NSF has become the new four letter within the financial industry.  While many institutions have grown dependent upon the $30 or so they charge a customer/member for an NSF, Washington DC is revving up to throw shame at FIs that impose those fees.

What’s a credit union to do?

A year ago we did a podcast with Joel Schwartz, founder of the then fledgling DoubleCheck, a company created to help consumers – and their FIs – better navigate NSFs. You are going to want to listen to that podcast – link here.

A lot has happened since that podcast. Washington DC has gotten more vocal about NSFs – you aren’t the only one having nightmares about the CFPB and Elizabeth Warren.

A lot of FIs – from Chase to B of A to many credit unions have slashed or eliminated NSF fees. You might think that this is curtains for Schwartz and DoubleCheck.

Think again.

There is the NSF and then there are the ripple effects such as late fees imposed by merchants and credit card companies. Often the late fees can add up to lots of money that inflicts still more damage and pain on a consumer struggling to stay afloat. That’s where DoubleCheck’s patented technology comes in. It gives an early warning to the consumer about late fees heading his/her way and it also offers alternatives (such as putting some charges on a credit card).

This is win-win. It’s good for the consumer and good for the FI (and it does not create bad press which doing nothing can).

You might think this will be a somber podcast, talking about bounced checks and fees and cranky politicians.  Be prepared instead to laugh. Schwartz knows what he is dealing with is serious stuff but he is a man who can see the lighter side too.

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

by Robert McGarvey

It’s the fastest-growing marketing vehicle and well within the budget of every startup. The magic word? Influencers.

Continued at Startup Savant.

 Brynn Ammon is on the podcast to tell us that it just isn’t true that old cores can’t learn new tricks – and she has plenty of examples of integration of new skills into core systems to enable credit unions to offer more and more useful tools to their members.

Reports of the death of the core have been greatly exaggerated suggests Ammon and in this podcast she offers an arsenal of evidence to show the contrary.

She even tells about Symitar’s work to integrate a Fiserv tool and, yes, that sounds like the Hatfields and McCoys making nice – but she insists it is true and it is part of Symitar’s push to integrate into its cores the tools that will enable credit unions to compete more effectively.  Even if that means cooperating with a competitor.

I will be honest, I went into this session thinking it would be as captivating as a talk on what makes a classic Singer sewing machine special.

Ammon proved my preconceptions wrong.

Listen up to find ways to get more value out of that core system in your institution.

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

 Can AI – artificial intelligence – be harnessed to build and strength member relations, indeed to know what this member is likely to do right now?

That is the guiding belief at Senso, a Canada based AI company that now is expanding into the US market with a specific focus on credit unions.

It is no secret. The credit union share of the home mortgage market has steadily eroded, as nimble fintechs grab more business. Smart AI just may give credit unions an edge in recapturing marketshare.

The Senso promise is intriguing. When an institution has the right data it can predict with significant accuracy when a member is about to shift from being a home looker to a buyer.

The answer is in the data, says Saroop Bharwani, Senso’s founder/CEO.

Right now the Senso focus is on home mortgages but, he says, the same tools will work on car loans, credit card balance transfers and more.

Here is how Senso describes its approach: “Senso creates connected and contextual lending experiences, powered by predictive intelligence.

We enable enterprise customers to identify and engage borrowers with personalized proactive experiences.

We empower consumers with rich insights & experiences to help them make smart decisions through their home finance journey.”

Integration of Senso tools – which are available white labeled – is comparatively quick and easy through the leading online banking platforms. 

Right now, the primary Senso aim is at institutions with a billion in assets – but if a smaller institution is using an online banking platform that Senso already has integration tools for, the company wants to talk, says Bharwani.

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

by Robert McGarvey

Crypto is now, it is happening.

Happy New Year!

Our first show in 2022 is about a topic that you will likely will be hearing a lot about this year: Crypto currencies. And what you may not realize is that with crypto in play the financial institution stranglehold on wire transfers may slip. Even worse, credit card interchange may vanish.

Now do we have your attention?

Crypto brings risks but also possible rewards for smart players.

On today’s show is Larry Pruss, crypto lead at consulting firm SRM (Strategic Resource Management). and, says Pruss, crypto is streaming at you at full speed

Proof is that NCUA in December offered guidance about how credit unions should interact with crypto vendors.

Maybe the biggest risk to credit unions is that evidence mounts that many members will leave a financial institution that doesn’t offer crypto related services for one that does.  At the very least they will move money out of your credit union into an institution that trades in crypto.

We may well be at a perilous moment for traditional FIs as DeFi (decentralized finance) moves onto center stage.

How to get involved in crypto with minimal risk? Pruss offers suggestions in the podcast and, from my perspective, the easiest way to stick a toe into these digital waters is by offering crypto rewards.  More institutions – Venmo for instance – already are on this but there remains running room for credit unions that want to play.

And Pruss has other suggestions.

This is a fast paced podcast. Inside 40 minutes you will hear what you need to know to play in crypto. Smartly.

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

 Put your brainstorming hat on. You’ll want it as you listen to this podcast that serves as a preview of the January 20, 2022 CU 2.0 Brainstorm event that will gather together fintech leaders and credit union executives for a day of lively presentations (topics to be chosen by the attendees) and conversation.

 Consider this podcast a mini preview of what the Brainstorm event will feel like.

Joe Cianciolo talks about how HomePace – a fintech that makes home equity investments that may be tapped by homeowners and buyers without taking on debt.  

Chief information officer Kenzie tells about the tech priorities at Patriot Federal Credit Union, a $900 million institution – and he tells what he looks for in the fintechs he works with

Drake tells about the urgency of matching up credit unions and the right fintechs and the challenges of making it happen.

