In the competitive financial industry, credit unions (CUs) remain popular banking options, with a recent CUNA Mutual Group report estimating that 324,000 consumers joined CUs in March 2019.
To stay competitive, many CUs are turning to data analytics to improve their operations in a number of areas, such as faster transactions and improved security. A recent PYMNTS study found that 35% of CUs have made data analytics investments over the past three years.
In the June “Credit Union Tracker,” PYMNTS explores the latest developments in the CU space, including analytics innovations, new partnerships and upcoming legislation that could help — or hinder — the CU industry.
Developments around the Credit Union World
Financial institutions (FIs) lose more than $1 billion in deposits annually to the exploitation of senior citizens, according to senior special interest group AARP. To counter this, AARP recently launched BankSafe, an online training platform, to help FI employees more effectively assist elderly customers. The training covers a variety of topics, including how to spot dementia in elderly customers and identify signs of financial exploitation.
In other security news, CU blockchain developer CULedger has partnered with enterprise software firm R3 to develop blockchain-based, electronic funds transfer (EFT) system CU Pay. The platform, built on the Corda blockchain, aims to improve cybersecurity during cross-border payment transfers, and will be released in early 2020 for CUs operating in the CULedger network.
Smaller CUs are also getting more advanced. The two-location, 7,200-member River Valley Community Federal Credit Union (RVCFCU) recently selected POPio Mobile Video Cloud to provide its members with mobile video banking. The solution provides detailed call histories, data analytics and an emotive recognition function, in addition to face-to-face video collaborations.
For more on these and other credit union news items, download this month’s Tracker.
How Redwood Credit Union Leverages Data Analytics to Personalize Services
Like many FIs, California-based Redwood Credit Union has used data analytics since its inception. Yet, members’ financial data is only half the equation, with social data playing an equally important role, said Tony Hildesheim, Redwood’s chief information officer.
In this month’s feature story, Hildesheim discusses how the analysis of social data can influence CUs’ marketing decisions. Find the rest of the feature story
in the Tracker.
Deep Dive: CU-issued Credit Cards Face an Uphill Battle
Approximately 60% of CUs currently offer some sort of credit card, an increase of 8.1% from the year prior. This rising popularity is good news for CUs, but that figure is dwarfed by the 89.8% of credit card debt held by banks, thanks to federal regulations and Supreme Court rulings that have resulted in uphill battles.
This month’s Deep Dive explores the parameters that have put CUs at a disadvantage, and the proposed legislation that could help level the playing field.
About the Tracker
The “Credit Union Tracker,” a collaboration with PSCU, is the go-to resource for monthly updates on the credit union industry’s trends and changes.