Credit union members want 3 things during COVID-19 crisis
Gallup recently initiated a study among its Credit Union Consortium participants — representative of 3.2 million credit union members across the U.S. — to better understand how members have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and exactly what kind of support they need most.
Credit Union Members Are Suffering More
Due to the economic impact of the pandemic, supporting members’ financial wellbeing has become the central issue for credit unions. Gallup finds that credit union members are getting hit harder than the average American — 76% say they have experienced a great deal or fair amount of disruption, compared with the national average of 70% recorded in mid-March.
Gallup defines financial wellbeing as “managing one’s economic life to reduce stress and increase security” — in short, one’s emotional relationship with money, which paints a truer picture of hope and worry than traditional financial health metrics do. A Gallup analysis of Consortium participant data shows that financial wellbeing is deteriorating: The percentage considered “thriving” is decreasing, while the percentages considered “struggling” and “suffering” are growing.
