The CU2.0 Podcast

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The Credit Union Generation Barrier.

On the show today is Melissa Krut, VP of Success at Sogolytics, a Herndon Virginia based firm that focuses on data driven analytics that answer questions such as how satisfied are a credit union’s employees, how satisfied are members, and more.

Krut is here to discuss Sogolytics data driven approach and also to elaborate on a recent Sogolytics report that documents the disconnect between younger Millennials and Gen Z and credit unions.

That’s a disconnect that couldn’t happen at a worse time for credit unions as their Baby Boomer base erodes in numbers.

Here’s one finding: “Nearly half (49%) of Gen Z say they've heard of credit unions but don't understand how they work. Perceptions of being outdated persist: 17% view credit unions as "for older people," while another 17% believe they are "not modern enough."”

Ouch

There’s lots of data in the report but, Krut stresses, the data also open doors to better communicating to Millennials and Gen Z.

By no means is this a battle lost.

And Sogolytics offers plenty of pointers about what  a credit union can do to better appeal to younger potential members.

Listen up.

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Rik Reitmaier is CIO at Tennessee based Ascend Federal Credit Union, with $4.4 billion in assets and 245,000. That puts Ascend in the nation’s top 100 credit unions. And Reitmaier is on the show to talk about the wide range of issues, worries and concerns that are on his mind.

AI of course  is high on that list and Reitmaier explains both Ascend’s position on AI today and why he thinks it’s the right course.  Hint: many Ascend employees are already using Copilot.

There already are productivity enhancements due to Copilot use - Reitmaier gives the details.

Cyber fraud of course is a big issue for Ascend and here we hear the credit union’s multi-pronged approach to defending itself in an age of ever smarter crooks.

Reitmaier also discussed Ascend’s procedure for adopting new technologies,  

Listen up.

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I fancy myself something of a minor expert on Medicare and often have advised friends who are approaching 65 about their best options.  Until a man I know approached me and asked for my advice.  He added he was dually qualified for Medicare and Medicaid and he thought he probably qualified for food benefits, too.

Huh?  I had no idea what he was talking about and had to admit to him I was useless in this case.

Today I advised him to find a credit union he could join that also is a customer of Starlight, a fintech with a focus on unlocking some $100 billion in government benefits that are potentially available to credit unions.

Starlight was on the show a year ago. It’s on again today because it comes with big news: it’s now a CUSO and has won funding from One Washington Financial, a CUSO that is wholly owned by Washington State Employees Credit Union, the same credit union that  birthed Q Cash.

Scott Daukas, a principal at One Washington Financial is on the show to talk about the CUSO and, specifically, why it funded Starlight. He also briefly talks about Silvur, a portfolio company that also has been on the show.  

And Starlight CEO Shreenath Regunathan s back to talk about how it is helping automate the often bewildering process of applying for government benefits - a process made all the more bewildering by massive changes that several big programs (such as SNAP, the food stamps program) are undergoing as the year ends.

Starlight is deployed at over a dozen credit unions and it is busy signing up more credit unions because frankly the need is there.

Along the way, there’s a discussion about Prizeout, an innovative ad tech company that also has been a podcast guest.  In another episode a Prizeout consumer user sings its praises.  

There’s rich content in this episode. Listen up.

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Mark Ritter, CEO of Member Business Financial Services, a Pennsylvania based CUSO, estimates that about 800 US credit unions do member business lending, meaning that perhaps 3700 don’t.

Many, many more could.  That is spelled out in HR 1151, the law that lets credit unions serve more than one employer group.  Passage of that law is detailed in CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 51 with Marc Schaefer, then the CEO of Truliant CU.

If credit unions can make small business loans, why don’t they - that’s a question Ritter asks and answers in this show.

But it also is very clear that he believes credit unions - and their members and communities - would be better served if more credit unions jumped into member business lending. The need on the part of small businesses is acute, many are turning to non traditional lenders who may charge as much as 40% APR.  Credit unions can play an important role in helping their communities' small businesses, says Ritter.

Understand, too, that a CUSO like MBFS - and there are several competitors in the space - may source the loan, it will underwrite it, MBFS will say if it thinks the loan is a definite “yes,” a definite “no,” or - most likely - a maybe.  And if it’s a maybe MBFS will relate the pros and cons of issuing the loan.

The credit union provides the loan capital.  MBFS does the heavy lifting.

In the show Ritter offers his unfiltered outlook for commercial real estate loans and also predicts a bump in delinquency rates - and yet he is bullish about member business lending in general.

Ritter, by the way, has his own podcast.  Tune in for deep dives in member business trending.

Listen up.

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It’s typically the first in depth contact a non member has with a credit union and that non member, increasingly, is seeking to open a new account online.

Good luck with that.

The brutal fact is that digital account opening tools at most credit unions are inadequate - and an upshot is a stampede of would-be members who simply abandon the process.

