I recently made my first Apple Pay purchase at the pharmacy inside our neighborhood grocery store. Until that moment, I thought nothing could be easier than swiping my Visa card to make a purchase. Then I used Apple Pay, and it was so effortless it almost felt like I was skipping the payment process all together. I paid for the items simply by tapping my iPhone on the terminal with my thumbprint on the home button. No cash, cards or checks needed!

Earlier this year Goldenwest was delighted to be among the first 50 financial institutions anywhere to offer Apple Pay to their cardholders. In addition to Apple Pay acceptance growing speedily among merchants, credit union members are quickly adopting Apple Pay as a method of payment. In October our members conducted over 2200 Apple Pay transactions, equating to an increase of 77 percent over the previous month. Android Pay and Samsung Pay will soon be available to our membership. In fact, if you had entered your Goldenwest Visa cards in the Google Wallet prior to September 18th, you can already make purchases with Android Pay.

Members are rapidly switching their internet banking preferences from the online branch to the mobile app. Last month we had twice as many account balance inquiry hits on our mobile branch than we did the online platform. Without question, convenience is the number one reason why our members are moving to the mobile app to manage their accounts.

The “quick balance” feature on the mobile app is a favorite among members for checking account balances – no sign-in necessary. Growing in popularity is the new card controls feature giving members the option to enable or disable Visa cards within the Goldenwest mobile app. Card controls also allows members to set-up travel notifications for added Visa security and convenience when you’re away from home.

I’m still rejoicing in the fact I’m not required to remember my user name and password to log in – my thumbprint is all I need to access the mobile banking app with my iPhone.

Everyone I know is busy. Your time is valuable, as is mine. With the Goldenwest mobile app, you can stay on top of your finances while keeping up with your active schedule.

Congratulations to our employee of the month, Candice Eborn, who is an incredibly talented programmer in our IT department. Candice is a key player who keeps us moving forward in the rapidly evolving financial-tech industry.

The credit union’s loan portfolio continues to trend upward with $5.1 million in October, and a projected annualized growth rate of 15.79%. Deposits also grew $8.5 million last month. Our asset size is $1.1 billion with membership exceeding 105,000. What does this rate of growth mean to you? Growth provides Goldenwest scale and resources allowing us to stay at the forefront of the product and service offerings for our members – especially technology. I’m excited to announce we’re in the process of designing a new “high-tech” branch model with an open floor plan to better meet the needs and expectations of our tech-savvy members. We anticipate our first high-tech branch opening in spring 2016 on the Utah State University campus in Logan.

As we head into the holiday season, I’m filled with gratitude for the opportunity to associate with Goldenwest members, volunteers, employees and friends. I’m grateful for our Veterans, who we honor each November 11th. We respectfully thank you for your service. Best wishes to all of our members for a happy and safe Thanksgiving shared with the people you love and cherish!