To say that banks and credit unions are in a long-term war over customers is to say Alex Rodriguez did steroids.

That pitched battle just took a new turn with Navy Federal Credit Union‘s newly released version of its mobile banking application.

Buried in Navy’s new iOS release last Thursday was a small notification that the app now allows consumers to “apply for Navy Federal membership from your iPhone or iPad.” To apply, app users need only “tap ‘Join Now’ on the sign-in screen to become a member.”

Call it “common bonding” on steroids.

For decades, banks have complained about the sometimes dubious “common bond” of members of some credit unions. That is not to say Navy’s “common bond” falls into that category. Indeed, Navy FCU members must have some affiliation with the Armed Forces, Department of Defense, Coast Guard or National Guard.

However, the “Join Now” button makes joining the credit union as easy as, well, tapping a button. That removes a whole other level of friction for credit union membership. (While we did not do an exhaustive search, we don’t know of another credit union mobile banking app that allows for in-app membership.)

Could that be why Navy FCU mentioned the mobile membership function last and did not include a screenshot of the new feature on its iTunes listing? We’ll let you decide.

Navy FCU has about 5.3 million members and approximately $64 billion of assets.