Quick, how does a company get named Pinkaloo?
Meet Gideon Taub, CEO of Pinkaloo, a company focused on modernizing charitable giving for the 99% - that means us - and now it also is helping credit unions find a way to claim a central place in guiding members to more effective giving.
With Pinkaloo, a use can set up a budget for giving, access tools to help find organizations of particular interest, get gifts sorted for tax purposes, and - this is huge - do research without falling victim to the insecurity of some charity websites.
It's win-win-win, for the member, the credit union, the charities.
Pinkaloo is about bringing efficiencies to something that for many of us has been haphazard.
Note: Pinkaloo does not require core access.
Also note: credit unions may find that Pinkaloo helps them know much better what their members want to support and this may help steer credit union charitable giving in a much more precise direction. Just sayin'.
Listen here
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
Monday, December 23, 2019
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 70 Tommy Marshall Georgia Fintech Academy
"We are facing a global talent shortage," said Tommy Marshall, executive director of the new Georgia Fintech Academy, by way of an an answer to the question: why was your organization formed.
It's an ambitious undertaking. The idea is to pull together resources from 26 Georgia public universities - including Georgia Tech, Georgia State, and Georgia Southern - and to offer students the opportunity to earn a degree focused on fintech.
Right now, the emphasis is on a bachelors degree program but there are plans for an advanced degree as well as professional development courses.
Understand this: Georgia has gotten a jump on other states. Nowhere else is there such a sweeping program that draws upon a wide range of institutions, all joining together to produce grads with degrees that will help them get good, well paying, interesting work.
Marshall of course is looking for companies that want to hire grads - FIS is already a primary program sponsor - and he specifically saus in this podcast that he wants to hear from credit unions. If you have needs for fintech grads and you are in Georgia, shout it out because this might become an answered prayer.
In the program, Marshall tells exactly why Georgia started the Academy, how he got his job, and why this all just may be very important to economic development in Georgia.
Listen to the podcast here.
It's an ambitious undertaking. The idea is to pull together resources from 26 Georgia public universities - including Georgia Tech, Georgia State, and Georgia Southern - and to offer students the opportunity to earn a degree focused on fintech.
Right now, the emphasis is on a bachelors degree program but there are plans for an advanced degree as well as professional development courses.
Understand this: Georgia has gotten a jump on other states. Nowhere else is there such a sweeping program that draws upon a wide range of institutions, all joining together to produce grads with degrees that will help them get good, well paying, interesting work.
Marshall of course is looking for companies that want to hire grads - FIS is already a primary program sponsor - and he specifically saus in this podcast that he wants to hear from credit unions. If you have needs for fintech grads and you are in Georgia, shout it out because this might become an answered prayer.
In the program, Marshall tells exactly why Georgia started the Academy, how he got his job, and why this all just may be very important to economic development in Georgia.
Listen to the podcast here.
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
Thursday, December 12, 2019
CU2.0 Podcast Episode 69 Casey Boggs on Reputation Management, Hackers and You
What are people saying about your credit union?
That means members, staff, and community members?
And how does a nasty hack impact your reputation?
Meet Casy Boggs of ReputationUS, where the business is in fact reputation management and a primary emphasis is work with credit unions.
You think you have a great reputation? Don't guess. Know. Get a reputation audit done and be prepared to be surprised by the results.
Particularly interesting is how a hack impacts a credit union's reputation, a topic Boggs has studied in depth.
Among his findings: 48% of us are very unlikely to remain a member if their data has been hacked and then used to set up a bogus credit card account.
Good news, per the survey, is the vast majority of us hold credit unions in high reputational esteem.
But don't take it for granted.
Boggs says in this podcast that too many institutions are unprepared to deal with events that involve a reputational hit - they lack a plan and a plan can smooth the path to recovery.
Bad stuff happens. Are you prepared?
Find out what's involved in this podcast. Listen here.
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
That means members, staff, and community members?
And how does a nasty hack impact your reputation?
Meet Casy Boggs of ReputationUS, where the business is in fact reputation management and a primary emphasis is work with credit unions.
You think you have a great reputation? Don't guess. Know. Get a reputation audit done and be prepared to be surprised by the results.
Particularly interesting is how a hack impacts a credit union's reputation, a topic Boggs has studied in depth.
Among his findings: 48% of us are very unlikely to remain a member if their data has been hacked and then used to set up a bogus credit card account.
Good news, per the survey, is the vast majority of us hold credit unions in high reputational esteem.
But don't take it for granted.
Boggs says in this podcast that too many institutions are unprepared to deal with events that involve a reputational hit - they lack a plan and a plan can smooth the path to recovery.
Bad stuff happens. Are you prepared?
Find out what's involved in this podcast. Listen here.
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
Monday, December 9, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 68 John Lanza on The Money Mammals + Kids and Finance
Teach them when they are young.
That's the approach to financial education taken by John Lanza of the Money Mammals, where the focus is on financial education for children 11 and under.
A key: the education becomes a family project. That means credit unions - and credit unions can sign up with the Money Mammals to access its library of teaching materials and workbooks - will be attracting younger adults with small children.
The material also is branded with the credit union name.
And the financial education itself of course is a key credit union mission.
Lanza stresses that good as it is for kids to get financial education in school, it's crucial that they also get it at home because they need some money to learn with. Call it allowance and know it can be small. But that money becomes a teaching tool.
Lanza said he presently is working with 15 credit unions and he wants more. Some are under $200 million, one is bigger than $3 billion. So the program will work in just about any size institution.
Give a listen and just maybe you will be persuaded to focus on financial ed and children, the Money Mammals way.
Listen here.
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
That's the approach to financial education taken by John Lanza of the Money Mammals, where the focus is on financial education for children 11 and under.
A key: the education becomes a family project. That means credit unions - and credit unions can sign up with the Money Mammals to access its library of teaching materials and workbooks - will be attracting younger adults with small children.
The material also is branded with the credit union name.
And the financial education itself of course is a key credit union mission.
Lanza stresses that good as it is for kids to get financial education in school, it's crucial that they also get it at home because they need some money to learn with. Call it allowance and know it can be small. But that money becomes a teaching tool.
Lanza said he presently is working with 15 credit unions and he wants more. Some are under $200 million, one is bigger than $3 billion. So the program will work in just about any size institution.
Give a listen and just maybe you will be persuaded to focus on financial ed and children, the Money Mammals way.
Listen here.
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
Monday, December 2, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 67 Jesse Boyer COO NIH Federal Credit Union on Branch Reinvention
Biophilic.
That's your word for today and it is complements of Jesse Boyer, COO of the $600 million NIH Federal Credit Union in Maryland which is moving at a high speed to open a new branch in Silver Spring that is biophilic in design - meaning it puts you in touch with nature and, in this case, there's a living moss wall.
Of course you want to hear more about this.
What this podcast is about is a search for a new, more welcoming branch format and, at the new NIH FCU location, ITMs - interactive teller machines - replace ATMs and oldfashioned tellers.
The idea is to produce a comfortable setting that is both warm and techie.
Some balancing act but the NIH FCU folks think they have the roadmap and in this podcast you will hear about it.
You will also hear candid musing about what a $600 million credit union has to do to insure longterm survival. Think acquisitions.
This podcast revolves around extremely candid and frank assessments of what needs to be done - in terms of branch reinvention and credit union survival.
Listen to the NIH FCU podcast here.
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
That's your word for today and it is complements of Jesse Boyer, COO of the $600 million NIH Federal Credit Union in Maryland which is moving at a high speed to open a new branch in Silver Spring that is biophilic in design - meaning it puts you in touch with nature and, in this case, there's a living moss wall.
Of course you want to hear more about this.
What this podcast is about is a search for a new, more welcoming branch format and, at the new NIH FCU location, ITMs - interactive teller machines - replace ATMs and oldfashioned tellers.
The idea is to produce a comfortable setting that is both warm and techie.
Some balancing act but the NIH FCU folks think they have the roadmap and in this podcast you will hear about it.
You will also hear candid musing about what a $600 million credit union has to do to insure longterm survival. Think acquisitions.
This podcast revolves around extremely candid and frank assessments of what needs to be done - in terms of branch reinvention and credit union survival.
Listen to the NIH FCU podcast here.
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
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 66 Amy McGraw Tropical Financial on Get Beyond Money
Do you want to talk about money - or would you prefer to talk about sex?
Many of us today would choose the sex conversation, mainly because we know we don't know much about personal finance and we also know we don't anybody to ask for advice.
Enter Tropical Financial in Florida which has introduced a new website Get Beyond Money where the purpose is to provide people (target audience: older millennials) with the financial education they need and want so that they can make smarter, shrewder financial decisions.
The website has plenty of blogs, quizzes, and even offers a free appointment with a financial counselor.
This podcast offers an insider's view of how this campaign was created - and know it was three years in the making. There were stumbles along the way but that enriches this story.
Also know that Tropical Financial is willing to share its content with non competitive credit unions. Don't be shy about asking.
Today's guest is Amy McGraw, the first repeat podcast guest. Last year she starred in episode 10 on the student loan crisis and what Tropical Financial is doing to help.
Now she's leading the charge in bringing meaningful financial education to older millennials who - in many cases - really don't know who to ask for advice. Tropical Financial wants to step into that role.
Listen to the Get Beyond Money podcast here.
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
Many of us today would choose the sex conversation, mainly because we know we don't know much about personal finance and we also know we don't anybody to ask for advice.
Enter Tropical Financial in Florida which has introduced a new website Get Beyond Money where the purpose is to provide people (target audience: older millennials) with the financial education they need and want so that they can make smarter, shrewder financial decisions.
The website has plenty of blogs, quizzes, and even offers a free appointment with a financial counselor.
This podcast offers an insider's view of how this campaign was created - and know it was three years in the making. There were stumbles along the way but that enriches this story.
Also know that Tropical Financial is willing to share its content with non competitive credit unions. Don't be shy about asking.
Today's guest is Amy McGraw, the first repeat podcast guest. Last year she starred in episode 10 on the student loan crisis and what Tropical Financial is doing to help.
Now she's leading the charge in bringing meaningful financial education to older millennials who - in many cases - really don't know who to ask for advice. Tropical Financial wants to step into that role.
Listen to the Get Beyond Money podcast here.
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
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 65 John Weinkowitz on Credit Unions Buying Banks, Live from Finastra Community Markets
Credit unions are buying so many banks the Wall Street Journal refers to this as a "spree."
Just in the first eight months of 2018 there were 21 transactions, compared to 12 in the prior five years, by the WSJ count.
What is going on here?
We put that question to John Weinkowitz, Head of Product Strategy, Community
Markets, Finastra, and himself an m and a expert.
Is this doing business with the devil?
Should this put into jeopardy the credit union tax exemption - as many bankers are insisting?
What drives the transactions? The need to grow, said Weinkowitz. FIs below a certain size find it more difficult to compete. So some put themselves up for sale. And others go hunting for acquisition partners.
The allure for credit union execs is an immediate increase in members, deposits, and also - in many cases - branches.
But are they factoring in predictable attrition?
Do they have a strategy for employee retention - which may be critical to making an acquisition work?
Before buying a community bank listen to this podcast. You don't want to ignore that advice.
The podcast is here.
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
Just in the first eight months of 2018 there were 21 transactions, compared to 12 in the prior five years, by the WSJ count.
What is going on here?
We put that question to John Weinkowitz, Head of Product Strategy, Community
Markets, Finastra, and himself an m and a expert.
Is this doing business with the devil?
Should this put into jeopardy the credit union tax exemption - as many bankers are insisting?
What drives the transactions? The need to grow, said Weinkowitz. FIs below a certain size find it more difficult to compete. So some put themselves up for sale. And others go hunting for acquisition partners.
The allure for credit union execs is an immediate increase in members, deposits, and also - in many cases - branches.
But are they factoring in predictable attrition?
Do they have a strategy for employee retention - which may be critical to making an acquisition work?
Before buying a community bank listen to this podcast. You don't want to ignore that advice.
The podcast is here.
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
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 64 Carla Bienz Partners 1st CU, Live from Finastra Community Markets
Can small credit unions survive?
Carla Bienz is CEO of Partners 1st Credit Union in Fort Wayne IN - an institution where she has worked since she graduated from college and where she now is CEO. And she has keen insights into the plight of smaller credit unions and what they need to do to survive and prosper.
Partners 1st, by the way, now is approaching $400 million in assets after multiple mergers. It also has 24 branches in seven states.
One reality Bienz accepts: to stay relevant Partners 1st has to continue to grow.
Another reality: it needs a lot of help from fintechs but, says Bienz, the right fintechs level the playing field for smaller credit unions.
Along the way Bienz talks about why she is exploring CDFI status and she ponders the existential question: how can credit unions with under $100 million in assets survive.
She is exceptionally candid. Soft spoken but thoughtful. Listen and learn.
The podcast is here.
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
Carla Bienz is CEO of Partners 1st Credit Union in Fort Wayne IN - an institution where she has worked since she graduated from college and where she now is CEO. And she has keen insights into the plight of smaller credit unions and what they need to do to survive and prosper.
Partners 1st, by the way, now is approaching $400 million in assets after multiple mergers. It also has 24 branches in seven states.
One reality Bienz accepts: to stay relevant Partners 1st has to continue to grow.
Another reality: it needs a lot of help from fintechs but, says Bienz, the right fintechs level the playing field for smaller credit unions.
Along the way Bienz talks about why she is exploring CDFI status and she ponders the existential question: how can credit unions with under $100 million in assets survive.
She is exceptionally candid. Soft spoken but thoughtful. Listen and learn.
The podcast is here.
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
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 63 Steve Hoke on Data and Mortgages, Live from Finastra Community Markets
There was a time when community financial institutions owned the home mortgage market. No more. Fintechs dominate and mega banks aren't far behind. Most credit unions are left to squabble over crumbs.
But just maybe there's hope. At Finastra, Steve Hoke, Vice President, Product Management, Consumer and SME Lending, says the company's Fusion Motgagebot Data Insights puts the power of data analytics in the hands of a community financial institution and the upshot is just maybe it can compete - successfully - against the fintechs and mega banks when it has data at its command.
What percentage of your mortgages actually close? How does that compare with competitors? Don't guess. Know. That's the promise of this data.
Understand, the data is anonymized. You cannot ask it to tell you how you fare against a specific competitor. But if you want to see how you do against others, it has the answer.
This is powerful stuff. Hoke said Finastra is adding capabilities and hopes to extend it to more types of lending (auto loans for instance).
"We are giving community institutions insight into data that before they were flying blind about," said Hoke.
Listen to the Hoke podcast here.
This is one of a half dozen podcasts recorded at Finastra Community Markets in Chicago, October 2019.
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
But just maybe there's hope. At Finastra, Steve Hoke, Vice President, Product Management, Consumer and SME Lending, says the company's Fusion Motgagebot Data Insights puts the power of data analytics in the hands of a community financial institution and the upshot is just maybe it can compete - successfully - against the fintechs and mega banks when it has data at its command.
What percentage of your mortgages actually close? How does that compare with competitors? Don't guess. Know. That's the promise of this data.
Understand, the data is anonymized. You cannot ask it to tell you how you fare against a specific competitor. But if you want to see how you do against others, it has the answer.
This is powerful stuff. Hoke said Finastra is adding capabilities and hopes to extend it to more types of lending (auto loans for instance).
