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Five steps to take
Research is showing that contactless payments may have legs. If your credit union decides to move forward, here are five steps that credit unions should take to introduce contactless cards to members:
1. Do your research.
Many factors play into the decision to offer contactless cards. What’s important for one financial institution may not be as important for your credit union. Make sure you gain an in-depth understanding not only of the technology and its uses, but also of the market and how others have rolled it out successfully.
2. Make the transition natural.
Unlike with larger financial institutions, many credit unions don’t have the resources to support a “rip-and-replace” approach to transitioning to contactless payments. But the good news is you don’t have to. For most credit unions, adopting a natural re-issue strategy for contactless cards will be the best, most cost-effective approach.
This involves issuing contactless cards to replace members expired or lost/stolen cards. Also consider making contactless cards available to members upon request. In addition, don’t forget to issue “tap to pay” cards to your staff, friends and family to create excitement and interest for your credit union.
3. Educate members and staff.
A natural re-issue strategy will help you phase in not only the cards but also the accompanying education. Staff and member education about the differences and benefits of contactless cards is a critical part of the marketing formula that will drive demand and adoption.
4. Refresh card design.
Since issuing contactless cards requires modifying the card art to include the contactless symbol, take advantage of the opportunity and consider doing a design refresh.
5. Promote to attract and retain members.
Include your card’s contactless capability in your marketing efforts as a strategy to attract new members and encourage existing ones to use their cards more often.
Members will love the speed and ease of contactless card payments at the point of sale. Use these five steps to help you teach them about the technology and smooth their transition to using it.
Keith Nolan is VP/credit union and alliance sales for FIS. Whether you are a card issuer or a merchant, our new 15-page FIS Success Guide: Making the Case for Contactless Payments will provide you with the insights, use cases and trends to support your planning process.
