Northern Community Bank: a Penny for your time
24/7 member support, with more time for the team
The challenge
Founded in 1982, Northern Community Bank serves over 16,000 members. As its membership grew, so did demand for accessible, timely member support.
The bank needed a solution that would give members instant access to information 24/7, reduce staff workload by addressing frequently asked questions and maintain the personalised service members had come to expect.
Meet Penny
Partnering with CU Apps, Northern Community Bank introduced a generative AI chatbot in September 2024. The team chose the name Penny as a nod to its former name, Pennine Community Credit Union, its connection to money and the friendly, approachable persona the chatbot would have.
Penny’s knowledge base is built around the bank’s own products, services and processes. From project start to actively handling member queries, Penny went live within six weeks.
“The onboarding process was really simple. After reviewing the compliance documentation, all that was required was to fill out a spreadsheet with key facts about our credit union and continue testing and refining Penny’s responses.”
Results and impact
Before Penny, staff would start Monday mornings with around 300 emails and messages that had built up over the weekend. After Penny’s launch, this dropped to around 80 messages as members turned to her first with their questions.
The case study reports an approximate 70% reduction in incoming messages and emails, 31% of member enquiries happening outside office hours and 72% positive user-rated chat conversations.
“Members are responding really well to communicating with Penny. In the first full month live, she had over 3,000 conversations with members which was estimated to have saved us 536 hours. This would equate to 3.5 full time members of staff.
At the beginning of November, when our Christmas Savings account opened for withdrawals, we get lots of enquiries. Penny was able to provide details about when members could withdraw and start their Christmas shopping. Implementing Penny ahead of our busiest time of year has definitely relieved some of the pressure from our staff members.”
Support when it matters most
The case study describes a member who contacted Penny outside office hours after being robbed of their money and phone. Penny responded with reassurance and practical advice, guiding the member to the necessary steps to take.
In Northern Community Bank’s own words
“Collaborating with CU Apps to enhance our digital services has been a truly refreshing experience.
Implementing our AI chatbot, Penny, ahead of our busiest time of year definitely relieved some of the pressure on our staff members. We got lots of enquiries and Penny was able to provide details about when members could withdraw and start their Christmas shopping, all while freeing up staff to focus on other priorities.
Members are responding really well to communicating with Penny, and we are enjoying using the insights we get from her on a weekly basis to shape future developments or awareness email campaigns.”
Weekly insights and a growing knowledge base
The team uses the CU Chat Portal to review conversation logs and performance analytics, understand how members navigate the website and identify where improvements can be made.
Every Monday morning, Penny analyses member interactions from the previous week and automatically sends the team a summary of the most important findings. These weekly Insight Emails highlight key topics of enquiry and potential concerns.
When the team spots a question Penny could not answer, it adds information to her knowledge base so she can help the next member asking about the same topic. The case study reports that knowledge updates go live within 20 minutes and that fewer updates are needed as Penny learns.
The team can also add temporary information during an issue, keeping Penny’s messages consistent with the Member Service team, and remove it once the issue is resolved.
Supporting the bank’s rebrand
“We are enjoying using the insights we get from Penny on a weekly basis to shape future developments and awareness email campaigns.
Penny has been a huge help throughout our rebrand. She made sure our messages and tone matched our new brand perfectly, while also taking the lead in responding quickly to enquiries and easing concerns from those who were unsure about the changes.
Not only has she saved our staff time, but she’s also made the whole process run far more smoothly. As always, Penny has felt like a great addition to the team.”