Credit union innovations catering to the young and the mobile

“The average age of a credit union member is 47, making it clear that CUs must devise strategies to attract a younger audience,” according to PYMNTS October Credit Union Tracker® done in collaboration with PSCU. The new Tracker notes the example of Texas Trust Credit Union which, inspired by the “Game of Thrones” HBO series, “released its ‘Game of Loans’ online game on social media to help it engage with the 24-to-34-year-old crowd. Experts said this strategy is effective, as younger demographics are more digitally focused and in tune with social media. Users can play the game to win prizes such as a 90-day loan payment reprieve. Texas Trust said the game originated 25 percent more loans through its mobile and digital banking services in one month than were originated during the same month a year earlier.”

It’s a brilliant adaptation for supposedly staid credit unions. And that’s what CUs need now.

The new Tracker notes that “Consumers are embracing contactless ways to pay and complete their banking activities safely and conveniently during the global pandemic, so it is no surprise that there was a 200 percent rise in new mobile banking registrations during the month of April. Bank branch foot traffic also reportedly fell by 50 percent as bank and credit union (CU) customers migrated to digital channels.”

Contactless mobile banking is the path that digital migration is taking for an ever-growing number of consumers. It’s incumbent upon CUs and their FinTech partners to program for the change with creativity, empathy, and a power set of value props.

 

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