Digital Banking Podcast

Shondell Varcianna is a resourceful and creative woman who keeps pace with the latest developments in the world of content marketing. Shondell is the CEO and founder at Varci Media. Her job consists of helping financial institutions succeed with their blog posts and all forms of content marketing. 

Shondell truly believes in the power of content. She suggests a holistic marketing approach to get in front of ideal customers, whether it is through Facebook Ads, PPC, or Google.

In this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, Shondell reveals valuable tips and tricks financial institutions should implement when targeting the right customer. She emphasizes the importance of personalized content, technology, and unique strategies to approach the customer, as they don't want to be seen as numbers but individuals.

In this episode of the Digital Banking podcast, you'll get to hear from Trey Maust, the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Oregon City, Ore.-based Lewis & Clark Bank. Trey brings over 25 years of banking experience to the table, having served as CEO and Director at several leading financial institutions. 

Josh DeTar, host of the Digital Banking Podcast, and Trey Maust discuss the benefits of community financial institutions (CFIs) and their role in the future of banking. Trey's passion for the industry is contagious as he shares his thoughts and conclusions about fintech and CFIs. 

Trey and Josh talk about the differences between technology platforms and banks in terms of innovation. Trey offers great advice on how financial institutions can secure their place in the future of fintech.

In this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar and SVP/VP of Operations Tracey Miller of Pioneer Federal Credit Union discuss a wide range of hot credit union topics. 

Tracey has a lot of experience in fintech and explains how important it is to be honest with both team members and external partners. Creating stable and sincere relationships can help any business to grow. If the foundation is strong, everyone around you will prosper and achieve their goals.

Tracey points out the importance of surrounding yourself with ambitious and detail-oriented peers, since that's the best way to answer all questions and overcome business challenges.

She thinks that listening to others while creating a company culture can take you places, and that's why Pioneer continues to thrive. Tracey is sure that building long-lasting relationships with everyone near you can help you overcome every obstacle on your path to success.

Laura Thompson is a retired SVP/CIO at the famous Orange County's Credit Union. She inherited her passion for credit unions from her family, who have been involved with credit unions for decades. For her, credit unions, or careers in general, aren't only about getting promotions and earning more money. They’re about broadening knowledge and fostering mutual respect among members and colleagues, no matter what industry they belong to.

According to Laura, knowledge is a never-ending journey that is a prerequisite for growth. She is happy to hear that there are student-run credit unions whose members and associates are highly motivated young people ready to help others and ensure a stable future. One issue: Many of them want everything, and they want it now. But good things come slowly, says Laura, and they pay off eventually.

Continuing the discussion, she suggests people should focus on becoming better at what they do instead of concentrating on the promotion itself. She also tackles the challenges faced by credit unions regarding technology and digital banking, adding that members still love credit unions despite their uneven tech implementation.

Eric Isham is a founder and CEO of OMNICOMMANDER, a company dedicated to helping credit unions grow by using well-thought-out SEO and marketing strategies. Based on his experience with credit unions, Eric claims that they do a terrible job of branding and marketing. How does that affect their overall performance and success?

Eric sees marketing as an essential tool for growth. However, marketing is only part of the answer. Credit union executives need to communicate well with their employees, members and partners. They need to answer all those why questions. Why should I become a member? Why should I stay at this credit union? By knowing the answers, credit unions can make significant changes in their workflow and grow memberships.

Eric explains how marketing and email campaigns can help credit unions grow, despite the common misconceptions about such an approach. He talks about branding, messaging, and the unified approach credit unions should embrace to go a step further.

In this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, Josh DeTar discusses the impact of digitalization on the financial industry with his guest Brenda DiMuro, Regional Sales Manager at CO-OP Financial Services.

Not only do Brenda and her team at CO-OP service at least 50% of credit unions across the country, but they're also currently working to enable Zelle for them. Due to its endorsement/adoption by major banks like Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo, Zelle is rapidly becoming the de facto standard for real-time, institution-to-institution P2P payments. 

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, it has become much clearer that digitalization is here to stay. According to Brenda, credit union members will not hesitate to look for other options if you don't give them what they need. 

If you want to hear more about the importance of continually updating your product offering, tune in to this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast with Brenda DiMuro. 

In this episode of the Digital Banking podcast, Josh DeTar talks to Dennis Griesgraber, Chief Technology Officer at United Educators Credit Union. In this conversation, the two focus on the benefit of small credit unions and the importance of delivering a superior, member-centric experience to the credit union community in our technology-driven society.

Dennis speaks about the role of technology in enhancing the member experience. He sees that, even though we are surrounded by technology, members still find digital channels with poor user experience overwhelming. He provides potential solutions that create a more user-friendly environment, not only on the frontend but also on the backend.

Josh and Dennis discuss tech-related topics, including business intelligence (BI), leveraging data to enhance the member experience, and how the proper use of technology can help differentiate and allow small credit unions to shine. Tune in to the latest episode of the Digital Banking podcast to hear more firsthand information from our guest Dennis Griesgraber.

Gideon Taub, founder of Pinkaloo, is on a mission to democratize philanthropy.He says that while there's been a lot of innovation to help charities raise money, there hasn't necessarily been a lot of focus on how donors manage all of their giving. He also says giving has been siloed and isolated and explained why people should be more proactive in their giving. Pinkaloo seeks to change that. 

Gideon and host Josh DeTar discuss the virtual community and the importance of investing in digital banking. As Gideon explains, COVID accelerated digital adoption; people who didn't use digital banking apps were forced to use them. He also says in the past 18 months, there've been nonprofits that have really struggled, and there have been nonprofits that have seen a lot more funds flow.Gideon and Josh discuss solutions.

In this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, Josh DeTar talks with Mark Sommer, COO at $70M ProMedica Federal Credit Union, based in Toledo, Ohio. They discuss actual a wide range of topics in the credit union environment, including the pandemic-driven society surrounded by the power of technology. How can small credit unions leverage technology to improve their services?

Mark talks about the advantages and disadvantages of a digital environment, where non-face-to-face contacts affect the relationships between MSRs and clients, credit union members, etc. He discusses the idea of convincing younger generations to go with credit unions instead of Venmo or big banks. 

In this episode of the Digital Banking podcast, you get to hear from Adrian Quince, Assistant Manager for technology at Redwood Credit Union. RCU is a trusted and community-focused credit union that offers banking services to over 300,000 members. Adrian joins our host Josh DeTar to discuss the power of technology in helping their members achieve their financial goals.

What's one of the most significant value propositions that credit unions bring to the table? According to Adrian, it's the personal touch. "It's the ability to relate to the member on a very deep level and the ability to gain their trust and get them to open up." Throughout this thought-provoking episode, you'll hear Adrian and Josh discuss many burning topics. From the importance of humanizing the digital banking experience to the challenges of competing with big tech companies. 

If you want to learn more about how technology is transforming the financial industry, tune it to the Digital Banking podcast's latest episode.