The CU2.0 Podcast

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Ask Victor Corro, of Coopera, the Hispanic focused consulting firm for credit unions, on why Hispanics matter to credit unions and he gets impassioned.  Hispanics need credit unions, he says, just as credit unions need Hispanics.  He tells in detail exactly why that is so in this edition of the CU2.0 podcast.

Note: the audio quality has imperfections in parts of this podcast.  We live in a world of imperfect telephony. But the audio is understandable. So give a hard listen and you will be rewarded.

Corro also tells exactly what a credit union needs to do to really pursue the Hispanic demographic.  It's a multi-step process and he spells it out.

And he explains why many Hispanics are cellphone first consumers - and savvy credit unions need to truly get that if they hope to prosper in their pursuit of Hispanics.

Just remember: you need each other. And that makes this a perfect scenario for doing credit union good.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Do you want the good news first or the bad?

In this podcast we bring together three Gen Zers to tell the good, the bad, and the ugly about credit unions.

The ugliest news: the woeful job credit unions have done in communicating their profound and manifold advantages.

Do Gen Zs know about the free checking, the vast shared ATM network,  that CUs are non profit?

Nope.

There are cures for these ills however and the Gen Zs tell what.

It's a lively podcast.

Listen up.

And tune in next week when we post the companion podcast where Millennials tell their verdicts on credit unions.  Spoiler alert: don't expect dramatically better news.

The bottomline verdict: credit unions have a lot of work to do to persuade the young among us to join.

And they are the future.  

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Quick now, how much did financial institutions collect in overdraft fees in 2017?  The answer is $34.3 billion. That's right, billion. 

A lot of us are getting soaked by high bank fees and thus TrueFees, founded by Ben Premo whose intent is to shine a light on the actual fees charged by financial institutions.

Premo told me that maybe one in two FIs are opaque about their fees. That is, the info isn't clearly and readily available online.

But this is a fight credit unions are primed to win. Thousands of credit unions offer free checking and many also have low costs for other common bank charges.

Premo's intent at TrueFees is to let consumers easily find which institutions in their region charge low fees.

TrueFees is looking for the right credit unions to partner with and this is a fight credit unions ought to win.

He tells what it's all about in this podcast.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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How long does it takes your credit union to respond to a mortgage application with a verdict?  Anything longer than 10 minutes just may be too long. Are you still in the game?

At Filene, Erin Coleman, senior impact director, mulls just that kind of question as she hunts for ways for credit unions to stay competitive in a landscape that is ever more perilous.

She also discusses the need for credit unions to involve more young people - as members, sure, but also as employees and as volunteers, even board members.

Then there's the question of how far in the future you are thinking. A year or two isn't good enough. Can you think five years out? Ten? Okay, what impacts do you think autonomous cars will have on credit unions - and know they are coming and they will impact you. Are you ready? Coleman talks about exactly that question here.

This is a wide ranging podcast but it just may help light a path to a successful tomorrow. Listen up!

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Welcome to Up in Smoke, Part 2 - more formally, Credit Unions and Cannabis, Part 2.

In last week's episode, we heard from lawyers, a lobbyist and two credit union consultants in a no holds barred exploration of the potential, and pitfalls, of cannabis accounts in credit unions. Catch up with that podcast here.

This week we are digging deeper in a pair of interviews. One is with Judy Britt Cavanaugh, VP of Compliance with the Connecticut Credit Union which is actively attempting to educate its members about the realities of cannabis and credit unions.  The Connecticut League also is working with Green Check Verified - which talks at length in Part 1 - to establish safe, compliant procedures for handing marijuana accounts.

Also in this podcast is Katrina Skinner, interim president of Safe  Harbor Services, a CUSO set up by Sundie Seefried.  It also is working to provide credit unions with the tools needed to stay compliant when servicing marijuana businesses.

Listen here.

Marijuana business just may be the answer for some credit unions.

But it could also be the ruin of some.

That's why you need to listen to the podcasts.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto.

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Quick now, what country has the highest participation in credit unions? Say the US and you are wong. According to Mike Edwards, senior vice president for advocacy at the World Council of Credit Unions, it's Ireland, north and south, where 70% belong.

