One of the hardest things to do with a 7x24 product like online banking and PIB is to decide when to implement software changes. Unlike CU*BASE changes that easily can be coordinated with normal credit union operating hours, online banking changes must work around member usage patterns and support concerns. If a member needs to check a balance or transfer money at 3:00 in the morning, he can’t just pick up the phone and ask a credit union MSR to handle the transaction for him.

Because of this, our strategy is to try, whenever possible, to plan the interruptions for a time when there are other avenues open to meet the member’s needs. We also try avoid releases and peak periods of online banking usage. In monitoring usage patterns we have observed that members appear to fit online banking into their daily work schedules, probably taking advantage of business bandwidth and Internet speeds. Weekday mornings (after about eight or nine o'clock), lunch hours and early evenings are usually peak hours for online banking.

There will still be times when we need to interrupt home banking or audio response service during a weekend or overnight in order to handle other maintenance chores. But for periodic software upgrades, we generally try to choose a period during normal credit union working hours, and during periods of typically lower volumes. It’s not an exact science, but we do our very best to minimize frustration and maximize the member’s satisfaction.