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Branch automation software continues to evolve rapidly on two fronts: allowing credit unions to set up remote kiosk-based "virtual branches" and as a means of increasing teller productivity, sometimes dramatically.
Not that kiosks are new; they've been around awhile. "But what makes them more practical than ever is browser technology-Java, HTML. That's a much more robust solution than the old direct-dial systems, where every personal computer and remote station had to have its own software loaded," says Bob Lucas, director of product design for Moorpark, Calif.-based XP Systems, which co-manufactures the Paradigm kiosk, 800-231-8129. "A kiosk is easy to plug into a credit union's network and easy to update because software improvements can be easily distributed from the central server."
The range of services offered on kiosks has expanded from simple automated teller machine-like functions, such as account balances and transfers, to the ability to draft checks on-site (with built-in laser signature and magnetic ink character recognition encoding capability), apply for other accounts, such as share certificates, and even transfer money to other people's accounts (with proper authorization). On the near horizon, kiosks will feature marketing messages customized to individual members, provide yield information, print receipts, and allow for captive signatures on an electronic pad.
Which credit unions use kiosks? "There's no one certain type of credit union installing this technology, though most seem to have a spread-out membership," says Claire Stenger,...