If you really look at it, the pandemic has forced many organizations in various industries to develop more efficient processes and procedures to better serve their audiences. As we all know, video is many times a central tool in providing this enhanced customer service. Credit unions are no stranger to this development, as well.

To illustrate this point, we invited POPi/o Sales Director Mike Mares and Educators Credit Union VP of Digital Services Kimberly Schmidt on the show. Both Mike and Kimberly discuss how video banking helped Educators pivot in the midst of COVID to better serve members in need.

Here what we asked them:

• How has COVID created improved customer experiences with video being the key, here?
• How has COVID improved your credit union’s member service?
• What was going on at your credit union to look in the direction of a company like POPi/o’s video banking services?
• What have been the results so far?
• What’s next for this partnership in the area of video banking to continue this momentum?

Very inspirational talk here. Check it out and let us know your thoughts.

There are so many fintechs out there that it's a challenge for many credit unions to properly research and hire them to leverage their products/services. Fortunately, there are few quality events that can filter the fintechs, helping credit unions with a more educated selection process. One of those events that is growing is VentureTech.

Nick Evens, President of The Veridian Group (TVG), a wholly owned CUSO holding company of Veridian Credit Union, joined us on the show recently to discuss VentureTech. VentureTech is annual event that invites and vets fintechs in which credit unions can invest and possibly employ their services to help them better serve their members.

Nick affirms this is no Shark Tank or Finovate, but the stakes are still pretty high for these fintechs that are looking to engage credit unions for funding and business. Earlier this month (Nov. 9), they had their 3rd annual event and crowned BreachClarity the 2020 winner.  Illuma Labs won in 2019, which gave them an automatic berth into NACUSO's 2020 Next Big Idea Competition.

Nick shares how the event works, why they created it three years ago, how it works for fintechs, how they vet or select winners, how it benefits credit unions, future plans for the event (it's growing!) and much more.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts.

Watch the 3:58 clip above and/or check out the entire episode below the show notes.

University Credit Union has been recognized for outstanding loan growth this year by CUNA, winning Outstanding Loan Growth in 2020 accolade from the organization.

We invited ​University Credit Union President/CEO David Tuyo on the show share their keys to success in lending, as he anticipates a more than 30% increase in lending for 2020. David also talks about challenges the credit union overcame this year to achieve such stellar numbers, trends he's noticed (increase in deposits, FICO scores rising, etc.), and how they keep their momentum going into 2021.

Lastly, David provides advice and lessons learned to others looking to achieve similar success in the lending arena.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. Watch the entire episode below.

Watch the 4:58 clip above and/or check out the entire episode below the show notes.

With fraud activity off the charts since COVID crashed our shores earlier this year, credit unions are pressing for assistance to keep those fraudsters at bay. One solution that may help out is PSCU's recent announcement that they are leveraging FICO's Customer Communications Services (CCS) to build a leading fraud alert solution for credit unions.

To provide details on this partnership, we invited Michael Magaard, vice president of CCS at FICO, and Jack Lynch, SVP, chief risk officer at PSCU and president of CU Recovery. Both Michael and Jack provided an inside look at how FICO CCS will help PSCU deliver industry-leading fraud solutions to more than 1,500 credit unions.

Key benefits of FICO CCS include:

• In-checkout message delivery: This will enable PSCU to deliver messages while members are still in the checkout process, turning something that is often a negative experience (i.e., fraud alerts or getting declined) into a positive experience and further driving loyalty.
• Customization: Credit unions will have full control over the alerting solution and the ability to change the contact pattern of alerts based on the transaction’s risk. For example, if a transaction is deemed medium risk, the member may only receive a SMS message and not the full contact pattern of SMS, calls and emails.
• Increased Security: The solution was designed with security as a top priority and will prevent many of the common threats faced by credit unions today and in the future, providing superior protection for credit unions and their members.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And watch the entire episode below.

I attended CUinsight’s REFUEL Mini-Con yesterday and found the half-day event quite refreshing, indeed.  One of the sessions I attended was a leadership panel that consisted of:

• The Foundation’s Executive Director Gigi Hyland
• Xceed Financial’s President/CEO Teresa Freeborn
• Ent Credit Union’s Chief Development Officer Mollie Bell
• Author, speaker, trainer Antonio Neves
• All moderated by CUinsight’s Co-founder Randy Smith

The panel had an in-depth discussion on “Lessons Learned in 2020 and Harnessing the Potential of 2021.” There was a lot of humility, transparency, and surprising discoveries during this session.

​In this clip, the group discussed how each of them supported their teams at the height of the pandemic, as well as lessons learned about themselves during this time ... and then there was the wardrobe malfunction by Antonio Neves.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And if you missed the conference, visit the REFUEL recording for an educational and entertaining watch.