Your credit union is underserving American consumers and losing members. Here’s how you win.
Let’s start with the solution:
There’s no question that the credit union marketplace has competition coming from all directions. Prospective members have more options than ever to manage their personal finances: competing credit unions, community banks, big banks, new payment apps and services, and many large non-financial companies with very deep pockets.
Ask yourself: what service can you provide to differentiate your credit union? What is the universal consumer need that you can provide?
It’s liquidity. Consumers need convenient access to cash. As a community financial institution, you have a responsibility to meet this need responsibly, affordably and conveniently.
Consumers aren’t saving. Some don’t even have checking accounts.
The low-income, underserved community is largely the consumer group that struggles with poor credit, and is often unable to obtain liquidity via traditional sources. With poor credit, these consumers are frequently unable to secure a traditional checking or savings account, largely excluding them from the mainstream marketplace.
But a staggering lack of savings appears to affect a significant segment of the population, even beyond those consumers with the lowest socioeconomic status. The statistics are disturbing:
- The personal U.S. savings rate in December 2017 was 2.4%, the lowest level in almost a decade1.
- Only 39% of Americans have enough savings to cover a $1,000 emergency2.
- Each year 12 million Americans take out payday loans, spending $9 billion on loan fees3.
- There are 15.6 million unbanked consumers in the U.S. (people who are living in households where no one has a checking or savings account)4.
Other companies are banking on the unbanked
Companies outside of the traditional banking marketplace have identified the unbanked consumer segment as an enormous opportunity and are capitalizing on it.
Amazon is one example. In April of 2017, they launched “Amazon Cash,” which was meant to make it easy for customers who don’t have credit, debit or bank cards to still be able to shop with the internet retail giant4. But now Amazon is in the early stages of taking the next logical step – developing a checking-account like product, targeted to younger consumers and those without bank accounts5.
Amazon is already a leading online retailer, a grocery store, a voice-powered personal assistant, a television and movie production company and so much more. Now that they’re moving further into the financial landscape, you need to take proactive steps before you lose current members and prospective members to a one-stop shop like Amazon. Are you equipped to compete with this retail behemoth valued at $700 billion5?
Play offense before you’re forced to play defense – and WIN!
Introducing CashPlease,™ an innovative solution that will help your credit union attract new members and retain your valuable existing members. CashPlease allows you to easily provide access to short-term, small-dollar loans that are responsible, affordable, convenient, and fully compliant with regulatory guidelines.
- Fully automated – no loan officers needed
- Integrates with your core and mobile banking via single sign on (SSO)
- More efficient than manual processes
- Compliant with existing federal lending regulations and configurable to meet changing guidelines
- Loans are underwritten by proven proprietary technology
- Designed to be profitable for your credit union
Contact us for a free demo. Isn’t it worth 30 minutes of your time?
Sources:
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FRED® Economic Data, Personal Saving Rate: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT
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Bankrate.com, Most Americans don’t have enough savings to cover a $1K emergency, January 18, 2018
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The Pew Charitable Trusts: Press Release: CFPB’s Proposed Payday Loan Rule Misses Historic Opportunity, June 2016
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Forbes.com, Banks Need to Focus on a New Customer: The Unbanked, May 10, 2017 WSJ.com, Next Up for Amazon: Checking Accounts, March 5, 2018
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