In this podcast he tells why that participation is so high.

He also tells why many regulatory matters in the US in fact originate overseas - risk based capital, Bank Secrecy Act requirements, AML, and more got their start overseas and that is why Edwards spends much of his time monitoring and attempting to influence regulations overseas.

What happens in Basel does not stay in Basel.  It may and probably will wind up in the US.

Listen in to this informative podcast.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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From the Ukraine to Ireland and Dominica, this podcast travels the globe with Mike Reuter, executive director of the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions, as he shares stories of the challenges faced by credit unions and also the generous willingness of other credit unions executives to help. Exhibit one may be the rebuilding of the Dominica credit union sector after that island's economy was flattened in a 2017 hurricane.  Credit union execs want to help and they do. It's an inspiring podcast that shines a light on what's special about credit unions. 

Stay tuned. In a week or two a second podcast will post with another WOCCU executive as we travel around the world to see the challenges internationally and how the US fits in.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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You don't want to listen to this podcast.

But you need to.

What banking futurist Brett King paints is a dystopian picture of financial services tomorrow where, increasingly, consumers want frictionless money transactions, they don't give a hoot about banks vs. non banks, and they have no interest in a relationship with a one stop financial services provider.

Credit unions still think they are special. Think again, warns King.

What matters today is digital. Period. Sure, King, as the founder of digital bank Moven, has a bias.

But he very probably is right.

Financial institutions are getting left behind as the biggest banks get bigger - lots bigger - and fintechs gobble up profitable slices of the financial services pie.

Along the way in this provocative conversation, King talks about the new Apple credit card, why Apple Pay has stalled, and the inevitability of real time banking.

It's a look into tomorrow.

And, yes, it may sound like a horror film.

But at least when you know what's ahead you can start preparing for it.

Find the full CU2.0 Podcast archives here -- Blogger: The McGarvey Credit Union Podcast - All posts http://bit.ly/2UhZd1H

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto.

Send us Fan Mail

$100 million. That's the projected three year budget for the CUNA "Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union" campaign.

Teresa Freeborn, CEO of Xceed Financial Credit Union, chairs the CUNA effort which she - make no mistake - sees as crucial in the longterm survival and prosperity of credit unions.

The campaigns blends research with marketing - much of it online - to reach out to a generation of consumers that simply may not even consider credit unions as a financial services option.

Ouch. It hurts to be ignored. But that is a credit union reality and that also is the why of the CUNA campaign.

A central mission of the campaign: raising consumer awareness of the benefits of credit unions as a different, better category of financial services providers. That's ambitious. But it just may be critical in the industry's survival.

In this podcast Freeborn tells the story of the campaign's launch, it's current status, and it's hoped for future. She also blends in her perspective as the longtime CEO of a large credit union.

Listen up - your survival may depend on it.

Find the full CU2.0 Podcast archives here -- Blogger: The McGarvey Credit Union Podcast - All posts http://bit.ly/2UhZd1H

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Consider this podcast a crash course on credit union lobbying, 2019 style. Our instructor: Patrick Conway, CEO of the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association, a very large league with upwards of 370 members.

PCUA lobbies both in Harrisburg, the state capital, and in Washington, DC.

A lot of what PCUA does however could be considered credit union education. For instance, PCUA has played a lead role in the new Philadelphia ID card - designed to give Philadelphia residents a low cost ID card. Will it be adequate for opening a new account at a credit union? That's still being sorted out and PCUA is in the mix, offering education and counsel to its members.

PCUA is doing likewise with cannabis banking, a topic of significant interest to Pennsylvania credit unions.

Along the way we also talk about credit unions haves and the have nots and, in Pennsylvania, assured Conway, the big credit unions offer plenty of assistance to smaller institutions.

Other topics on the agenda: credit union tax exemption, the CUNA-league relationship, and what credit union can do to win greater consumer acceptance.

This is a rich podcast.  Give it several listens.

Find the full CU2.0 Podcast archives here -- Blogger: The McGarvey Credit Union Podcast - All posts http://bit.ly/2UhZd1H

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto