ORIGENCE ANNOUNCES STEVE FORBES AS KEYNOTE OPENING SPEAKER OF LENDING TECH LIVE ’23 CONFERENCE5/19/2023 Origence, the leading lending technology solutions provider for credit unions, announced the opening and closing keynote speakers for its Lending Tech Live ’23 conference. The speakers will bookend the exciting, technology-focused convention, scheduled from May 30 through June 1, in Las Vegas, NV. Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media and co-author of Inflation: What It Is, Why It’s Bad and How To Fix It, will be the opening keynote speaker. Forbes’ address will focus on the current economic situation, with insights and strategic advice for credit unions. In addition, Archie Manning, a 14-year quarterback and successful businessman, will be the closing keynote speaker. Manning will host a discussion with the audience. “We’re excited to have Steve Forbes and Archie Manning join this year’s incredible lineup of speakers at Lending Tech Live,” said Phil DuPree, chief revenue officer for Origence. “Their expertise, approach to life, and most importantly, their success, are sure to inspire attendees.” Additional speakers at the conference include Mark Meyer, president and CEO of Filene Research Institute, who will deliver a session on credit union growth opportunities, and Hilary Mason, co-founder and CEO of the Hidden Door, who will present on the future of AI and machine learning. Coming off its most attended year ever in 2022, Lending Tech Live ‘23 is the credit union industry’s foremost lending conference, with professional insights, educational sessions, and premier networking events. The conference explores advanced tools and technologies that shape the lending marketplace, with guidance on best practices, lending strategies, trends, research, and beyond. Lending Tech Live ’23 will be held at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. To view the full list of speakers or to learn more about registration opportunities, visit the Lending Tech Live website.
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Young credit union members took the theme of “Unleash the Power of Saving at your Credit Union™” to heart during April’s National Credit Union Youth Month, sponsored by Ever Green 3C. Credit unions reported their 2023 National Youth Savings Challenge™ results this week, showing young members made deposits totaling $15,185,902. “We are thankful to everyone who participated in this year’s National Youth Saving Challenge,” said Megan Crowson, manager of consumer engagement at CUNA. “This year’s Youth Month theme tied right into the challenge and showed kids that saving money early on can really add up. “ This Youth Month, 3,445 new youth accounts were reported opened, a 383% increase from 2022. 54,049 deposits were made. Participating credit unions encouraged kids to save wisely through their credit union with giveaways, contests, financial education and events. To encourage participants, CUNA offered a grand prize of $1,000 to create 10 youth awards worth $100 each, and randomly selected DuTrac Community Credit Union of Dubuque, Iowa as the grand-prize winner. DuTrac reported 23 new youth accounts and 7,837 deposits totaling $1.7 million for the month. To learn more about the National Youth Savings Challenge™, visit cuna.org/youthmonth. Eltropy, the leading digital conversations platform for community financial institutions, is thrilled to announce that its co-founder and CEO Ashish Garg has been nominated as a finalist for the American Banker Innovators of the Year for 2023. This prestigious recognition highlights Garg's exceptional contributions to the financial industry and his commitment to empowering credit unions and community banks to deliver the best experience for consumers. Garg's entrepreneurial journey with Eltropy was deeply inspired by his personal experience, as described in the American Banker article spotlighting the finalists. After moving from India to California, he and his wife faced the challenge of having no credit history despite having high-paying jobs. However, they found a supportive credit union in Redwood City that believed in their potential and provided a loan for their first home. This experience sparked Garg's mission to create a company that would empower credit unions and community banks with digital tools to serve their members more effectively. Indeed one of the key differentiators of Eltropy is that it has focused solely on credit unions and community banks – as they are the backbone of our communities – to ensure that everyone has access to credit to build generational wealth. In the past year of 2022, Garg led Eltropy through a transformative period of growth and innovation. As the article mentioned, the company successfully completed the acquisition of two companies: video banking firm POPi/o and Marsview AI, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology provider. These strategic acquisitions further expanded Eltropy's capabilities, enabling credit unions and community banks to enhance their digital interactions and deliver exceptional customer experiences. With a relentless focus on customer success, Eltropy welcomed over 250 new credit union and community bank clients in 2022, bringing its total client base to an impressive 550 institutions. That trend has continued in 2023. Alongside this growth, Eltropy has introduced many new features and capabilities to its digital conversations platform, as described in the article. These include video notary services, appointment management, co-browsing, and more, empowering financial institutions to streamline operations and provide seamless and secure communication experiences to their members. One of Eltropy's satisfied clients, InTouch Credit Union in Plano, Texas, praised the platform's ability to bridge staffing gaps and maintain secure communication channels. Kent Lugrand, President and CEO of InTouch Credit Union, said, "The exciting part about partnering with Eltropy is the ability to shift from one communication platform to another within the same call, the same chat, the same text, seamlessly, keeping all of the authentication and security in place. I think that's going to make a big difference for us." Ashish Garg's recognition as one of the American Banker 2023 Innovators of the Year reflects his unwavering dedication to driving innovation in the financial industry. Under his leadership, Eltropy continues to redefine how credit unions and community banks engage with their members, offering powerful digital tools that empower institutions to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Ralph Kimbrough IV officially joins DDJ Myers, the well-known leadership development firm and ALM First Company, this week as Director, Talent Acquisition. In this newly created role, he will oversee the talent team, ensuring that all clients receive the industry’s highest quality executive and recruitment services from first contact to successful placement and through onboarding. “Expanding our team with an experienced professional like Ralph strengthens DDJ Myers’ long-term sustainability and gives us an even bigger competitive edge,” says Deedee Myers, Ph.D. and CEO of DDJ Myers, an ALM First Company. “The combination of our high-quality search and recruitment process along with programs such as the Advanced Leadership Program, are true indicators of our commitment to helping clients manage the growing talent gap.” Ralph is an industry-recognized talent acquisition executive and has 13 years of experience implementing and modernizing recruiting strategies. A passionate advocate of continued growth and development, he is well-known for his collaborative hands-on approach to elevating an organization’s talent brand as an employer of choice. “I’m thrilled to join the DDJ Myers team and help meet the needs of a continually evolving industry,” says Kimbrough. “I’m looking forward to using my experience and focus on performance, value alignment and DEI to benefit clients and meet their growing need to locate, hire, and retain key staff and executives with strategic thinking and execution abilities.” Trellance, a leading technology partner providing innovative analytics, cloud and talent solutions to credit unions, today announced their partnership with Adlumin, the security operations platform and managed detection and response (MDR) service provider keeping mid-market organizations secure. Adlumin’s patented, cloud-native Security Operations Platform gives organizations everything they need for comprehensive security including vulnerability scanning, Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), threat intelligence, User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA), threat hunting, honeypots, automated incident response and forensics, darknet exposure monitoring, compliance reporting and monitoring and more. The platform is feature-rich and built specifically to amplify the skills and capabilities of managed service providers. Adlumin customers can use the platform on their own, partner with managed service providers and/or utilize Adlumin’s MDR services for 24x7 human insights, threat hunting and trusted support. “As credit unions turn increasingly to cloud-based technology, Trellance helps credit unions navigate that journey to drive better experiences and cost efficiencies for employees and members, emphasizing the importance of adapting security accordingly,” said Jim Adams, Chief Revenue Officer at Adlumin. “Trellance understands how an organization’s exposure to different threats can change with new technologies. By working together, we can ensure that credit unions have the same capabilities that only the world’s largest financial institutions have traditionally been able to implement in their security operations.” Trellance introduced Cloud as a business line in early 2023, and the partnership with Adlumin will help to ensure the security of products and services Trellance provides, including the flagship Data Warehouse product. The partnership will also allow credit unions who partner with Trellance to add the Adlumin platform to their own systems and processes, adding an extra layer of protection to their systems. “Expanding this strategic partnership is very exciting for us,” said Steve Bone, Chief Operating Officer at Trellance. “Security is at the heart of everything we do with our credit union clients, and together with Adlumin we have taken our capabilities to a whole new level.” The partnership with Adlumin was finalized on February 3, and use of their platform can now be purchased in addition to Trellance products. by Tim McAlpine, Founder/CEO Currency Marketing Edutainment is a term coined by Walt Disney in the 1950s to describe media or entertainment that is designed to educate as well as entertain. Its goal is to make learning more engaging and enjoyable. With the rise of short-form video and a market appetite for financial advice, edutainment is predicted to dominate financial marketing in the years to come. Brands are finding that social media platforms such as TikTok foster the perfect conditions for fun facts, tutorials and explainers to thrive. According to a survey commissioned by Forbes Advisor and conducted by market research company Prolific, 79% of Americans in the Millennial and Gen Z age groups have sourced financial advice from social media. Moreover, 76% believe financial content on social media has made it less taboo to talk about money, and 62% feel empowered by their access to financial advice on social media. However, opinions among personal finance professionals vary on whether people should rely on social media to guide decisions about their money. The rise of finfluencers The rise of short-form video and demand for financial advice has led to a new trend: the finfluencer, a social media influencer who is also a financial advisor. Credit unions that utilize short-form videos to educate their members and communities about finance have a clear advantage over finfluencers. They are:
In contrast, social media influencers may lack credibility and expertise, and their advice may be influenced by financial incentives, which could compromise the quality of their recommendations. More reasons to connect Credit unions have additional and distinct advantages when it comes to reaching younger generations. Gen Alpha, Gen Z and Millennials are driven by social values and interests, which credit unions share. These shared values include:
