CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 172 USAlliance's CEO Kris VanBeek on its Neo-bank Bank Dora

 Meet Dora.  She just may change all that you think about mobile banking.

A product of USAlliance - a $2 billion credit union based in Rye, NY that happens to be the legacy IBM employees credit union - Dora is the first credit union attempt to create a so-called neo bank, that is a branchless institution with no bricks and mortar.

USAlliance has been joined in this effort by three other credit unions: Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union ($3.5B in assets) headquartered in St. Paul, Minn.; Digital Federal Credit Union ($9.8B in assets) in Marlborough, Mass.; Service Credit Union ($5B in assets) in Portsmouth, N.H.

It may be seeking others to join in helping to spread Dora which, presently, is aimed at low to moderate income Americans who may be underserved or unserved by traditional financial institutions.

Can Dora survive in a marketplace where there are heavily funded, venture backed competitors - Chime for instance? 

In this podcast USAlliance CEO Kris VanBeek offers candid, honest history about how and why Dora got birthed and how he sees it succeeding.

He is candid that he does not see Dora as a big money maker for USAlliance. But he believes it will generate a little profit.

He also indicates that Dora is going after different consumers than a Chime, say.  He anticipates that many of Dora’s accounts will carry low balances and the economics of running Dora will be unlike a Chime.

Want to find out about Dora? The app is available in the Apple App Store, also Google Play. Signing up for an account is shockingly fast and easy.  And Dora’s checking is free.

In this podcast VanBeek gives a shout out to BankingOn which played a significant part in creating the app.  Tune in to next week’s podcast which will be with BankingOn and how it sees the future of mobile banking (think better, slicker, easier to use apps and be ready to toss existing apps in the dustbin).

Listen up.

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

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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

CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 171 Andre Iervolino on Steps You Need to Take To Keep Your Credit Union Relevant

 Irrelevance beckons. And it will swallow many credit unions whole.

That is the message delivered by Andre Iervolino, a longtime credit union senior staffer who wrote a provocative piece in The Financial Brand entitled "10 Factors That Will Determine Banks' Future Relevance."

Reading is article will rock you because, frankly, he is not optimistic about the future of many credit unions.

A core reason is that, often, they just don't get that technology is rewriting the game book.  What mattered 25 years ago does not count today.

In this podcast we explore the key takeaways of the article and the first is that the nature of a primary financial institution has changed and, said Iervolino, "Community financial institutions no longer compete only against the large banks within their marketplace, but also with big tech (Apple, Amazon, Google Checking, PayPal), fintechs, and neobank/mobile banks such as Chime, SoFi and Ally."

He added: "On average, financial services customers have between five and eight relationships spread across multiple institutions, many of them not traditional banking providers."

How do you compete against that complexity?

His second takeaway is remapping the future of the branch - think small footprint, cashless, staffed by Apple type geniuses and, yes, he tells how you will hire them. Hint: it involves paying a lot of money.

Next he throws the FICO score under the bus and proposes that credit unions adopt what he calls a Financial Health Score.

Along the way Iervolino offers key survival advice: Act like a startup.

Prepare to be challenged.

Listen up.

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

And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.

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 170 Tim Keith of SRM on The Great Reset in Financial Services

 Things are different today in financial services and, increasingly, there is a realization that we are not going back to "normal," not later this year, probably not ever.  That means credit union executives have to think bigger - more boldly - about how to compete in a changing financial services landscape.

The podcast opens up with a huge credit union 2021 fact: institutions are awash in deposits.  Why? What to do with them?

Data-driven thoughts on that and many more credit union issues come from Tim Keith, chief strategist of Account Boost for SRM, an independent advisory firm that focuses on financial services companies, credit unions included.

In the podcast Keith tackles tough issues - how should credit unions pursue branch realignment, how can they do business banking right, why aren't they better at offering online account opening, and what is a simple action step for deepening relationships with existing members.

It's a wide ranging podcast - take notes because you will get ideas well worth developing as you seek ways to navigate today's turbulent financial services currents.

Listen up.

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

And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.

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 Finalytics.ai Episode 169 on How Digital Can Be Harnessed to Revolutionize Member Service

 The language on the Finalytics.ai website is bold: "Our mission is simple: use technology to help financial institutions offer the same exceptional service they are known for in-branch, online. As digital commands a greater share of the customer touch, we are passionate about helping organizations grow and keep the promise of modern service excellence alive."

Read that again.

For as long as I have been involved with credit unions, I have heard c-suite executives telling us that their differentiator is their people.

And then along came the pandemic.  What difference do your people mean to the member who does not want to set foot in a branch and in fact wants to move the relationship entirely into the digital realm?  

How do you deliver first rate member service through digital channels - and know that it can be done and in fact already is being done (think USAA and Chase)?

These are the questions that shape this podcast with the co-founders of Finalytics.ai, Craig McLaughlin,CEO, and Mark Ryan, chief analytics officer.

Along the way we explore why so many big data projects fizzled into failure at credit unions a decade ago and also why ai - artificial intelligence - is the engine that is reshaping financial services.

And note there are moments to be afraid.  For instance: a generation ago your institution had maybe 10 or 20 competitors. Now it has thousands and many aren't even credit unions or banks.

That's not to suggest throwing in the towel. But you will have a fight on your hands.

Listen up.

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

And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.

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