"We are giving community institutions insight into data that before they were flying blind about," said Hoke.
Listen to the Hoke podcast here.
This is one of a half dozen podcasts recorded at Finastra Community Markets in Chicago, October 2019.
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
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 62 Lucy Donaldson of Canvas Credit Union on Digital Banking, Live from Finastra Community Markets
What would it be like to go from being Head, Digital Customer Experience at Lloyds Bank in the United Kingdom - a trillion dollar institution - to being the VP for digital innovation at Colorado-based Canvas Credit Union, with assets around $2.5 billion?
Ask Lucy Donaldson, this week's guest at the CU 2.0 Podcast.
She made exactly that journey and she candidly talks about what a money center bank can do that a credit union usually can't - but she also talks about the huge advantages a credit union has, from much better agility to strong, genuine community ties.
She's seen both sides and she says what she likes about credit unions.
A key point Donaldson makes in this podcast is that it's time to stop talking about a credit union's digital transformation - and time to accept that has become its business transformation. A credit union is its bits and bytes and knowing that makes the job of plotting institutional success that much easier.
Listen to the Donaldson podcast here.
Here's a related podcast with Tanan Miles of ENT, Colorado's biggest credit union.
This is one of a half dozen podcasts recorded at Finastra Community Markets in Chicago, October 2019.
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
Ask Lucy Donaldson, this week's guest at the CU 2.0 Podcast.
She made exactly that journey and she candidly talks about what a money center bank can do that a credit union usually can't - but she also talks about the huge advantages a credit union has, from much better agility to strong, genuine community ties.
She's seen both sides and she says what she likes about credit unions.
A key point Donaldson makes in this podcast is that it's time to stop talking about a credit union's digital transformation - and time to accept that has become its business transformation. A credit union is its bits and bytes and knowing that makes the job of plotting institutional success that much easier.
Listen to the Donaldson podcast here.
Here's a related podcast with Tanan Miles of ENT, Colorado's biggest credit union.
This is one of a half dozen podcasts recorded at Finastra Community Markets in Chicago, October 2019.
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
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 61 Allan Brown on the Digital Revolution in Banking, Live from Finastra Community Markets
Ask Allan Brown - a VP and GM, Digital Community Markets at Finastra - what keeps him up at night and his answer is simple: it's trying to stay on top of the digital revolution that is transforming credit unions and community banks. Brown also is very optimistic. His belief: community institutions that partner with the right fintechs can not only keep pace with the big banks digitally, they very well may be able to beat them at this game.
Along the way Brown discusses mega trends that are changing how financial services are delivered and two key trends, he says, are real time banking (it's coming!) and much shrewder use of data to deliver better and smarter services to consumers.
"The future of financial services is going to be phenomenal," says Brown.
Listen to the Brown podcast here.
This is one of a half dozen podcasts recorded at Finastra Community Markets in Chicago, October 2019.
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
Along the way Brown discusses mega trends that are changing how financial services are delivered and two key trends, he says, are real time banking (it's coming!) and much shrewder use of data to deliver better and smarter services to consumers.
"The future of financial services is going to be phenomenal," says Brown.
Listen to the Brown podcast here.
This is one of a half dozen podcasts recorded at Finastra Community Markets in Chicago, October 2019.
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
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 60 Mike Hatch on Core Systems, Live from Finastra Community Markets
Name the single most important IT system in your credit union.
Spoiler alert: it's not your core. Not anymore.
Who says that? Mike Hatch, a VP and national sales manager at Finastra, and a core expert. Hatch knows the core is crucial but he also believes that it's the institution's digital orientation that will shape its future.
Core is part of that.
But it is not the end all.
Another question: is your core system holding your institution back? Can you easily - and inexpensively - integrate cool fintech technology into your core?
Say no and you are telling the truth.
But it's the wrong answer. You want an open core that lets you deliver the tech your members want.
Credit unions are looking for ways to be different, says Hatch. An open core helps there.
Think cores are boring? You won't think this podcast is boring - and you just may find yourself wondering if now is the time to initiate a core conversion.
Scary? You bet. But going out of business is scarier.
Listen to the Mike Hatch podcast here.
This is one of a half dozen podcasts recorded at Finastra Community Markets in Chicago, October 2019.
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
Spoiler alert: it's not your core. Not anymore.
Who says that? Mike Hatch, a VP and national sales manager at Finastra, and a core expert. Hatch knows the core is crucial but he also believes that it's the institution's digital orientation that will shape its future.
Core is part of that.
But it is not the end all.
Another question: is your core system holding your institution back? Can you easily - and inexpensively - integrate cool fintech technology into your core?
Say no and you are telling the truth.
But it's the wrong answer. You want an open core that lets you deliver the tech your members want.
Credit unions are looking for ways to be different, says Hatch. An open core helps there.
Think cores are boring? You won't think this podcast is boring - and you just may find yourself wondering if now is the time to initiate a core conversion.
Scary? You bet. But going out of business is scarier.
Listen to the Mike Hatch podcast here.
This is one of a half dozen podcasts recorded at Finastra Community Markets in Chicago, October 2019.
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
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 59 Daniel Ford CIO at Jovia CU on Cybersecurity
Can your cybersecurity keep hackers at bay?
Can cybersecurity be used as a marketing tool by a credit union?
Can a banker in fact become a credit union executive?
For answers, listen to this podcast with Daniel Ford, CIO at Jovia, a $3+ billion credit union on Long Island that you probably know as NEFCU. The rebranding occurred a month ago.
Ford joined NEFCU via First Source Bank in South Bend (IN), where he was the chief information officer, responsible for infrastructure, cybersecurity, and application development. We asked him bluntly: can a banker in fact fit into a credit union's philosophy? You can guess his answer but give it a full listen. He makes points to remember.
Podcasts in this series that explore bankers and credit unions include Jim Blaine, Bucky Sebastian, Gary Oakland, and Marc Schaefer.
Ford also talks, at length, about what a CIO needs to do to stay on top of cybersecurity and also how to work with vendors.
As for using cybersecurity as a marketing tool, don't be too quick to say no way. Ford offers a tactic that just might work. Of course you want to hear that.
Listen to the Ford podcast here.
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
Can cybersecurity be used as a marketing tool by a credit union?
Can a banker in fact become a credit union executive?
For answers, listen to this podcast with Daniel Ford, CIO at Jovia, a $3+ billion credit union on Long Island that you probably know as NEFCU. The rebranding occurred a month ago.
Ford joined NEFCU via First Source Bank in South Bend (IN), where he was the chief information officer, responsible for infrastructure, cybersecurity, and application development. We asked him bluntly: can a banker in fact fit into a credit union's philosophy? You can guess his answer but give it a full listen. He makes points to remember.
Podcasts in this series that explore bankers and credit unions include Jim Blaine, Bucky Sebastian, Gary Oakland, and Marc Schaefer.
Ford also talks, at length, about what a CIO needs to do to stay on top of cybersecurity and also how to work with vendors.
As for using cybersecurity as a marketing tool, don't be too quick to say no way. Ford offers a tactic that just might work. Of course you want to hear that.
Listen to the Ford podcast here.
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
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 58 Jeff Bender on Digital First Members, Live from DN Intersect
Will your superior teller experiences guarantee your future?
Believe that and - probably - you won't want to hear this podcast on the rise of the digital first member. That member may occasionally step into a branch but usually they are unhappy. They would rather interact online.
And their numbers are growing.
Smart institutions know this. A Chase - in its heart - is now a technology company. Are you?
In this podcast, Jeff Bender - vice president, digital solutions at Diebold Nixdorf - tells about the future of banking as he sees it. And he sees a lot of digital.
Word of advice: bet now on cardless ATM access. That, says Bender, is the next must offer.
