#417: A 'Namely' Reason Why Beyond Bank Australia Switched from a Credit Union to a Mutual...

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In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Juliet asks: "What's in a name?" when she is questioning the meaning of somebody's name or the quality of the thing or individual. In other words, the name of a thing does not matter as much as the quality of the thing.

Bringing it to 21st century financial services (Ok, it's a stretch of a segue, but finally I can use what I learned in my Shakespeare class from college.), Beyond Bank Australia pondered the same thing when it was a credit union. To them, their name was the important thing when it came to recognition with today's time-crunched consumers. They already had the quality thing down, but the name "credit union" just didn't work for them.

According to Beyond Bank's General Manager of Corporate Services Nick May, people just didn't know what a credit union was and it took too long to explain. This constant hurdle prompted a change, a change to a "mutual." What is a mutual, you ask? Well, Nick fills us in on what a mutual is (a lot like a credit union), the reasons why they switched from a credit union to a mutual, and the results they have experienced since their change. FYI: Beyond Bank just won "Mutual of the Year" in Australia.

Is Beyond Bank on to something? Perhaps in Australia, but maybe/maybe not for credit unions in the U.S. There are, however, some lessons to be learned here to help credit unions educate American consumers and really think about composing a concise message that will resonate clearly with the public to mitigate any confusion that seems not to be just an Australian hurdle. What are your thoughts on this issue?