Gulf Credit Union Adopts The Digital Onboarding Platform To Achieve Primary Financial Institution (PFI) Status

Credit union leveraging the Digital Onboarding engagement platform to increase account activation and loan cross-sell rates

Boston, MA (April 4, 2022) – Gulf Credit Union selected the award-winning Digital Onboarding engagement platform to help members fully activate their new accounts and motivate them to turn to the credit union when they need a loan.

Gulf Credit Union historically welcomed new members with non-personalized mailers and other paper-based communications. Members were not fully utilizing their new accounts and turned to other providers when they needed loan products. 

“Financial institutions struggle with cross-selling because they try to expand relationships that do not exist in the first place,” said Ted Brown, CEO, Digital Onboarding. “If a member barely uses their checking account, the credit union does not have a real relationship. It has an account that costs money to service.”

The 2021 Digital Banking Report research showed that 25 to 40 percent of new checking accounts are closed within the first year. Driving early engagement is key to achieving primary financial institution status. Today’s members demand personalized, digital communications and self-service tools that eliminate friction.

“It is much harder for credit unions to drive loan growth when existing members are not fully engaged,” said Bambi McGinn, CIO, Gulf Credit Union. “The Digital Onboarding platform will help our members fully utilize their new accounts, which will make them more likely to think of Gulf Credit Union as their primary provider when additional financial needs arise.”

The Digital Onboarding engagement platform triggers email and text messages that connect members with personalized microsites. Digital, self-service tools help them switch their direct deposits in seconds, make their new cards their default payment methods at places like Amazon ® and Venmo®, adopt digital banking services, and more. Credit union executives recently named Digital Onboarding the winner in the Digital category for CreditUnion.com’s fifth-annual Innovation Series.

“Gulf Credit Union will deliver personalized communications that make it easy for members to access all of the products and services that are available to them,” said Brown. “I am delighted to work with the team at Gulf Credit Union to deliver a best-in-class member experience.”

‍About Gulf Credit Union
‍For over 80 years, Gulf Credit Union has been a member-owned financial cooperative and trusted financial partner in Southeast Texas.  With more than $336 million in assets and more than 24,000 members, Gulf Credit Union serves those who live or work in Jefferson, Hardin, and Orange counties and strives to provide value and convenience to its members. For more information, visit https://www.gecu.org.

‍About Digital Onboarding, Inc.
‍The Digital Onboarding engagement platform helps banks and credit unions turn account openers into engaged and profitable relationships. Email and text messages link customers and members to their personalized microsites. Self-service tools help them enroll in direct deposits in seconds, update default payment methods at places like Amazon and Venmo, and adopt digital banking services and additional products. For additional information, visit https://www.digitalonboarding.com.