Author: Jalyn Lindeman

August 22, 2022 – #shadesupFOREkids Campaign Extended to Help CMN Hospitals as well as NCUF, Bringing Together Medical and Financial Health for Communities

Co-op Solutions has announced it is a sponsor of the prestigious 2022 Presidents Cup golf tournament, and is donating its allotment of tickets for credit union leaders and all benefits of sponsorship towards fundraising on behalf of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

“We at Co-op could think of no better way to celebrate our inaugural sponsorship of the Presidents Cup than to donate it in support of CMN Hospitals’ mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible,” said Samantha Paxson, Chief Experience Officer, Co-op, and a CMN Hospitals Board of Directors member. “Not only will fundraising be connected directly to the tournament, but we are also extending our #shadesupFOREkids campaign, which continues to benefit both CMN Hospitals and the National Credit Union Foundation by raising funds and awareness of the importance of financial and medical well-being.”

The Presidents Cup is a series of men’s golf matches between a team representing the United States and an international team, which this year will be held September 21-25 at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North California. Though some of the world’s top professional golfers participate, it is a charitable event with no prize money awarded. Since the event’s inception in 1994, more than $54.4 million has been raised for charity from event proceeds.

Fundraising to Help Sick Children Receive the Treatment They Need

Co-op is offering tickets to its credit union industry partners, clients and friends for a day on the course. Tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis, and each registrant may reserve up to two tickets. The recommended donation is the face value – or a portion of it – of each ticket, which ranges from $100 to $500. All proceeds will benefit CMN Hospitals via the industry’s charitable arm, Credit Unions for Kids.

The experience includes access to 1) 2022 Presidents Cup entrance ticket, 2) fully-hosted food and beverages at Presidents Cup event, 3) exclusive air-conditioned suite – the Co-op Solutions suite; and 4) private shuttle to and from Quail Hollow Club.

To learn more and register, go to Co-op’s event page here.

“This donation by Co-op is a tremendous boost for Credit Unions for Kids fundraising on behalf of CMN Hospitals,” said Nick Coleman, Director, National Strategic Partners for CMN Hospitals. “The credit union industry is the fifth-largest contributor to our charity, helping us provide 32 million treatments each year through 170 member hospitals in the United States and Canada. Credit Unions for Kids is a critical partner in our local hospital fundraising and it’s a relationship we hope will flourish throughout the country to bring needed care to families in our communities.”

#shadesupFOREkids Taking Place in Run-up to Presidents Cup

In advance of the event, Co-op is extending its #shadesupFOREkids initiative, with proceeds going equally to CMN Hospitals and the NCUF’s Financial Well-being for All. Anyone can participate and it’s easy:

Co-op encourages everyone in the credit union industry to take selfies on-board their airline flights with the window shade up. Then, post the photo on individual social media accounts using the hashtag #shadesupFOREkids. Co-op will make a $10 donation for every selfie posted with the hashtag, up to $10,000.

“Co-op has been a supporter of Credit Unions for Kids since its founding in 1996 to raise funds for the industry’s charity of choice, CMN Hospitals,” said Todd Clark, President/CEO of Co-op. “Our Co-op Miracle Match program was created in 2009 to help credit unions maximize the funds they raise in the great effort of helping children receive the care they need regardless of ability to pay, further demonstrating the credit union mission of people helping people. We want to encourage more credit unions across the country to participate in fundraising, which is why we wanted to offer up our sponsorship.”

To learn more and register for the event, please visit the events page here.

About Co-op Solutions

Co-op Solutions is the market-leading financial technology platform whose mission is to connect credit unions to the technology, strategic partnership and scale they need to best serve their members now and into the future. Co-op partners with credit unions to unlock their potential so they can compete; does the hard work of innovation, creating a one-stop opportunity to help credit unions grow; and offers knowledge and expertise in a world where everything must be integrated. For more information, visit www.coop.org.

CO-OP Payments Trends Report (Spending Data from July 1-31)

August 16, 2022 – The Fed is doing all it can.

Following another strong jobs report for July, the Federal Reserve is committed to staying on its path of raising rates, in an effort to tamp down inflation that remains at 40-year highs.

The U.S. added 528,000 new jobs in July, keeping unemployment at a low 3.5% rate. That is certainly good news for workers, but the cost of living keeps rising as U.S. consumers deal with annualized inflation hovering around 9%. The Federal Reserve raised the Fed Funds rate another 75 basis points at its July 27 meeting, and it is almost assured of doing so again at its next meeting in September.

Co-op’s July credit union card portfolio data exploited credit’s growth year-over-year at a 42.8% increase in purchase counts, while debit remained flat year-over-year at a mere 1.6% increase. Credit’s growth highlights the stark reality that consumers’ spending habits have shifted, with most categories showing modest to significant increases. Main categories in credit reflecting this consumer spending shift are computers, gas, grocery, retail, primarily discount stores, medical and travel.