Bender also warns about offering a generic, off the peg digital experience. Do all your competitors offer the same mobile banking app as you? Think again if that's true. "Find ways to personalize, to differentiate," says Bender.
And keep thinking digitally. It is the future and it is now.
Listen to Bender here.
This podcast Bender mentions Partners FCU and its digital journey. For my take on Partners FCU, read this.
This podcast is one of a group of four recorded on site at the Diebold Nixdorf DN Intersect conference in Las Vegas, September 2019.
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
Believe that and - probably - you won't want to hear this podcast on the rise of the digital first member. That member may occasionally step into a branch but usually they are unhappy. They would rather interact online.
And their numbers are growing.
Smart institutions know this. A Chase - in its heart - is now a technology company. Are you?
In this podcast, Jeff Bender - vice president, digital solutions at Diebold Nixdorf - tells about the future of banking as he sees it. And he sees a lot of digital.
Word of advice: bet now on cardless ATM access. That, says Bender, is the next must offer.
Bender also warns about offering a generic, off the peg digital experience. Do all your competitors offer the same mobile banking app as you? Think again if that's true. "Find ways to personalize, to differentiate," says Bender.
And keep thinking digitally. It is the future and it is now.
Listen to Bender here.
This podcast Bender mentions Partners FCU and its digital journey. For my take on Partners FCU, read this.
This podcast is one of a group of four recorded on site at the Diebold Nixdorf DN Intersect conference in Las Vegas, September 2019.
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
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 57 Scott Anderson Open Banking, Live from DN Intersect
One site to rule them all.
This is the banking version of the Tolkien quest for the one ring that rules them all.
Call this open banking and remember that phrase. It's about to get much buzzier and louder over the next year as open banking transforms how US financial institutions interact.
Scott Anderson, brand evangelist at Diebold Nixdorf, sat down at the company's DN Intersect event to tell us why open banking - a big issue in Europe - is heading your way.
Imagine one site where your member sees everything financial. Inside the credit union and outside. Imagine a site where the consumer can decide what to use to pay for this purchase in this moment.
How cool is that?
It's also potentially frightening to financial institutions. The institution ceases to be a walled garden and becomes instead an open transit point. Won't consumers flee?
Why should they? If their needs are getting served.
In many ways Anderson is optimistic about the impacts of open banking - which definitely is coming our way - on smaller FIs such as credit unions.
One hitch however. How do credit unions get enough data to play meaningfully in this universe? Anderson sees credit unions working in alliances with fintechs - CUSOs perhaps - to create an even playing field with big banks when it comes to open banking.
Just maybe it's the biggest FIs that have the most to lose in an open banking universe.
Think on that and think about how to win your institution's share.
Listen to Anderson here.
This podcast is one of a group of four recorded on site at the Diebold Nixdorf DN Intersect conference in Las Vegas, September 2019.
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
This is the banking version of the Tolkien quest for the one ring that rules them all.
Call this open banking and remember that phrase. It's about to get much buzzier and louder over the next year as open banking transforms how US financial institutions interact.
Scott Anderson, brand evangelist at Diebold Nixdorf, sat down at the company's DN Intersect event to tell us why open banking - a big issue in Europe - is heading your way.
Imagine one site where your member sees everything financial. Inside the credit union and outside. Imagine a site where the consumer can decide what to use to pay for this purchase in this moment.
How cool is that?
It's also potentially frightening to financial institutions. The institution ceases to be a walled garden and becomes instead an open transit point. Won't consumers flee?
Why should they? If their needs are getting served.
In many ways Anderson is optimistic about the impacts of open banking - which definitely is coming our way - on smaller FIs such as credit unions.
One hitch however. How do credit unions get enough data to play meaningfully in this universe? Anderson sees credit unions working in alliances with fintechs - CUSOs perhaps - to create an even playing field with big banks when it comes to open banking.
Just maybe it's the biggest FIs that have the most to lose in an open banking universe.
Think on that and think about how to win your institution's share.
Listen to Anderson here.
This podcast is one of a group of four recorded on site at the Diebold Nixdorf DN Intersect conference in Las Vegas, September 2019.
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
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 56 Ben Morales QCash and the Hunt for Financial Wellness
You have a successful product that puts small dollar loans in the hands of consumers who may have tattered credit but they need the money and you want to save them from predatory lenders who may charge interest upwards of 100% APR.
Your product usually involves loan rates of 24 to 36% APR.
Much better for the consumer.
And you have 11 other credit unions offering your loans.
That's the story of QCash, a subsidiary of WSECU in Washington State. And now QCash's CEO Ben Morales is launching a new tool that just may blow up QCash's market.
And that's ok.
The new QCash tool is a financial wellness product that - in its simplest understanding - is designed to heal struggling consumers by offering access to liquidity but also financial counseling and teaching that turns that consumer into a person who deserves an 8% loan. Not a 36% loan.
How cool is that.
This is an upbeat podcast about how credit unions can generally help members in an era where more of us struggle to pay our bills.
An underlying QCash belief is that the path is in the data and it's just a matter of understanding the consumer and his/her data. In that data the way to financial wellness lies.
Related podcasts include Trudy Soupcoup, a board member at WSECU; and Bill Bynum, CEO at Hope.
Listen to the Morales QCash podcast here.
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
Your product usually involves loan rates of 24 to 36% APR.
Much better for the consumer.
And you have 11 other credit unions offering your loans.
That's the story of QCash, a subsidiary of WSECU in Washington State. And now QCash's CEO Ben Morales is launching a new tool that just may blow up QCash's market.
And that's ok.
The new QCash tool is a financial wellness product that - in its simplest understanding - is designed to heal struggling consumers by offering access to liquidity but also financial counseling and teaching that turns that consumer into a person who deserves an 8% loan. Not a 36% loan.
How cool is that.
This is an upbeat podcast about how credit unions can generally help members in an era where more of us struggle to pay our bills.
An underlying QCash belief is that the path is in the data and it's just a matter of understanding the consumer and his/her data. In that data the way to financial wellness lies.
Related podcasts include Trudy Soupcoup, a board member at WSECU; and Bill Bynum, CEO at Hope.
Listen to the Morales QCash podcast here.
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
Thursday, October 3, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 55 Richard Crone on Libra, Live from DN Intersect
Richard Crone is a longtime payments geek and when it comes to Libra, he has a particular spin. It boils down to this: forget the talk about crypto currency. Libra fundamentally is a pre-paid account and because it is a Facebook effort, it has reach into some 2.1 billion daily users of Facebook tools (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, etc.).
"It's a prepaid network with global reach - there are also 90 million businesses on Facebook properties," said Crone.
His blunt message: every credit union needs a Libra strategy and you need it now.
Understand this: Facebook may not be looking to profit off Libra per se. Its strategy seems instead to be to use Libra to drive traffic to Facebook sites and thereby increase advertising revenues.
Which may make Libra yet more attractive to financial institutions.
The conversation includes Heidi Liebenguth, managing partner at Crone Consulting, and it took place in a public space at Caesars Palace, where Crone and Liebenguth were speakers at DN Intersect, the Diebold Nixdorf meeting. There's minor ambient noise but audio quality of the podcast is good.
Crone finds it "bizarre" that not one FDIC insured institution joined in the launch of Libra.
He also is not deterred by the regulatory scrutiny Libra has won. In fact he sees it as a competitive advantage because it may deter competitors from plunging in with their own similar products.
Listen to this podcast and you definitely will want to dig into Libra and reach the decisions that are right for your credit union. Inaction is not a strategy.
Don't miss a related podcast with Diebold Nixdorf executive Douglas Hartung, also on Libra.
Listen to the Crone podcast here.
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
"It's a prepaid network with global reach - there are also 90 million businesses on Facebook properties," said Crone.
His blunt message: every credit union needs a Libra strategy and you need it now.
