BCU finds success with an innovative, digital-first strategy using Blend

At Baxter Credit Union (BCU), members are not just customers — they’re the heart and soul of their company. BCU is a Chicago-based not-for-profit credit union that processes over $6B in assets for its members, including over 30 Fortune 500 companies like Target, UHG and Geico. And for over forty years, the BCU team has been driven by a commitment to serving member needs, securing their finances, and empowering people to discover financial freedom.

Member experiences have always been paramount for BCU employees. And as experiences have largely become digital and hybrid, the BCU team has understood that embracing digital transformation and offering the latest technological tools can increase efficiency, enhance security, reduce costs across the board, and most importantly — improve member experiences.

Member expectations shift as the digital landscape evolves. Which is why BCU partnered with Blend after identifying a need to improve their digital deposit account opening experience. See how the BCU-Blend partnership has made it possible for BCU to secure their foothold in the digital age by offering innovative solutions that allow their members to thrive.

Problem: Improving the digital deposit account experience

Bhavna Guglani joined the BCU team as their first Chief Digital Officer in 2023 with a mission: to make BCU a digital-first institution. A large part of Guglani’s strategy relied on data of how easy it was for members to transition between digital and non-digital experiences.

Guglani believed that BCU has always excelled at member experiences, but that those experiences had largely been in-branch or over the phone. With digital applications surging from 30% to 70% post-pandemic, Guglani knew it was time to rethink how BCU would deliver member experiences.

BCU had historically been lending-focused, but as the demand for deposit accounts grew, Guglani began to see how beneficial a robust digital deposit account solution could be to building member relationships.

Most members who treat BCU as their preferred financial institution have over three different relationships with us. So as we build relationships with our members, and as we think about the value that we provide to our members, providing a deposit or checking account that has higher touchpoint and more frequent interactions cannot be overstated.

Bavna Guglani

Chief Digital Officer at BCU

Solution: Partnering with Blend for purpose-built customer journeys

Choosing a financial technology partner is an investment in the ability to innovate. And a strategic partnership should go beyond a technology solution’s functional features. One of the most important factors in the decision-making process is a company that shares a financial institution’s vision for success and long-term innovation.

Which is why Blend and BCU were a natural fit. The Blend technology team was able to clearly see BCU’s goals and knew they had the technology that could enhance BCU’s long-term strategy. Blend’s mobile-friendly user experience initially set them apart from their competitors, but the flexibility and speed of innovation of Blend Builder confirmed Guglani’s decision to partner with Blend.

As Guglani pointed out, financial institutions want good user experiences, but one experience cannot meet the demands of all user paths. Having the ability to build dynamic customer journeys has been critical to BCU’s digital-first success.

What’s helping us win today is the speed with which we are able to implement new solutions that are either built in-house with Blend Builder or through third-party integrations. We’re seeing success with digital new member acquisition and are pretty chuffed about it.

Bavna Guglani

Chief Digital Officer at BCU

Outcome: A faster, more secure digital-first Deposit Account solution

Partnering with Blend is more than just access to top-tier origination solutions, it’s an opportunity to take advantage of Blend’s vast partnership ecosystem. Strengthening an existing partnership with identity and fraud prevention platform, Alloy, has enabled BCU to improve their digital deposit account experience, while ​while implementing instant deposits with Astra has doubled their debit card funding volume — with the possibility of other funding opportunities in the future.

By implementing certain features within Blend BCU has been able to celebrate even more wins:

• Save and Resume has resulted in more than doubling the start to submit rate for member applications, from 31% to 66%.
• Identity Verification has reduced fraud rates across the board, while reducing the number of accounts they had to close manually due to fraud. Within the past year, 90% of accounts have remained open, with that number reaching 97% in July 2024.

But with all the success they’ve enjoyed, Guglani and her team are not resting on their laurels. In fact, BCU is more focused on member satisfaction than ever. Like most credit unions, BCU measures member satisfaction through net promoter scores (NPS). Due to their historical commitment to outstanding member experiences, Guglani says that BCU’s NPS was already fairly high, but that they’ve seen a steady increase after partnering with Blend.

Since partnering with Blend, we’ve seen our conversion rates jump from 40% to 60%. Another big win for us has been on the automation front with identity verification. We’re currently trending at 85% automation. We’ve seen our funding go from 20% to 40%, and are also exploring many other future opportunities like shopping cart experiences and fighting fraud.

Bavna Guglani

Chief Digital Officer at BCU

Redefining the future of member experience

BCU has implemented digital solutions across all member channels and consumer lending. But for Guglani, this is just the beginning of a fruitful partnership with Blend. “We’re hoping that as we grow, we will be able to build more dynamic and flexible journeys for our members. We want to bring more value and more features — whether it’s funding accounts, direct deposits, or switch kits. We’re partnering with Blend to deliver value upfront before we transfer the member over to the digital banking platform.”

At the end of the day, the BCU-Blend partnership delivers innovative member experience solutions. And with a presence in all 50 states, the BCU team’s continued success hinges on their ability to remain at the forefront of digital innovation. Working with Blend will allow BCU to be their members’ preferred financial institution on day one instead of at some point in the future — all while making it possible for the BCU to fulfill their promise of “being here today for your tomorrow.”

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