It’s a show that will leave you more informed and also energized.

Listen up.

Want more info on the Brainstorm event? Click here.  There’s a sign up tool at the same site.

Want more from Cianciolo? You  got it.  Here’s an earlier CU 2.0 podcast with him from June 2021.

Want more on the CU 2.0 Mastermind group? Here’s a November 2020 podcast on it.  

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

by Robert McGarvey

 Be bold.

That is the loud message from Cameron Madill, CEO of PixelSpoke, an Oregon headquartered marketing agency that primarily serves credit unions.  He also hosts “The Remarkable Credit Union” podcast.  

Too many credit unions simply want to fit in, he says.  

Dare to be different and that just may get you noticed.

That’s just one take-away from this podcast – there are many more.

Want to know if your website is good? Madill tells us the main way credit union websites go bad. Use it as a checklist to judge your own.

Do you do member testing of your site? You probably will want to after listening to ths podcas because Madill tells the enormous benefits of testing with even a handful of members.

He also tells why credit unions need to embrace storytelling in their marketing, a topic he has written about for CUInsight.  

Buckle up because he also tells why PixelSpoke is a worker owned cooperative and why it is a certified B Corp. The latter is a credentialing program that designated businesses that put greater emphasis on purpose, not just profit.

As for worker owned cooperatives. that’s a comparatively small slice of the cooperative pie in the US but it also is fast growing. Hear why PixelSpoke now is owned by its workers.  

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

By Robert McGarvey 1

You probably know names like Flippa, FE International, Dealasite, and Sedo — they’re marketplaces where owners of online businesses list them for sale. With a few clicks you can buy an online business. It’s that easy!

Continued at StartUpSavant

Read about success stories, the downside risks, and how much it costs to play in this emerging marketplace.

by Robert McGarvey

Maybe it is a cockamamie pie in the sky of a dreamer’s idea.

Or maybe it is a key to showing the future relevance and importance of credit unions.

Focus on the target: solidifying the credit union reputation as the welcoming place for the presently unbanked – about 6% of us – and the underbanked, another 19% of us.  That is one in four Americans who are ignored, wholly or in part, by traditional financial institutions.

USAlliance, a $2 billion credit union that has grown out of the legacy IBM employees credit union, wants to change that. And the vehicle is Bank Dora, a branchless neo-bank powered by an app (find it in Google Play and the Apple App Store). Or sign up here.

Continued at CUInsight

by Robert McGarvey

Admit it, there is something fundamentally pedestrian about collecting cashback rewards on credit cards. Sure, I remember, sort of, the odd $20, or was or $30?, that I got for using my Venmo credit card where the user can get 3% back on the primary spending category

On Discover, so far this year I have gotten $86, mainly with 5% back rewards and, yes, I had to check the account website. I knew I had gotten some money from Discover but had no real idea how much or little.

But I still remember, quite clearly, when a business associate cashed in enough American Airlines miles to claim a free trip to Egypt and of course the pyramids. That was in the early 1980s – he obviously was an early mileage savant – and I remember it all vividly. I also remember when a neighbor who studied the OAG cashed in miles for a free trip to Yugoslavia for himself and his girl friend in the early 1990s.

Color me envious.

What did I do with my Discover cash back? Huh? I have no idea. It just went into paying the next Discover bill.

But today I discovered a new and exciting credit card reward. Read on to find out what.

Nope, I am not advocating a full throttle return to a pursuit of airline miles. Regular readers of JoeSentMe know airline mileage is a treacherous game where the dealer sets all the rules and the rules do change. As far back as 2017 the belief has spread that airlines in fact make more money selling miles (mainly to big financial institutions) than they do seats. The math gets complicated and the disclosures are not full but the undisputed reality is that the system is flooded with miles that can be earned buying cat food and redeemed for flights. That system is not advantageous to any looking for free flights.

Airline miles are a kind of 21st century manifestation of Gresham’s law.

And, yes, I do remember I recently bought two roundrip comfort economy tix on Delta to Spain with miles. There remains availability. But that cost me 240,000 Amex Rewards miles plus a little cash. I am glad to save the money but can’t say I am thrilled with the exchange rate.

Fact is, I just am not thrilled or enthused about the pursuit of miles. Yes, I will toggle an Amex Offer if it brings me more miles for doing little or nothing. But I am not going to play the miles game, not in 2021. When airlines cease to publish an awards chart – as some now do – the pursuit becomes akin to searching for a black cat in a darkened room while wearing a blindfold.

If I have a pile of Amex miles and it’s easy to burn ’em buying a ticket I will.

But the thrill indeed is gone.

I scarcely track my United and AA miles anymore, in part because I have earned zero new miles from them in the past year. Boring.

What does give me thrills is that now I can collect Venmo rewards in Bitcoin. How cool is that?

For some time – years really – I have mulled plunging into Bitcoin but have kept my wallet zipped. Now Venmo has offered me a painless way to pay in Bitcoin and since, in my mind, the money is free, I have no anxieties about speculating in novel currencies.

If I decide crypto is too flaky, I can switch back to cash rewards on Venmo in a few clicks.

There are a half dozen more cards that now offer crypto as rewards. The list is here.

I used the Venmo card not necessarily because I am insisting it is the best but because it already was in my wallet and inside a minute of tapping around in the app I had it set up to pay my rewards in Bitcoin. Sometimes I like low barriers to entry and this was such a case.

For me the thrill in rewards just may be returning as now I get to join the bipolar excitement of the Bitcoin price rise and fall – even if my stake is a tiny fraction of one Bitcoin. Mightn’t crypto just turn out to be a flimflam? Uh…like rewards miles?