Month over month results from June 2022 to July 2022 across most categories in both credit and debit showed very little change. However, some exceptions included strong growth in Campers and Camping, Gambling and Entertainment, and Sports and Recreation, with declines in Education, Home Improvement, Auto Rental, Airline, Medical and Political Giving.

Here are some of the key spending trends Co-op’s SmartGrowth team are watching closely this month:

#1: Staycations are here to stay

According to Co-op’s month-over-month credit union portfolio data for July, overall travel spending was up modestly at just over 3% in debit and credit. But a deeper look into the data shows that Airline and Auto Rental spend were down for the month. Meanwhile, the Camping and Campers category showed strong double-digit increases in both debit and credit for the month, the largest among any major classification code. Spend at Golf Courses was also up by around 9% for the month. These trends indicate that in light of rising inflation, consumers continue to stay close to home, forgoing longer vacations to cross-country and international destinations.

Despite these weaker recent trends, the Travel category is still up by 59% year over year in credit and 25% in debit with largest increases occurring in airlines at 55% increase in credit and 14% increase in debit, evidence that a resilient public has ventured out following the darkest days of the pandemic.

people are headed to the golf course and campsite due to the pandemic-induced changes in habits over the past three years,” said John Patton, Co-op Senior Payments Advisor. “These experiences represent freedom, but with a dose of budget consciousness. We see spending in travel categories like airline and lodging up significantly year over-year, but the staycation habits developed over the past few years remain strong.”

#2: Furniture Spending Jumps Up as Supply Worries Ease

 Although supply chain issues have been a constant source of frustration for consumers and retailers alike over the past year, they are finally beginning to ease, as July saw a marked shift in spending in the Furniture category. Following double-digit declines in June, spending grew by nearly 8% in both debit and credit in July, in a possible nod to back-to-school spending as retailers tightened their focus on capturing these transactions. Another category to come out ahead with back-to-school mindsets taking hold were Computers with a modest increase in July from the prior month, after several months of depressed spending.

These increases fly in the face of continued high inflation, perhaps indicating that much of this spend is occurring at discount retailers and furniture liquidators. As reported previously, Walmart and Target recently offloaded an oversupply of appliances, furniture and apparel to liquidators.

Discount Stores also saw a modest uptick in spend in July, as rising costs and fears of recession are driving more consumers to these less-expensive outlets.

#3: Home Improvement Off from Spring

 The Home Improvement category has shown a gradual month-over-month increase over the last quarter. However, since June, spend in this category has started to decline. This is to be expected, as home improvement spending is highly seasonal, and consumers typically do most of their renovation projects in the winter and spring. These declines also coincide with the increase in furniture spend, as furnishing new spaces is typically the last step in a major renovation project.

“Home improvement has a seasonality to it,” said Patton. “As kids are getting ready to go back to school, their parents are reprioritizing their budgets from home improvement over to books, supplies and other necessities.”

Month-Over-Month Category-Level Spending (Comparing July 2022 to June 2022)

Please note that the category spending below reflects year-over-year (% Difference from 2021 vs. 2022 YoY August – July) in the first two columns, and month-over-month comparisons in the last two columns.

	Debit YoY % Difference 2021 v 2022 YoY (Aug – July)	Credit YoY % Difference 2021 v 2022 YoY (Aug – July)	Debit MoM % Difference June ‘22 to July ‘22	Credit MoM % Difference   June ‘22 to July ‘22
Amazon/Bookstores	-5.5%	8.5%	8.3%	9.9%
Campers & Camping	-13.6%	3.9%	26.7%	19.9%
Computers	-12.2%	67.1%	5.0%	2.0%
Digital Goods	29.0%	32.9%	4.0%	3.9%
Dining & Entertainment	7.0%	29.1%	3.4%	3.5%
Education	25.8%	31.2%	-10.2%	-5.5%
Gas	2.5%	95.0%	3.8%	3.1%
Grocery	-2.7%	82.7%	5.1%	4.6%
Home Improvement	-14.2%	26.4%	-3.5%	-4.5%
Medical	-0.9%	36.2%	-2.0%	-1.4%
Office	-2.6%	5.8%	2.8%	2.8%
Other	2.3%	24.1%	2.9%	2.9%
Auto Dealers/Services/Parts	-5.1%	24.0%	1.8%	-1.5%
Cable, Satellite, and Other	21.4%	43.3%	2.6%	4.3%
Furniture	-20.2%	3.9%	7.9%	7.7%
Pet	-3.4%	24.9%	3.4%	3.0%
Self-care	12.5%	26.9%	1.5%	1.3%
Subscription services	-23.6%	1.4%	1.4%	3.0%
Retail	-2.0%	55.3%	2.8%	4.0%
Department Stores	-1.3%	27.9%	3.1%	4.5%
Discount Stores	11.5%	137.4%	2.8%	4.2%
Retail	-7.8%	35.5%	2.7%	3.8%
Specialty Retail	-8.0%	10.7%	3.9%	3.7%
Florists, antiques, jewelers, cigars, stamps, etc.	-8.0%	10.7%	3.9%	3.7%
Sport/Recreation	-4.2%	19.9%	9.2%	6.7%
Golf courses	-10.4%	1.8%	8.9%	9.1%
Sport/Recreation	-3.4%	22.8%	9.2%	6.2%
Travel	24.9%	59.0%	3.8%	3.9%
Airline	14.4%	55.1%	-0.1%	-4.9%
Auto Rental	-22.4%	7.3%	-4.4%	-1.6%
Lodging	1.0%	34.0%	0.8%	1.9%
Other Travel (railroad, taxi, cruise lines, toll fees, etc.)	31.2%	68.1%	4.7%	5.6%
Grand Total	1.6%	42.8%	3.6%	3.4%

