Union Credit Debuts Credit Union Lending Marketplace

Union Credit on Monday (July 17) announced the launch of what it called the “first marketplace for credit unions to make firm, one-click credit offers at the point of purchase.”

According to a news release, the marketplace lets CUs reach new and credit-worthy members who aren’t in their ecosystem, thus increasing loan volume and member acquisition and improving their competitive edge. 

“Through a simple one-click loan activation embedded within their daily retail and financial activities, consumers can now access affordable credit like never before, through more convenient, transparent financing,” the company said.

Union Credit said it announced its strategy for the marketplace at the start of the year and has spent the intervening months forming partnerships with other companies, including a collaboration with TransUnion announced in April.

Dave Buerger, Union Credit co-founder and CEO, said the marketplace will help credit unions reach millions of consumers, extend their services beyond traditional marketing channels and improve financial inclusion and equality.

“With a wide array of competitively priced products and services, credit unions are ideally suited to address consumers’ unique financial situations by responsibly granting relevant product options that match their needs and help them attain financial wellness,” he added.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote Monday about the secret weapon CUs have in the face of high inflation and increasingly costly credit.

Scott Young, managing vice president of emerging services at PSCU, told PYMNTS that credit unions can benefit from their lending operations, appealing to crucial demographics with the right offers at the right time.

As joint research between PYMNTS and Young’s organization has found, just about 50% of millennials and bridge millennials reported a willingness to switch banks for a financial institution that would be able to offer them better loan terms.

Those numbers are encouraging, said Young, who argued that credit unions have an inherent edge when it comes to lending: “Credit unions have had much more competitive loan terms, given our not-for-profit structure.”

For the credit unions that get it right, employing data to fine-tune their offerings and loan terms can pay dividends, in the form of long-lasting member relationships that could last for decades. 

“Credit unions can, should and probably will utilize targeted marketing campaigns that highlight competitive loan terms, which include lower interest rates and payment options,” Young said. Ideally, CUs should show the cost savings tied to its loans versus competitors’ offerings.