Understand this: Facebook may not be looking to profit off Libra per se. Its strategy seems instead to be to use Libra to drive traffic to Facebook sites and thereby increase advertising revenues.
Which may make Libra yet more attractive to financial institutions.
The conversation includes Heidi Liebenguth, managing partner at Crone Consulting, and it took place in a public space at Caesars Palace, where Crone and Liebenguth were speakers at DN Intersect, the Diebold Nixdorf meeting. There's minor ambient noise but audio quality of the podcast is good.
Crone finds it "bizarre" that not one FDIC insured institution joined in the launch of Libra.
He also is not deterred by the regulatory scrutiny Libra has won. In fact he sees it as a competitive advantage because it may deter competitors from plunging in with their own similar products.
Listen to this podcast and you definitely will want to dig into Libra and reach the decisions that are right for your credit union. Inaction is not a strategy.
Don't miss a related podcast with Diebold Nixdorf executive Douglas Hartung, also on Libra.
Listen to the Crone podcast here.
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
CU2.0 Podcast Episode 54 Douglas Hartung on Libra, Live at DN Intersect
Buckle up for big, explosive ideas. That's what Douglas Hartung - senior director, business development & alliances at Diebold Nixdorf - specializes in and in this podcast he discusses Libra, bringing financial services to the globe's underbanked and unbanked, and the exciting idea that just maybe all a person needs to send money anywhere on the planet is a smart phone.
How cool is that?
Know that just may be Libra's promise.
While some scoff at the prospects of Libra - the Facebook backed new-style currency - Hartung believes that the sheer magnitude of the Facebook family of properties user base makes this a financial play that demands attention.
He also likes the idea of in-app payments - so in Facebook, for instance, what if you can without friction send $10 to a friend in Bali. With just a click. Without leaving the Facebook app.
Is Libra just another Bitcoin variant? Hartung says nope. He tells why in the podcast.
A bottomline here is: pay attention to Libra. You may regret it if you don't.
Incidentally you will hear some taps interspersed throughout the podcast. That's Hartung animatedly tapping on a table to emphasize his point. Get into his spirit, let the taps animate you too.
This podcast is one of a group of four recorded on site at the Diebold Nixdorf DN Intersect conference in Las Vegas, September 2019.
Don't miss a related podcast with industry analyst Richard Crone, also on Libra. It posts in a week.
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
How cool is that?
Know that just may be Libra's promise.
While some scoff at the prospects of Libra - the Facebook backed new-style currency - Hartung believes that the sheer magnitude of the Facebook family of properties user base makes this a financial play that demands attention.
He also likes the idea of in-app payments - so in Facebook, for instance, what if you can without friction send $10 to a friend in Bali. With just a click. Without leaving the Facebook app.
Is Libra just another Bitcoin variant? Hartung says nope. He tells why in the podcast.
A bottomline here is: pay attention to Libra. You may regret it if you don't.
Incidentally you will hear some taps interspersed throughout the podcast. That's Hartung animatedly tapping on a table to emphasize his point. Get into his spirit, let the taps animate you too.
This podcast is one of a group of four recorded on site at the Diebold Nixdorf DN Intersect conference in Las Vegas, September 2019.
Don't miss a related podcast with industry analyst Richard Crone, also on Libra. It posts in a week.
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
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 53 West Community Credit Union and Today's Marketing
How does a credit union get heard in the marketing wars with Bank of America, Chase, and the other money center bruisers?
Face an ugly reality: You can't win.
No way, no how.
Unless you change the rules of engagement.
That's what West Community Credit Union in Missouri is doing. A $280 million credit union, it's nonetheless active in SixThirty, a St Louis fintech incubator, and in this podcast West Community vp of marketing Koren Greubel tells about the institution's adoption of Plinqit, a mobile first app that gamifies savings and financial education - and just may be helping West Community connect with new consumers that otherwise would never have looked at a credit union.
The trigger for this podcast was this line in a press release: "West Community Credit Union selected Plinqit as a better way to introduce themselves to potential members rather than relying on traditional marketing channels."
You can't win at traditional marketing. Especially not to generations that may ignore a lot of that.
Think different and you just maybe can win.
The podcast also has a special appearance by West Community CEO Jason Peach who got on the phone to explain - with passion and a keen sense of reality - why the institution is getting into the SixThirty incubator and how it matters.
Doing similar just may matter to your institution too. If it can happen in St. Louis, why can't it happen where you are?
Listen to this podcast here.
A related podcast is about the DCU Fintech Incubator in Boston. Listen here.
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
Face an ugly reality: You can't win.
No way, no how.
Unless you change the rules of engagement.
That's what West Community Credit Union in Missouri is doing. A $280 million credit union, it's nonetheless active in SixThirty, a St Louis fintech incubator, and in this podcast West Community vp of marketing Koren Greubel tells about the institution's adoption of Plinqit, a mobile first app that gamifies savings and financial education - and just may be helping West Community connect with new consumers that otherwise would never have looked at a credit union.
The trigger for this podcast was this line in a press release: "West Community Credit Union selected Plinqit as a better way to introduce themselves to potential members rather than relying on traditional marketing channels."
You can't win at traditional marketing. Especially not to generations that may ignore a lot of that.
Think different and you just maybe can win.
The podcast also has a special appearance by West Community CEO Jason Peach who got on the phone to explain - with passion and a keen sense of reality - why the institution is getting into the SixThirty incubator and how it matters.
Doing similar just may matter to your institution too. If it can happen in St. Louis, why can't it happen where you are?
Listen to this podcast here.
A related podcast is about the DCU Fintech Incubator in Boston. Listen here.
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
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 52 David Deckelmann LiveSurvey
What are your members thinking about you? Say you don't know and you are setting yourself up for failure. Say you do know and, no, you haven't asked them because you, well, just know and you are on the fast track to extinction.
If you want to know what your members think and need, ask them.
That's where LiveSurvey comes in. A credit union owned CUSO - developed by MAPS Credit Union in Oregon - LiveSurvey's mission is providing realtime, instant feedback from members that lets credit unions better chart their next actions to better serve members.
When is the last time your credit union surveyed members? How many responded? Did you get anything useful?
LiveSurvey grew out of MAPS own needs. The credit union faced the horns of a dilemma. On one side were very pricey, consultant driven survey products. On the other side, there are inexpensive - even free - Internet tools. Neither gave MAPS the solution it wanted and out of that grew LiveSurvey.
About 25 credit unions now use LiveSurvey which gives them the ability to query members as they wish and on whatever topic they choose.
Prices range from $500 to $1000 monthly.
Who better to help you take the next steps to grow your credit union than existing members - who when asked right will tell you what they like and what they don't.
MAPS make it easy and inexpensive to know.
Every credit union needs to be doing this or similar. It's a competitive world out there and this is crucial intel. And it's yours to gather if you just ask for it.
Listen to LiveSurvey CEO David Deckelmann here.
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
If you want to know what your members think and need, ask them.
That's where LiveSurvey comes in. A credit union owned CUSO - developed by MAPS Credit Union in Oregon - LiveSurvey's mission is providing realtime, instant feedback from members that lets credit unions better chart their next actions to better serve members.
When is the last time your credit union surveyed members? How many responded? Did you get anything useful?
LiveSurvey grew out of MAPS own needs. The credit union faced the horns of a dilemma. On one side were very pricey, consultant driven survey products. On the other side, there are inexpensive - even free - Internet tools. Neither gave MAPS the solution it wanted and out of that grew LiveSurvey.
About 25 credit unions now use LiveSurvey which gives them the ability to query members as they wish and on whatever topic they choose.
Prices range from $500 to $1000 monthly.
Who better to help you take the next steps to grow your credit union than existing members - who when asked right will tell you what they like and what they don't.
