Author: Denise Wymore

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WE’VE SURVIVED, NOW IT’S TIME TO THRIVE: CO-OP ANNOUNCES TWO NEW THINK 21 FORUMS

Interactive Events Designed to Help Credit Unions Leverage Payments as a Path to Growth

If credit unions are to thrive in a post-pandemic era, the industry needs to rethink everything, including the traditional credit union business model. This is the consensus among change agents from both inside and outside the movement, each of whom will take the digital podium at different sessions throughout CO-OP’s THINK 21 Virtual Forum series.

Among the presenters who will deliver this message to THINK 21’s credit union attendees are Noah Kerner, CEO of Acorns and Co-Founder of Say; Tim Greene, vice president of innovation for Elements Federal Credit Union; and behavioral scientist Francesca Gino. During the sessions, Jean Chatzky of Her Money Media will guide discussions exploring why there’s never been a more important time for credit unions to make the pivot from traditional, siloed product-driven providers to holistic, member-centric financial partners who activate member usage with lifestyle payments solutions.

May 25, 2021, at 10 a.m. PT: Rethink your service model: exceeding expectations at every moment

Acorns’ Kerner and Elements FCU’s Greene will join other speakers for a discussion regarding shifting consumer expectations. Through the lens of proprietary EY/CO-OP research, they’ll share strategies for owning both micro- and milestone-moments to deliver use cases that enhance the member experience and gain primary financial relationships with more members.

July 27 at 11 a.m. PT: Rethink data: turning insights into personalized experiences

Author and behavioral scientist Gino will talk through investing in data insights and a modern payments infrastructure alongside the strategic development of member empathy. Gino, in addition to Chatzky and CO-OP’s SVP of Client Relationships Tiffany Doty, will share ideas for initiatives that enable credit unions to efficiently be there for every key member moment today and down the road.

Continue reading WE’VE SURVIVED, NOW IT’S TIME TO THRIVE: CO-OP ANNOUNCES TWO NEW THINK 21 FORUMS

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A Return to ‘Normalcy’: Familiar Payments Trends Take Hold

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

As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues to progress, enabling the U.S. economy to slowly but surely reopen, consumer spending patterns are finally beginning to take on a familiar hue. Here are a few of the encouraging trends we are watching this month:

#1: Consumers Shift from Online to In-person Shopping

March saw small declines month-over-month in some eCommerce merchant classifications, like bookstores (which consists largely of Amazon.comsales). However, these drops were much less than those seen in the prior month, and other categories like retail and digital goods showed slight upticks.

“We’re seeing lifts in transaction counts, amounts and interchange, as the post-holiday declines have now dissipated,” said Beth Phillips, CO-OP Director of Strategic Portfolio Growth. “Whereas there were some small declines in Amazon, computers and office equipment, consumers are beginning to spend their retail dollars elsewhere, including in physical stores as pre-pandemic ‘normal’ spending habits begin to take hold.”

“Small businesses and shops are rebounding,” said John Patton, CO-OP Senior Payments Advisor. “It will be interesting to monitor which merchant classifications see the sharpest increases in the coming months.” Continue reading A Return to ‘Normalcy’: Familiar Payments Trends Take Hold

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Xtend announces much requested Quick Pick campaigns

Xtend, Inc., the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based multi-owned cooperative CUSO, is excited to announce the launch of Quick Pick campaigns. While Xtend’s RevGen and Multi-Channel campaigns have been an excellent resource for credit unions as an arm of their marketing, a demand for a cost-effective product offering a quicker turn around has brought about the creation of Quick Pick campaigns.

Quick Pick campaigns allow credit unions to run common marketing campaigns, selecting from a library of pre-built templates right on the order form. With a quick approval process, credit unions can now launch campaigns in a matter of days instead of weeks at a lower price point.

“We’ve seen amazing results with our campaign programs and are excited to expand our offering to a campaign product with a quicker turn around at a lower cost,” said Genevieve Morgan, Xtend campaign coordinator. “We understand many credit unions don’t have the time to dedicate to building a campaign from the ground up and are excited to offer the option to run a promotion without the time and cost of the typical campaign process.”

About Xtend, Inc.

Xtend, Inc. is a 100% credit union-owned CUSO formed in 2002 with headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Xtend provides a wide array of managerial, operational, marketing, technical planning and consulting services for credit unions of all sizes. In short, Xtend is an aggregation point for shared resources that allows credit unions to deliver products and services more cost-effectively. Their strategic offerings include bookkeeping services, member contact services, back-office mortgage services, partnered liquidity opportunities, shared branching, and payment processing services. Xtend provides services for over 250 credit unions representing more than 1.2 million members and $13B in assets. The CUSO is currently owned by 90 credit union industry partners. For more information, visit www.xtendcu.com.