If you don't have a clear message and a clear understanding of how people make buying and borrowing decisions, what difference could YouTube or Twitter possibly make? 

At DigitalMailer, we have lots of followers and friends and likes and so-on and so-on and so-on. But make no mistake, we don't call any of those "leads". Not until we've been contacted by that person via email or phone. It's great to promote the brand and talk about what you're up to, but that's not where our scope is focused. Twitter and Facebook help us keep in touch with partners, clients and some very interesting people - but pleasing clients and making products and services that save people money is the thing that keeps the lights on. 

In our workshop, we've got a lot of helpful information and some good actionable steps. More importantly, we encourage the kind of forethought it takes to talk yourself (or your superiors) OUT of doing social media if it's NOT the right way to spend your time, money, or creative energies. 

The workshop is $500 and includes a 90-minute presentation and a downloadable workbook. To sign up for our next session, click here. 

Taking the "Bank" out of "Banking": How the Steve Jobs Decade Has Changed Finance

by Ron Daly

Brett King over at Bank 2.0 posted an article titled "How Steve Jobs Killed the Branch". There's been a lot of talk recently about Steve Jobs stepping down as the CEO of Apple and moving into a more private role in the company. Tim Cook has taken Jobs' place as CEO and the black-turtlenecked dynamo has quietly stepped aside, due to his health concerns. The news of this change sent a shockwave through the Internet as Apple fans and tech fans alike shared their shock and their appreciation for a man that has many times over beaten the odds (go read about Steve Jobs' impact and listen to his 2005 commencement speech here. Very good stuff.)

Brett's article focuses on one important aspect of Jobs' legacy. From the post - 

This is not the sole legacy of Steve Jobs and the team at Apple, but when we look back on banking in 10-20 years time when branches have disappeared, we will attribute the destruction of the traditional value chain of banking to the death of the ‘store’. Not all stores are destroyed, of course, but where you have goods or services that can be easily digitized or where distribution does not absolutely require physicality, then the value chain is disrupted. The two big upsets in this evolution of the store were really Amazon’s destruction of the book store, and iTunes destruction of video and music stores.

I think Brett has a point there. The Kindle really did a number on bookstores and paper books alike (the Borders down the street from us is going, going...). The iPod destroyed all the Tower Records and Sam Goody's of the world because, finally, you didn't need a twenty-disc CD changer in your car - you just needed a little rectangle with a wheel. And why? 

Because paperbacks and hardcovers were just a means of distributing the words in a book. CDs and Casettes were just a way to store the music until it hit your ears. The medium wasn't more than the message. In some cases, it was much, MUCH less. 

As technology has advanced, our dependence on cash and checks has diminished. Debit and credit are pushing out cash and NFC is threatening cards - we'll keep making strides away from the physical aspects of money management until branches are almost obsolete. Why? Because money's not a physical thing anymore. At least, it doesn't have to be. And you don't need a bank to do all your banking.

When you can:

• Open an account online
• Deposit remotely online
• Apply for a loan AND get approved online
• Resolve NSFs and low-fund situations online
• Transfer money between accounts online 
• Budget online
• Buy online

...why go to a branch to get things done? 

Steve Jobs didn't exactly kill the branch. But he certainly didn't stop the bleeding.