Mobile banking extension in Kansas

56,000 members of Boeing Wichita Credit Union (BWCU) will be given opportunity to pay bills and transfer funds from their Web-enabled cell phones. BWCU introduced its Mobile Banking Suite.

As per representatives of the union the launch of the service is a natural step forward offering members convenience services.

"We believe it's the way things are moving," said Wade Bruendl, BWCU's interim chief executive. "And the new generation, they all use their phones for everything."

More local credit unions are expected to follow with a similar service. BWCU is one of the first credit unions in the area to offer Web-enabled mobile banking with no requirement to download software to a user's phone.

Mid American Credit Union (MACU) is considering the prospects to offer mobile banking. The union is going to hold the beta test of a mobile banking service and asked its vendor about the possibility to realize this.

Mobile banking services are believed to serve as an extension of a branch for credit unions.

"A mobile service facility could fulfill more than one purpose for a credit union, in that the mobile service might be considered a more strategic move than a single brick-and-mortar facility, with the added advantage that it could serve a credit union's business continuity needs as well," said Jerel Wright, assistant vice president of governmental and public affairs for the Kansas Credit Union Association.