Business View Magazine | December 2020

214 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2020 is definitely important to us. It’s kind of the permission to play and I believe Cadre provides that for us. Having a secure infrastructure is step one. Beyond that you must have the functionality members want through your digital channels. We went through an online and mobile banking upgrade at the very beginning of the year, which was perfect timing because we added a lot of functionality that served our members well when everything got shut down. Throughout the year, we continued to launch additional features, and we’ve still got more in the works.” For instance, coming down the pipeline is a suite of products that will allow members to interact with a chat bot for simple inquiries. If that doesn’t serve their needs, they’ll be able to connect with an ELGA associate through text chat and, eventually, video chat for the ultimate in electronic service (including screensharing capabilities that would enable agents to better walk members through a process). In addition, ELGA will be introducing robo-investment on loans to reduce payments, waiving fees – all in the interest of helping them through tough times. We’ve had a record year as far as growth, in assets and loans. We just made sure we doubled down on helping our membership out.” Like many businesses, ELGA Credit Union’s lobbies were closed in the spring, when the pandemic began. They reopened just before Memorial Day with limited capacity; no more than 10 people in the lobby at a time and have been in that posture ever since. Members can come in somewhat freely to conduct their business, but wearing masks and respecting distance. Fortunately, ELGA CU had already been working on improving and evolving its online and mobile platforms. Katzur acknowledges, “When you’re a financial institution, first and foremost, you have to have a secure infrastructure. Members need to trust that their data is safe, and that they can use your products and services safely. Having a network security and infrastructure partner like Cadre