MAPS make it easy and inexpensive to know.
Every credit union needs to be doing this or similar. It's a competitive world out there and this is crucial intel. And it's yours to gather if you just ask for it.
Listen to LiveSurvey CEO David Deckelmann here.
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
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 51 Marc Schaefer Truliant Credit Union
Can a credit union serve more than one employer group? You know what today's answer is of course. But to know the history you need to talk with Marc Schafer, CEO of Truliant, a Winston Salem credit union.
That's because Truliant was sued by a banker's group in the mid 1990s that claimed it was illegal for a credit union to serve more than one employer group. And the bankers won in the Supreme Court!
So how is it now legal? Listen to Schaefer and his tale of how HR 1151 became law - that's the legislation that made multiple SEGs legal.
Along the way you will hear a great personal credit union success story. Schafer became CEO of the tiny FDIC credit union when he was 34 in 1986. In 1995 he moved to Truliant which then was a $400 million credit union.
Truliant now is a $2.5 billion credit union.
That's a remarkable growth story and of course you want to hear it.
Why is Schafer telling his story now? He retires at year end.
His is a terrific story of how to make credit unions work better, for more people.
Related podcasts in this series include Bucky Sebastian (who tells his take on HR 1151), Gary Oakland, Jim Blaine, and Teresa Freeborn.
As for Blaine, the retired CEO of SECU in North Carolina, he too has a story of being sued over multiple SEGs. In an email he wrote this: "few know that the "original" FOM law suit was filed against SECU in state court (SECU is state-chartered) in 1977 by the NC Bankers Association when SECU added small city/county local govts to our FOM. The bankers beat us in the NC Supreme Court (on a split decision with the Chief Justice writing an 'icy' dissent!) and we had to divest about 9,000 local govt employees who had joined. We did so - being the ornery, stubborn folks we were! - by forming a federal credit union (today's Local Government FCU @$2.5 billion) which immediately contracted for all services through SECU. LGFCU had a board and staff of 1, but immediately had a full array of services and about 50 branches at that time! Needless to say our state bankers were 'not pleased' and sued in federal court (we forced it out of our state courts since LGFCU was federally chartered!). LGFCU/SECU won on appeal in the 3rd District (Richmond) and the bankers decided not to appeal to the US Supreme Court. When they later came gunning for Marc, the bankers made sure it got heard in the 4th District (DC) which is far more 'business friendly' - the 4th ruled in favor of the banks, which led to the adverse Supreme Court decision, the Campaign for Consumer Choice, and HR 1151."
Listen to Schaefer now.
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
That's because Truliant was sued by a banker's group in the mid 1990s that claimed it was illegal for a credit union to serve more than one employer group. And the bankers won in the Supreme Court!
So how is it now legal? Listen to Schaefer and his tale of how HR 1151 became law - that's the legislation that made multiple SEGs legal.
Along the way you will hear a great personal credit union success story. Schafer became CEO of the tiny FDIC credit union when he was 34 in 1986. In 1995 he moved to Truliant which then was a $400 million credit union.
Truliant now is a $2.5 billion credit union.
That's a remarkable growth story and of course you want to hear it.
Why is Schafer telling his story now? He retires at year end.
His is a terrific story of how to make credit unions work better, for more people.
Related podcasts in this series include Bucky Sebastian (who tells his take on HR 1151), Gary Oakland, Jim Blaine, and Teresa Freeborn.
As for Blaine, the retired CEO of SECU in North Carolina, he too has a story of being sued over multiple SEGs. In an email he wrote this: "few know that the "original" FOM law suit was filed against SECU in state court (SECU is state-chartered) in 1977 by the NC Bankers Association when SECU added small city/county local govts to our FOM. The bankers beat us in the NC Supreme Court (on a split decision with the Chief Justice writing an 'icy' dissent!) and we had to divest about 9,000 local govt employees who had joined. We did so - being the ornery, stubborn folks we were! - by forming a federal credit union (today's Local Government FCU @$2.5 billion) which immediately contracted for all services through SECU. LGFCU had a board and staff of 1, but immediately had a full array of services and about 50 branches at that time! Needless to say our state bankers were 'not pleased' and sued in federal court (we forced it out of our state courts since LGFCU was federally chartered!). LGFCU/SECU won on appeal in the 3rd District (Richmond) and the bankers decided not to appeal to the US Supreme Court. When they later came gunning for Marc, the bankers made sure it got heard in the 4th District (DC) which is far more 'business friendly' - the 4th ruled in favor of the banks, which led to the adverse Supreme Court decision, the Campaign for Consumer Choice, and HR 1151."
Listen to Schaefer now.
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
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 50 Tellerex, ATMs, and Your Credit Union
You have your eye on new ATMs for your credit union - but you are given pause by the price tags that can quickly jump above $50,000 apiece.
Here's a reality: most credit union ATMs that I see are old, creaky, lacking functions, sometimes with screens so weathered and scratched they are barely readable.
Then there are the ATMs that I see at nearby Chase's. Cardless access. Sleek.
Enough to make you drool?
Enter Tellerex and a possible answer to your desires. An ATM lifecycle management company, Tellerex works with financial institutions both large and small.
There's magic in that formula. A handful of big banks are dueling over who has the best ATM fleet and they are in constant upgrade campaigns. What happens to the 1500 and more ATMs they replace every year - typically after five to seven years of use?
When Tellerex is the player, what happens is that discarded ATM is given new life - often new software, sometimes even a new processor. A new top of the line ATM might cost $50,000 to $75,000. A refurbished five year old ATM might cost half that.
You life that math? Of course. And your members will like the upgraded user experience.
Listen in to a podcast that tells you all you wanted to know about ATMs but didn't know who to ask.
Giving answers here are Tellerex's chairman and co-founder James Kilkelly, CEO Christian Ranke, and chief operations officer Brian Lechlitner.
Listen up here.
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
Here's a reality: most credit union ATMs that I see are old, creaky, lacking functions, sometimes with screens so weathered and scratched they are barely readable.
Then there are the ATMs that I see at nearby Chase's. Cardless access. Sleek.
Enough to make you drool?
Enter Tellerex and a possible answer to your desires. An ATM lifecycle management company, Tellerex works with financial institutions both large and small.
There's magic in that formula. A handful of big banks are dueling over who has the best ATM fleet and they are in constant upgrade campaigns. What happens to the 1500 and more ATMs they replace every year - typically after five to seven years of use?
When Tellerex is the player, what happens is that discarded ATM is given new life - often new software, sometimes even a new processor. A new top of the line ATM might cost $50,000 to $75,000. A refurbished five year old ATM might cost half that.
You life that math? Of course. And your members will like the upgraded user experience.
Listen in to a podcast that tells you all you wanted to know about ATMs but didn't know who to ask.
Giving answers here are Tellerex's chairman and co-founder James Kilkelly, CEO Christian Ranke, and chief operations officer Brian Lechlitner.
Listen up here.
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
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 49 Alain Glanzman WalletFi
Take a guess. How many recurring payments does a typical consumer have set up, for how much money monthly?
Alain Glanzman, CEO of fintech WalletFi is focused on exactly that issue - and also on the huge potential it represents for credit unions.
The answers are 10 to 15 recurring payments totaling $857 per month.
Surprised? Think Netflix, T-Mobile, the NY Times, Cox Cable, maybe an electric bill, and the list goes on. We have moved from a society that paid via bill pay, or perhaps writing a check, to one where many of us have set up multiple vendors to in effect pay themselves monthly via our debit or credit cards.
Enter WalletFi. The company says of itself: "WalletFi was founded to solve a problem our co-founders personally felt: the pain that comes from a lost or reissued card. Focused on the customer experience first, WalletFi grew to provide technology that helps users manage their subscriptions and recurring charges, and bounce back from a lost, stolen, or reissued card.
