Be sure to watch the full episode located below the show notes.

Just about everybody in credit unions realizes the consolidation the industry is currently experiencing -- and will most likely experience for years to come. The number of credit unions has decreased by thousands over the last couple of decades with no real end in sight.

Where will it end? Nobody really knows -- or whatever the market will bear.

But the bigger question is who is leading the charge to start new credit unions, replacing the ones that have been lost for one reason or another? Consolidation is discussed almost daily, but the topic of creating new credit unions is rarely addressed.

This rarity, however, is becoming more common today, as various individuals and groups within the industry are beginning to hold regular discussions looking for ways to develop an easier process of creating new credit unions.

Two individuals, among a growing number, who are leading the charge in this area are QCash Financial's Marketing Manager Denise Wymore and Corelation Inc.'s Conversion Strategist Dan Marquez. Both Dan and Denise hold De Novo support group meetings, discussing this very issue -- as well as creating new organization called: CU De Novo Collective.

According to these two trailblazers, the CU De Novo Collective hopes to spark a revolution within the credit union movement where new credit unions can be formed more easily to serve new and existing communities in exciting new ways.

This new organization is working to help established credit unions and the industry as a whole to support and value new credit unions. In its vision of the future, forming new credit unions will become a common, accepted way of meeting new needs and pursuing new opportunities with a wide array of existing and new communities.

A very timely conversation with Denise and Dan. Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.

Be sure to watch the full episode located below the show notes.

It wouldn't be a complete 2021 holiday shopping season without talking about the impact Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) is having on retail activity -- and what the financial institution's role is in this space.

That said, Bryce Deeney, founder and CEO of equipifi, joined us on the show to share how his organization is bringing the very popular BNPL payment capabilities to credit unions across the nation.

Bryce discusses how equipifi works, integrating with a credit union's core processing system. He also talks about why he started this company, previously working at a credit union as a technology executive and seeing this BNPL opportunity.

Lastly, he weighs the pros and cons of today's BNPL trend and how he sees this payment space improving over time.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode with Bryce below for all the details.

Be sure to watch the full episode located below the show notes.

Glatt Consulting Group Founder Tom Glatt joined us on the show to share his firm's latest Credit Union Industry HealthScore -- a score that he has been tracking and analyzing quarterly for more than a decade now.

Tom shared the positives and negatives and everything in between in regards to the industry's performance over the last couple of quarters. He even provided a couple of credit union examples of who's doing well and why -- as well as some laggards looking for improvement.

Overall, we're ending the year on a positive result, Tom says. But there's always room for improvement. And with COVID variants still popping up, 2022 looks to be a very interesting year.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode with Tom below for all the details.

Be sure to watch the complete episode located below the show notes.

People who have served their time in prison and want to lead a somewhat normal life experience so many hurdles returning to society. One of those areas includes financial services.

First Step Alliance's Founder, Board Member & Secretary Nancy Eiden and long-time credit union leader (former Aspire Federal Credit Union CEO) Tom O'Shea, who is also on the First Step Alliance Advisory Board, joined us on the show to share how credit unions can do what they do best and help these folks have a smoother runway back to society from a financial services perspective.

Tom and Nancy discuss many of the hurdles that are experienced with returning citizens, how First Step Alliance's Fresh Start Initiative can eliminate many of those hurdles, how the initiative works (5 components), how credit unions can get involved, and much, much more.

Summary of First Step Alliance:

• Successful re-entry is extremely difficult without access to financial education and banking services.
• Access to financial services helps people create a path to a healthy financial future.
• This program is dedicated to the financial needs of justice impacted individuals and their families.
• Justice-impacted community is highly underbanked.
• The First Step Alliance - Fresh Start Programs help address systemic issues by improving access to vital information and services.
• Working in partnership with re-entry programs, correctional facilities and other community-based organizations, we can reach many people in need and help reduce recidivism.

​Check it out and let us know your thoughts.. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.

Be sure to watch the full episode located below the show notes.

If cybersecurity concerns can ever be elevated, 2020 and 2021 certainly accomplished that for sure. You can swing a cat without seeing a headline these days on ransomware, phishing, or some other fraudulent, online activity occurring -- which is especially concerning in the financial services sector.

No time is ever more active than the holidays, so we invited Think|Stack CTO Zach Hill on the show to share five things every organization should be doing to mitigate risk in this area.

Before discussed those five things, Zach addressed the recent Log4j vulnerability threat that occurred last week and what it means to credit unions.

According to CBS news, Log4j is a programming code written in Java computer language and created by volunteers within the Apache Software Foundation to run across a handful of platforms: Apple's macOS, Windows and Linux. The free, open-source software creates a built-in "log" or record of activity — like a diary — that software developers can use to troubleshoot problems or track data within their programs. Its and utility and the fact that it is free have spread the "logging library" to all corners of the internet.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.