Revolutionizing Recovery: The power of managed recovery solutions for credit unions

By Agility Recovery
April 12, 2024

Credit unions face unique challenges and requirements for their physical, member-facing locations. In many cases, the livelihood of an entire community may rely on a branch being open for business despite any disaster, construction, or interruption. Just one hour of downtime can have far-reaching ripple effects.

That’s why credit unions must have a backup for brick-and-mortar locations, particularly those with no other area branches. Mobile recovery solutions can be exactly what's needed to stay in business and serve your community.

Full Capacity and Convenience of a Brick-and-Mortar Branch

If a storm makes a branch unreachable or your institution is planning a long-term renovation, that doesn’t mean there has to be a pause in operations. Instead, by employing an Agility mobile recovery solution, your institution can stay in business without major interruption to your work. You can even remain at the same location your members know and love by setting up the unit right in your parking lot.

“The biggest benefit is to remain at the location a credit union determined was right to open a branch. This is convenient for both their employees as well as their members and why nearly all of our branch recoveries take place within the parking lot of the branch impacted by a disaster,” says Mark Norton, CBCP, sales enablement manager at Agility Recovery.

Agility’s mobile recovery solutions have all the capabilities needed so you can get back to serving your community quickly. 

Productivity

Your employees must be able to serve your members, no matter the circumstance. Our mobile branch is a great solution to a business interruption at your traditional brick and mortar location and can include:

• Break/conference area for employees to meet
• Private office space for confidential conversations
• Employee workstations
• Restrooms
• Satellite and LTE communications
• Power
• Teller stations (2-3)

Member Comfort

Especially in times of disaster, ensure your members and employees alike feel comfortable when visiting your mobile branch with:

• Drive-up window for quick and convenient transactions
• Lobby/waiting area
• Teller stations (2-3)
• Check-writing stand

One client shared that he was extremely pleased with the unit. The unit was more spacious than the institution had expected, and Agility was able to customize the unit to their liking. This particular member had multiple branches but they were geographically inconvenient to their customer base, so the Agility mobile unit provided a quick and effective solution. Agility had their mobile unit up and running just one day after they declared.

Safety and Accessibility

Even in a mobile unit, everyone should feel safe when accessing their work or money. Agility's mobile units are customizable and can be outfitted with safety equipment provided by either Agility Recovery or the credit union. Many clients opt to put their own door alarms and security cameras up; some choose to have Agility set them up. Safes are kept in areas with reinforced flooring. Units may include:

• ADA accessibility
• Alarm system
• Compliant Diebold safes
• Safe room
• Night drop box
• Cash drawers

All this and more ensures your members and employees see the value of your branch and all it can provide.

Customizable Layouts

What works for one credit union may not work for another, which is why Agility’s mobile recovery units include customizable layouts, providing the flexibility you need to support your members when they need it most. The unit arrives empty, but upon arrival, Agility will build partitions, run network cabling, and place furniture according to your institution's needs. Recoveries are stressful enough; let Agility configure and install equipment in a way best suited to your institution.

We can adjust these layouts based on the size of your workforce or expected member volume.

No Requirements for Special Permits

The last thing credit unions need to worry about during a disaster is permitting for a mobile unit. If an institution plans to put down a building that will be block and leveled, they will need to go to the county for a permit; however, with Agility's mobile units, there is no additional hurdle of gaining county permission when setting up unit in your parking lot or an alternative site. We encourage advance site visits so our team can spring into action when you need us.

“A client of ours in Texas had to wait over two months and submit numerous drawings before the county gave them the green light to move forward,” said Damian Hunter, solutions consultant at Agility Recovery. “In a time of recovery, the extra variable of going to the county for permission and waiting weeks to months is incredibly difficult given all the other tasks needed to get back to business as usual.”

Efficiency

Agility's recovery solutions are efficient. We don't require a credit union to take ownership of assets you may never use, nor do we require a credit union to pay vendors and service providers to be on retainer for a bad day. Agility Recovery is the best solution to save your institution money now and save the business later.

Expertise and Proven Success

Agility is the expert at performing branch recoveries within 48-72 hours. By partnering with Agility, your institution can take advantage of our expertise while your employees can focus on theirs: serving the community.

Agility has been in the recovery business for 35 years. Most of our recoveries with credit unions take place during the first disaster they've experienced; by recovering with Agility, institutions don't have to try to save their business with little experience at high-stakes moments.

Ready to get started? Connect with Agility Recovery to learn more about their mobile recovery solutions and full ReadyFinancial+ program.

About Agility Recovery

Through its business continuity management platform, called Agility Central, Agility works to reduce the impact of business interruptions on credit unions and the communities they serve. They help businesses be prepared before, during, and after an incident happens. After decades of helping businesses recover from real disasters and streamline emergency preparedness and incident response, they bring the collective experiences of thousands of hours in the field.