A few weeks ago my son ordered pizza for our family and paid for it with his personal Visa card. I asked my son how much money I owed him, and then I logged-in to the Goldenwest mobile app on my phone to transfer money from my account to his account via P2P. The entire process took less than 30 seconds from beginning to end – it was slick!

Peer-to-Peer, People-to-People and P2P are all common terms used for the process of transferring funds directly from one person’s account to another person’s account with a mobile device. Regardless of the financial institutions involved, money can be transferred with ease. P2P is one more reason checkbooks are going the way of the dinosaur, and we’re making fewer trips to the ATM for cash.

Ten years ago I used my mobile phone to make calls, send texts and take a few photos. Today, I rarely move from one room to the next without it. My mobile device is a convenient, go-to source for everything from sports scores to weather reports, and from tracking my fitness goals to paying bills.

In the early years of our marriage, we would sit down at the kitchen table each month with a stack of bills, a book of stamps, a calculator and our check book. It was a tedious yet necessary process to keep our budget balanced and finances in order. Now, we pay our bills with the Goldenwest mobile app. Our expenses are categorized and tracked through Goldenwest’s online personal financial management system. I’m a visual person, so I appreciate the charts and graphs illustrating our spending and saving patterns.

The top reason members use the mobile app is to check account balances. Reviewing your savings and checking balances on a daily basis can help ensure you have sufficient funds to cover expenses, and your savings plans are on track. It can also be a great tool in the fight against fraud.

Goldenwest has made it easier than ever to check your balances on the mobile app. You can customize the app settings to view “Quick Balance” for your accounts without logging in. When you want to review the details of your account, or conduct transactions, you can log-in with your thumbprint. Using biometrics authentication is a much-welcomed feature for guys like myself who can’t remember all of the usernames and passwords they’ve been assigned. This feature is currently only available for iPhone users, but will soon be released with the Android app update.

Our members have been asking about Visa card control options with their mobile devices. I’m pleased to announce the upcoming Goldenwest mobile app release will give members the ability to temporarily disable and then re-enable their Visa cards should they become lost or stolen. You will also have the option of re-ordering and activating your Visa Cards with the app. Plus, you can set-up travel notifications and edit transaction authorization limits with your mobile device. All of this functionality will be available within the Goldenwest app, which should be released within the next few weeks.

Mobile technology is definitely useful and convenient, but it doesn’t replace the human touch. It’s a pleasure to serve our members personally at our 26 branch locations, or to assist you through our call center. You are always welcome to contact our experienced management team or friendly staff members for any of your financial needs.

Our employee of the month is Melodee Young, who works at our corporate office branch in South Ogden. Melodee always has a smile on her face, and cheerfully interacts with our members as she serves them. Congratulations Melodee…thanks for all you do!

I appreciate members reaching out to me with comments and suggestions for making our credit union stronger and better, and will respond to your personal emails at president@gwcu.org. For Goldenwest updates and a few of my favorite quotes, follow me on Twitter at @GoldenwestCUCEO. Enjoy the last few weeks of summer!