Hawaii State Federal Credit Union is speeding up the integration of its interactive branch kiosks (IBK) to better serve their customers amid the coronavirus pandemic. These enhanced ATMs allow customers to access their accounts, make loan payments, cash checks and make deposits. 

“We found out that 80% of the transactions done by our customers can be done through a digital platform or the IBK,” said Aaron Vallely, vice president of HSFCU’s retail experience division. “The IBK can perform almost all the functions of a bank teller and limits human interaction with customers.” 

The kiosks come equipped with Fiserv’s Verifast biometric palm authentication, allowing customers to access their account by scanning their palm. Members enroll their palm print with the bank before using the service. 

“Our members don’t have to take out an ID or enter their debit card to access their accounts,” Vallely said.  

The credit union — the largest in Hawaii with $1.7 billion in assets and 115,000 members — plans to set up IBKs across the islands to increase customer reach. To date, three have been installed, reaching more than 4,000 active IBK users each month. 

“We think that the post–COVID world would require institutions to give safety and accessibility to its customers,” Vallely said. “We sped up our process of integrating IBKs across our branches and plan on adding three more machines by the end of the year.” 

Interactive kiosks are a growing trend in community banking, especially during the pandemic. Video banking technology company POPi/o has seen a 30% jump in its video call assistance volume, and Texas-based Happy State Bank, meanwhile, implemented video teller machines in April to support customers during the pandemic. “Technology is going to move from that second-tier priority all the way up to a first-tier priority. Anyone not working on PPP loans is going to be working on ITMs,” said Mikel Williamson, Happy Bank CEO. 

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Fiserv provided the back–end and connectivity to the core and other systems for the credit union’s IBKs, according to Marcus Hardy, communications manager at Fiserv. The financial solutions provider will also be offering this technology to other financial institutions due to the “great responses” from credit union members, he added. 

“Only 2% of our members who have used it have said that they will not use the machine again,” Vallely said. “Our members are accepting these technological upgrades rapidly.”