Financial institutions identified these pain points in their customer’s life cycles as well, and now rely on WalletFi to provide a subscription management platform that will increase interchange revenue, offer an unbeatable user experience, and win the battle for top-of-wallet."
WalletFi now is looking for credit unions to partner with.
In this podcast, Glanzman offers intriguing insights into how fintechs and credit unions can work together, how thy have different definitions of a "quick deal," and - above all - he expresses confidence that many credit unions, with their focus on the member experience, are ideally positioned to champion bringing more control to consumers over their recurring payments.
On which note: do you know how many recurring payments you have set up?
Don't be surprised if you stumble. That's where WalletFi comes in. It gives the member visibility into payments many of us have forgotten about.
Listen up here.
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
Alain Glanzman, CEO of fintech WalletFi is focused on exactly that issue - and also on the huge potential it represents for credit unions.
The answers are 10 to 15 recurring payments totaling $857 per month.
Surprised? Think Netflix, T-Mobile, the NY Times, Cox Cable, maybe an electric bill, and the list goes on. We have moved from a society that paid via bill pay, or perhaps writing a check, to one where many of us have set up multiple vendors to in effect pay themselves monthly via our debit or credit cards.
Enter WalletFi. The company says of itself: "WalletFi was founded to solve a problem our co-founders personally felt: the pain that comes from a lost or reissued card. Focused on the customer experience first, WalletFi grew to provide technology that helps users manage their subscriptions and recurring charges, and bounce back from a lost, stolen, or reissued card.
Financial institutions identified these pain points in their customer’s life cycles as well, and now rely on WalletFi to provide a subscription management platform that will increase interchange revenue, offer an unbeatable user experience, and win the battle for top-of-wallet."
WalletFi now is looking for credit unions to partner with.
In this podcast, Glanzman offers intriguing insights into how fintechs and credit unions can work together, how thy have different definitions of a "quick deal," and - above all - he expresses confidence that many credit unions, with their focus on the member experience, are ideally positioned to champion bringing more control to consumers over their recurring payments.
On which note: do you know how many recurring payments you have set up?
Don't be surprised if you stumble. That's where WalletFi comes in. It gives the member visibility into payments many of us have forgotten about.
Listen up here.
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
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 48 Susan Mitchell on the Credit Union Underground
Circle the date, October 26. Las Vegas. That's when Susan Mitchell, a longtime credit union consultant, is convening another meeting of the Credit Union Underground, this time in parallel with Money 20/20, probably the meeting of the best and brightest in the disruptive quadrant of financial services.
The point of each Underground is collision with disruptors. A lot - maybe most - credit union executives cling to their individual comfort zones. But get with reality. Maybe half of today's 5500 credit unions will go poof in the next decade.
Bye bye.
At the Undergrounds, attendees get exposed to disruptive thought - but they also see they aren't required to face the challenges alone, a lot of credit union people are in the same boat.
A Mitchell belief is that widespread cooperation helped build the credit union industry. And a renewed commitment to cooperation just may be its salvation.
Ask yourself this: what's your institution's purpose? Who did you help today? Whose life did you change?
Credit unions were created to help community members, to change lives. Are they still doing that?
And know that that is a path to survival. Purpose fuels existence.
This is a wide ranging podcast. Listen and you just may find your path to survival.
For Ramones, go here.
Listen to the Mitchell podcast here:
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
The point of each Underground is collision with disruptors. A lot - maybe most - credit union executives cling to their individual comfort zones. But get with reality. Maybe half of today's 5500 credit unions will go poof in the next decade.
Bye bye.
At the Undergrounds, attendees get exposed to disruptive thought - but they also see they aren't required to face the challenges alone, a lot of credit union people are in the same boat.
A Mitchell belief is that widespread cooperation helped build the credit union industry. And a renewed commitment to cooperation just may be its salvation.
Ask yourself this: what's your institution's purpose? Who did you help today? Whose life did you change?
Credit unions were created to help community members, to change lives. Are they still doing that?
And know that that is a path to survival. Purpose fuels existence.
This is a wide ranging podcast. Listen and you just may find your path to survival.
For Ramones, go here.
Listen to the Mitchell podcast here:
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
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 47 Randy Karnes CU*Answers for Small Credit Unions
Randy Karnes just may be the poster boy for the cooperative entrepreneur. In the process he may also have come upon the formula that will enable many hundreds - perhaps thousands - of small credit unions to thrive in the 21st century.
How can they? Aren't they technology deserts in an era of digital banking? Nope. Not with CU*Answers, the CUSO Karnes helms, at their side. CU*Answers once was simply a core system provider but as the technology needs of credit unions have evolved, so has CU*Answers. It now offers online banking, mobile banking and more; you want to hear why in this podcast.
178 credit unions own CU*Answers and they range in size from microscopic to over $1 billion in assets. The typical CU*Answers credit union is $80 to $100 million in assets and, say many pundits, that's an endangered species.
Karnes dissents. "I don't think they will be gone."
He adds, "Credit unions will survive to the extent they stay creative and disruptive."
Remember that. The point of a credit union is not to be staid and conservative. It's to rock the boat. That's why they were founded, to be different.
The ones that prosper today will do likewise.
Listen here.
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
How can they? Aren't they technology deserts in an era of digital banking? Nope. Not with CU*Answers, the CUSO Karnes helms, at their side. CU*Answers once was simply a core system provider but as the technology needs of credit unions have evolved, so has CU*Answers. It now offers online banking, mobile banking and more; you want to hear why in this podcast.
178 credit unions own CU*Answers and they range in size from microscopic to over $1 billion in assets. The typical CU*Answers credit union is $80 to $100 million in assets and, say many pundits, that's an endangered species.
Karnes dissents. "I don't think they will be gone."
He adds, "Credit unions will survive to the extent they stay creative and disruptive."
Remember that. The point of a credit union is not to be staid and conservative. It's to rock the boat. That's why they were founded, to be different.
The ones that prosper today will do likewise.
Listen here.
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
CU2.0 Podcast Episode 46 Kirk Kordeleski on Doubling Your Size and More Good News
Can a credit union double in size in five years? You bet, says Kirk Kordeleski, a senior consultant with Best Innovation Group and before that, CEO of Bethpage Federal Credit Union on Long Island where he did exactly that.
Kordeleski points to Navy and also BECU as examples of other credit unions that have also experienced exponential growth.
How? That is why you want to listen to this podcast. He gives the recipe, in some detail, here. Boiled down it's think competitively and believe - really believe - you can use inherent credit union advantages such as tax exemption to take a billion or more in dollars of business away from money center banks who very probably won't even notice it is gone.
There's more in this podcast. Kordeleski also tells why this is a time of immense, perhaps unprecedented opportunity for credit unions. Use digital and use data to allow your institution to expand in ways that a generation ago would have been unimaginable.
The bad news: a decade from now the number of credit unions may be about half what it is today. Expect 2000 credit unions to vanish in the next decade. You don't want to be among them? There are plenty of survival tips in this podcast.
Listen here.
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
Kordeleski points to Navy and also BECU as examples of other credit unions that have also experienced exponential growth.
How? That is why you want to listen to this podcast. He gives the recipe, in some detail, here. Boiled down it's think competitively and believe - really believe - you can use inherent credit union advantages such as tax exemption to take a billion or more in dollars of business away from money center banks who very probably won't even notice it is gone.
There's more in this podcast. Kordeleski also tells why this is a time of immense, perhaps unprecedented opportunity for credit unions. Use digital and use data to allow your institution to expand in ways that a generation ago would have been unimaginable.
The bad news: a decade from now the number of credit unions may be about half what it is today. Expect 2000 credit unions to vanish in the next decade. You don't want to be among them? There are plenty of survival tips in this podcast.