What Credit Unions Should Do Now

 As rates rise, it’s a great time for credit unions to dust off their balance transfer campaigns. Members are starting to feel the effects of rising rates on their wallets, so reward cardholders and entice non-cardholders to open a card with a low-rate balance transfer offer. According to Nerd Wallet’s 2022 card program trends, 0% APR offers doubled from Q42020 to Q3 2021, so a competitive offer will be crucial for success. In addition to a compelling offer, members should be reminded of the credit union difference of competitive rates, low fees and exceptional service. A well-timed balance transfer campaign will help to grow a credit union’s portfolio balances and burnish their primary financial relationships.

As spending picks up going into the fall Back to School season, rewards become increasingly important. Make sure to offer a compelling loyalty rewards program to compete with the leading programs on the market and to keep cards top of wallet.

More information on the Co-op SmartGrowth Consulting Team can be found here.

About Co-op Solutions

Co-op Solutions is the market-leading financial technology platform whose mission is to connect credit unions to the technology, strategic partnership and scale they need to best serve their members now and into the future. Co-op partners with credit unions to unlock their potential so they can compete; does the hard work of innovation, creating a one-stop opportunity to help credit unions grow; and offers knowledge and expertise in a world where everything must be integrated. For more information, visit coop.org.

Credit Union Adds Co-op Signature Debit and In-House Credit Processing   

August 2, 2022 – For El Paso, Texas-based evolve FCU, the  decision to expand its partnership with Co-op Solutions is the essence of simplicity.

evolve FCU added Signature Debit and In-House Credit processing services from Co-op (coop.org), along with the fintech’s Insights Center self-service business intelligence and reporting platform for analysis of portfolio data. The reason? “This is simple: Greater efficiency and reduced costs,” said Ken Walters, President/CEO of evolve FCU. “When those two things are combined we free up staff, reduce operating expenses and improve the bottom line.”

A long-standing Co-op client, Walters said “evolve FCU is utilizing technology to become more efficient in pursuing our goal of people helping people. With this new agreement, we are seeking a faster, more convenient experience for both our cardholders and our evolve FCU team with debit and credit processing. Additional services from Co-op will help us with a quicker turnaround on plastic card development.”

Awarding its Signature Debit and In-House Credit business to Co-op entailed changing transaction processing providers. “Since we have been a part of Co-op for several years, we know what to expect – great service, and that is what motivated us to undertake this project,” said Walters. “When you move from one processor to another it is not always an easy transition, but after working with Co-op we knew that this was going to be a smart economic move for us.”

The credit union opened its doors in 1936 as El Paso Employees FCU before rebranding as evolve FCU in 2012. Today, evolve FCU (evolvefcu.org) has more than 18,000 members and $363 million in assets. “evolve FCU is turning back the clock to when co-ops were true co-ops,” said Walters. “We are proud of the fact that we have given back more than $12 million to our members since 2015 in the form of patronage dividends. This is another reason why it is incumbent upon us to operate efficiently and cost-effectively.”

Prior to the agreement, evolve FCU was already a participant in the nationwide Co-op ATM and Co-op Shared Branch networks. Co-op Debit provides a single platform for PIN and Signature processing to streamline transaction management as well as helping to prevent and manage fraud with minimal disruption to both member and institution. Co-op In-House Credit processing incorporates services such as card fulfillment, fraud prevention, loyalty programs and business intelligence.

“Along with its name change in 2012, evolve FCU adopted a truly progressive approach to interacting with the modern member,” said Matt Kardell, Chief Revenue Officer, Co-op. “Their decision to work with us to meet their debit and credit processing needs is an entry point to the entire ecosystem of Co-op advanced payments technology. We look forward to helping them serve their members even more holistically in the future.”

For more information on the Co-op ecosystem of financial technology products and services visit www.co-opfs.org/Solutions.

About Co-op Solutions

Co-op Solutions is the market-leading financial technology platform whose mission is to connect credit unions to the technology, strategic partnership and scale they need to best serve their members now and into the future. Co-op partners with credit unions to unlock their potential so they can compete; does the hard work of innovation, creating a one-stop opportunity to help credit unions grow; and offers knowledge and expertise in a world where everything must be integrated. For more information, visit www.coop.org.