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Lots of new functionality and solid security may be coming down the pike for this cost-efficient and convenient communication channel.
When VA Desert Pacific Federal Credit Union evaluated Web chat, the cost-benefit tally was so positive that the $85 million CU said "Why not?" to moving forward.
Based in Long Beach, Calif., with 5,000 members and 14 employees, the CU {www. vadpfcu.org) started using the online chat offered as a perk by its online banking provider, according to Operations Supervisor Vladimir Rosales.
But there was a catch. As part of online banking, the chat wasn't accessible to anyone visiting the CU's website without logging in. So when VA Desert Pacific FCU switched banking vendors and reconfigured its website in May 2011, it also went shopping for a new online chat vendor.
"We went with AliveChat [a softwareas-a-service chat interface offered by Houston-based WebsiteAlive {www.web sitealive.com)]," says Rosales, a CUES member. "AliveChat allows us to put it on our web page, so whether you're a member or not, you don't have to log in."
Conventional wisdom says online chat appeals mostly to a younger crowd, so it might seem like an odd choice for VA Desert Pacific FCU, whose members have an average age in the mid-50s.
"A lot of them don't use online banking, don't use a lot of the things that we have to offer," says Rosales. "But we still get about 10 [chats] per day, 50 per week. It's fairly inexpensive, and it's just another tool for communication. Especially for the cost, it has a lot of value."
The cost starts at $30 a month for a basic package, and goes up depending on the level of service and number of operators. All packages include screen sharingindispensable when a member can't figure out how to log onto his account-and chat transcripts, which credit unions...