Listen here.
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
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
CU2.0 Podcast Episode 45 Gary Oakland BECU
Call this the credit union oral history sequence - Blaine, Bucky Sebastian, now Gary Oakland who took over BECU, with around $700 million in assets, in the mid 1980s and when he left in 2012 it had become a $10 billion+ credit union, one of the nation's very biggest.
How did Oakland do it? In this podcast you will hear his recipe for credit union success which, put simply, is make the member the center of this universe. When the member is served, the credit union will thrive.
"It's all about the member," said Oakland.
Oakland sees a bright credit union future - but he wonders about the arrival of bank trained executives and how that background will impact credit unions.
A break that came BECU's way was when the big bank in Washington State, Seafirst nearly went belly up in the 1980s - and was saved from that only when Bank of America took it over. That gave BECU smoother sailing in its quest to be dominant on its state.
Oakland says he is proud that he left BECU with a small credit union attitude in a big credit union body.
It's an inspiring credit union tale.
Listen up here.
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
How did Oakland do it? In this podcast you will hear his recipe for credit union success which, put simply, is make the member the center of this universe. When the member is served, the credit union will thrive.
"It's all about the member," said Oakland.
Oakland sees a bright credit union future - but he wonders about the arrival of bank trained executives and how that background will impact credit unions.
A break that came BECU's way was when the big bank in Washington State, Seafirst nearly went belly up in the 1980s - and was saved from that only when Bank of America took it over. That gave BECU smoother sailing in its quest to be dominant on its state.
Oakland says he is proud that he left BECU with a small credit union attitude in a big credit union body.
It's an inspiring credit union tale.
Listen up here.
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
Monday, July 22, 2019
CU2.0 Podcast Episode 44 Wendell "Bucky" Sebastian - a Credit Union Life
A state regulator in Illinois. General counsel at NCUA. A co-founder of Callahan Associates. Longtime CEO at GTE Financial. Head of the National Credit Union Foundation. Guess who.
Meet Wendell Sebastian, call him Bucky.
His has been an extraordinary career and you will like him. For two reasons. He is a vocal credit union cheerleader. And he deeply believes that credit unions - because they serve members, not shareholders - will triumph, that credit unions are absolutely the best financial institution for just about all of us.
Bucky doesn't shy away from a fight. Suggest to him that it is high tech credit unions that will prevail and he is quick to argue that in point of fact it is high touch institutions that have been winning. Of course they feature needed tech but what puts a credit union in the winner's circle is high touch. He cites Navy Federal as a classic for instance and in this podcast reviews the numbers to make his case.
He is a walking history book too. Why did credit unions shrink in number from 23,000 40 years ago to maybe 5500 today? Because it was in the plan, says Bucky, and in large part a result of policies put into place when he worked at NCUA in the early 1980s.
Isn't a shrinking number of institutions a sign credit unions are dying? "Never focus on the institutions, it's about the members," says Bucky who points to the extraordinary growth in member numbers.
In this podcast you'll hear what killed off savings and loans and why credit unions escaped their fate, why community banks may be next to expire (and what may keep them alive), and the big advantage credit union CEOs have over their peers at banks.
What advantage? That they can manage the institution with a eye on the horizon, not on the present quarter, says Bucky. Managing to the quarter, he insists, is a recipe for disaster.
You want a feel good podcast? You want this one - and you definitely will learn a lot of history in the process. Related podcasts include the Jim Blaine Marathon and Cliff Rosenthal on CDFIs.
Listen here to the Bucky 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
Meet Wendell Sebastian, call him Bucky.
His has been an extraordinary career and you will like him. For two reasons. He is a vocal credit union cheerleader. And he deeply believes that credit unions - because they serve members, not shareholders - will triumph, that credit unions are absolutely the best financial institution for just about all of us.
Bucky doesn't shy away from a fight. Suggest to him that it is high tech credit unions that will prevail and he is quick to argue that in point of fact it is high touch institutions that have been winning. Of course they feature needed tech but what puts a credit union in the winner's circle is high touch. He cites Navy Federal as a classic for instance and in this podcast reviews the numbers to make his case.
He is a walking history book too. Why did credit unions shrink in number from 23,000 40 years ago to maybe 5500 today? Because it was in the plan, says Bucky, and in large part a result of policies put into place when he worked at NCUA in the early 1980s.
Isn't a shrinking number of institutions a sign credit unions are dying? "Never focus on the institutions, it's about the members," says Bucky who points to the extraordinary growth in member numbers.
In this podcast you'll hear what killed off savings and loans and why credit unions escaped their fate, why community banks may be next to expire (and what may keep them alive), and the big advantage credit union CEOs have over their peers at banks.
What advantage? That they can manage the institution with a eye on the horizon, not on the present quarter, says Bucky. Managing to the quarter, he insists, is a recipe for disaster.
You want a feel good podcast? You want this one - and you definitely will learn a lot of history in the process. Related podcasts include the Jim Blaine Marathon and Cliff Rosenthal on CDFIs.
Listen here to the Bucky 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
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
CU2.0 Podcast Episode 43 Caroline Willard Cornerstone
Cannabis banking. Data breaches. Taxation of credit unions. The disappearance of small credit unions. The rise of $10 billion+ credit union behemoths. Welcome to the world of Caroline Willard, CEO of the Cornerstone League and, before that, she spent a decade at Co-Op in senior marketing slots.
What do credit unions need to do to survive? What do leagues need to do? Willard offers candid and also optimistic thoughts about these life and death questions.
She also offers insights into what leagues can do to help small credit unions survive in an age of ever more complex and expensive compliance requirements.
And she challenges credit unions to be a bit more like Rocket Mortgage - and if you want to continue to write home loans you will pay heed.
Pay heed too to her thoughts on how taxation of credit unions just might be an existential threat to the industry.
Related podcasts in this series include the two-pack on cannabis banking, Teresa Freeborn on CUNA's $100 million credit union awareness campaign, and Joe Bergeron of the Vermont League and Pat Conway of the Pennsylvania - NJ league
Listen up here.
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.
What do credit unions need to do to survive? What do leagues need to do? Willard offers candid and also optimistic thoughts about these life and death questions.
She also offers insights into what leagues can do to help small credit unions survive in an age of ever more complex and expensive compliance requirements.
And she challenges credit unions to be a bit more like Rocket Mortgage - and if you want to continue to write home loans you will pay heed.
Pay heed too to her thoughts on how taxation of credit unions just might be an existential threat to the industry.
Related podcasts in this series include the two-pack on cannabis banking, Teresa Freeborn on CUNA's $100 million credit union awareness campaign, and Joe Bergeron of the Vermont League and Pat Conway of the Pennsylvania - NJ league
Listen up here.
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.
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
CU2.0 Podcast Episode 42 Walt Laskos, CCUA, on Credit Unions Fighting Elder Fraud
Elder fraud is big business. The FBI calculates last year's losses at over $700 million and involving two million seniors.
That's a lot of pain.
The scams are predictable. “Your grandson has been arrested. He’s in jail in Memphis. You need to bail him out. It’s dangerous. Send $5000 in gift cards.”
There are variations. But the usual drill is that a relative has fallen into trouble and the senior can be the hero.
Horrible.
But now credit unions are entering this scene.
Here to tell us what credit unions are doing is Walt Laskos, senior vice president, strategic communications at the Cooperative Credit Union Association, a multi state league covering Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware.
Leagues - usually - spend the bulk of their time lobbying.
But CCUA is putting a lot of energy into fighting elder fraud and helping credit unions to do likewise.
It’s also very, very good PR for credit unions, says Laskos. That’s not why CCUA does it but the side benefit is really.
Listen up as he talks about what CCUA is doing, with whom, and what the community reaction has been.
Hint: think very very positive
Listen up here.
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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