That’s why today’s show features Philip Paul, CEO of Cotribute, a developer of digital member onboarding tools, and Kathy Richardson VP of Digital Products and Services at CPM Federal Credit Union , a South Carolina institution with assets around $650 million.

Here are results touted by CPM after their implementation of Cotribute tools:

• 32% increase in new accounts opened in just 90 days
• 82% reduction in manual reviews due to automated fraud detection and decisioning
• Significant time savings for staff, who are now freed from tedious remediation and cleanup 

Sounds good? It gets better. The Cotribute rollout of its tools at CPM was happening so swiftly, the credit union actually asked them to slow down.  I have never before heard that. You’ll find out why on the show.

You’ll also find out that there are many, many ways to catch fraudsters in the digital onboarding process.

And these are indeed the tools that Gen Z wants when launching a new relationship with a financial institution.

Listen up.

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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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The conversation with West Community Credit Union’s Josh Rodriguez started in Ashland OR at the CU 2.0/ Room (39) a event in late September and in this podcast it picks up again.

Fodder for the show came in the form of a questionnaire distributed to event attendees and Josh had dutifully filled his in.  He agreed to discuss his answers on this show and we take as the jumping off point West Community Credit Union’s podcast “Banking on You.”  It’s a good show and ought to inspire other credit unions to try something similar.

We also talk about West Community Credit Union’s implementation of an AI bot  - this is ambitious stuff for a $400 million credit union but West is proving it can be done.

Also dazzling are Josh’s plans for more video and more audio content that will be surfacing in West Community.

Along the way we discuss work being done by Anne Legg and Saroop Bharwani - and regular listeners know about this from podcast #378.

There’s also mention of an episode with Lee Silber, editor of The Credit Union  Way.  There’s a link in the show notes.  

Listen up.

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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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Fact: youth banking is the entry ramp into a credit union.  

Fact 2: Credit unions, most of them, will admit that youth banking is not exactly their strongest suit.

Enter Cardinal Credit Union, a Mentor OH based institution with assets around $335 million, where CEO Chistine Blake saysthey are winning big in attracting youth to get credit union accounts by doing a lot of innovative thinking and mixing in fun activities.

Blake, by the way, is a past podcast guest. In episode 342 she talks about the institution’s relationship with the Cleveland Browns and its Little Brownies debit card aimed at kids.  Since then she has turned to Nuuvia - formerly Incent - where president Marcel King and team have developed a range of youth banking tools and ideas.  King, too, is a past guest.  He was on episode 360 with Pioneer Federal Credit Union EVP Tracey Miller where they talked about youth banking.

On this episode King and Blake dive deeply into what Cardinal is offering, why kids like what they see, and why all of this matters in helping to insure a credit union’s long term success.  In the process King shares compelling data on youth banking at Desert Financial, a big credit union in Phoenix AZ.

Listen up.

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Go back to when I started to report on credit unions and there were over 8000 credit unions.  Now there are 4370.  

In 2020 there were 5099 credit unions.  Just in five years the count is down by 700+.

The math going forward is gloomy.

That’s why I  smiled when I saw Jason Stverak’s CU Insight piece on Why small credit unions matter and how we can help them thrive.

Jason is chief advocacy officer at DCUC, the Defense Credit Union Council and is a past podcast guest.  

Why is he advocating for keeping little credit unions alive?

I had to get him on the show - this episode was recorded on November 12, just hours before the federal government reopened after the longest shutdown in history.

We start by talking about what’s going on in Washington DC now - and quickly move into why DCUC has become an aggressive lobbyist and then we focus on why small credit unions matter and why DCUC cares.

It’s good stuff.

Listen up.

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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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Big data vs. AI.

Is this a war inside the walls of credit unions or can the two flourish in harmony?

On the show are Anne Legg, founder and CEO of Thrive 3.0, where the mantra is leveraging data to better members’ lives, and Saroop Bharwani, co-founder and CEO of Senso, where he has been bringing AI to credit unions for several years.

What you’ll hear in this episode is that indeed big data and AI can - should - co-exist for optimal results in credit unions.

Along the way you will hear about successful AI implementations at a number of credit unions, from One Nevada to Suffolk Credit Union.  

You’ll also hear how credit unions as small as $100 million in assets are successfully implementing AI and also big data strategies.

Listen up.

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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 have a brand.

Know it or not, like it or not, you do.

And on the show today is Laura Beauparlant, a Canada based keynote speaker and consultant who helps clients know and polish their personal brand.

What’s your brand on social media? In meetings? At conferences?  Others sense your brand and that means it’s important for you to buff your brand until it shows you off in your best light.

In the show Laura talks about the how to of shaping your personal brand. And if you need reasons to do it, she also elaborates on why personal brand matters in your daily business life.

In the show we discuss Laura’s book, Brand Chemistry.  There’s a link in the show notes.

Incidentally, I met Laura at CU 2.0/Room (39a) Launch event  in Ashland Oregon.  

This is a different kind of show. But it just might prompt you to change your personal brand!

Listen up.

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

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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