We can help At Currency Marketing, we've discovered that "edutaining" kids and teens with fun financial education content is a winning formula. Our credit union partners have used our approach to engage with and gain respect and patronage from an audience that many credit unions often find hard to reach. If you're interested in exploring how edutainment can benefit your credit union, check out our website for more information. Eltropy, the leading digital conversations platform for community financial institutions, announced it has added new use cases – including fraud prevention – and new deployment models for its industry-leading Video Banking technology, enabling community banks and credit unions (CFIs) to offer better-than-ever, branch-like experiences to their customers and members – digitally. “The primary purpose of Video Banking is to facilitate branch-like experiences for customers and members digitally, period,” said Ashish Garg, Co-founder and CEO of Eltropy. “We’re excited to announce that the industry-leading position in Video Banking we’ve already enjoyed now adds new use cases and enhanced functionality that no one else offers, including enhanced ID scan, document exchange, signature, check deposit, virtual notary, and notary journal capabilities, among others. Our Video Banking offering is a comprehensive solution that meets the true definition of Video Banking — not just Video Chat.” More comprehensive and industry-focused than any other offering on the market, Eltropy's Video Banking platform – through its 2022 acquisition of industry pioneer POPi/o – has been laser-focused on the credit union and community banking industry for more than a decade. It includes tools and workflows that enable seamless banking conversations and transactions, allowing CFIs to provide their customers and members with the best financial products and services in a personalized manner – anytime, anywhere. Eltropy now offers multiple Video Banking deployment models to CFIs – including In-branch Video, Website Conversations Panel, Remote Video, Scheduled Video Meetings, and mobile app integration. As the most comprehensive Video Banking solution on the market, Eltropy’s platform allows for a range of use cases — including fraud prevention, opening new accounts and memberships, account services, lending, wire transfers, and investment advisement, among others. “Every CFI services a wide range of simple to complex conversations,” said Jed Taylor, Chief Product Officer at Eltropy. “Video Banking is well suited to support the more complex branch-like conversations that create much more value for financial institutions and their consumers.” Eltropy's Video Banking is being used by a wide range of community financial institutions, including: Chelsea Groton Bank: Since July 2021 Chelsea Groton Bank's "ChelseaLIVE" has seen a 300% increase in customer adoption; 30% of their Video calls have resulted in a document signature, helping ChelseaLIVE boost the bank’s revenue-generating services. Alex Masse, Executive Vice President and Chief of Operations and Innovation, said: “We had a customer in Ireland that needed to conduct a wire transfer – and these are transactions that we don’t want to do via an email or phone call – but we were able to migrate that over to a video call and execute the wire virtually. This helped turn a roadblock into a memorable customer experience." TruWest Credit Union: TruWest received a Video Banking call from a member traveling in Israel who was locked out of their online banking and needed some documents. Although this scenario raised concerns about possible fraud, Eltropy Video Banking enabled the member to quickly connect with a TruWest employee for face-to-face communication, allowing for easy and confident identity verification. The issue was resolved promptly thanks to this effective solution. “Video is an incredibly powerful tool for community financial institutions,” Garg said. “In this crucial year of 2023, with a potential recession on the horizon and tightening belts, Eltropy's mission is to help its customers benefit from a complete digital conversations platform, including the value of Video Banking.” Community financial institutions can learn more about Eltropy’s Video Banking at the 2023 Eltropy User Conference, May 16-18, 2023 at the Salt Lake City Marriott City Center, where leaders from the industry will gather for educational sessions, product demos, and networking opportunities. Space for the Eltropy 2023 User Conference is limited, so reserve your spot today to ensure your attendance. Click here to register. NCR Digital Banking is hosting a Financial Fitness Challenge for its banks and credit unions, offering expanded financial health-focused tools and resources for clients. The goal is to drive digital banking awareness, adoption and engagement to ultimately help end customers and members improve their financial wellness. The challenge kicked off at the beginning of April in honor of National Financial Literacy Month. “More customers and members than ever need support with their financial health in light of current economic turbulence, and trusted community banks and credit unions are ideal partners to help them set and achieve relevant, achievable goals,” said Doug Brown, president of NCR Digital Banking. “In order to effectively do so, institutions must be able to analyze and leverage their data and offer personalized, contextual digital tools. We’re proud to have so many clients embrace this important challenge, showcasing dedication to their customers’ financial fitness.” The challenge will recognize winners in three categories: adoption, the highest percentage growth in offline to online digital banking users; active use, the highest percentage growth in inactive to active digital banking users; and awareness, most creative marketing campaign over the three-month period. Brown continued, “In addition to providing significant benefits to end customers and members, prioritizing financial fitness has also been proven to broaden wallet share for institutions and maximize profitability of household relationships.” Rock Valley Credit Union Partners with Mahalo Banking to Empower Member Self-Service Capabilities5/10/2023 Mahalo Banking, a CUSO that provides online and mobile banking solutions for credit unions, today announced a new partnership with Loves Park, Ill.-based Rock Valley Credit Union (‘Rock Valley’ – $150M in assets). The credit union is launching the Mahalo platform to offer a modernized digital banking system and strengthen its member experience. Rock Valley serves approximately 16,000 members in the Greater Rockford, Ill. area. The credit union intends to leverage Mahalo’s digital banking platform to offer financial education opportunities, more easily integrate with third-party solutions, strengthen member communications and launch several member-requested features such as card controls, alerts, seamless statement views, credit score access and more. In addition to the aforementioned tech features, the credit union is also implementing Mahalo’s multi-lingual functionality. This tool enables greater self-service capabilities for members whose first language is Spanish and can help the credit union attract new prospective members who also speak Spanish. “Understanding the need to upgrade our digital banking platform, we wanted to ensure any new investment in our digital capabilities would empower our members via increased service options, greater inclusivity and improved member experiences,” said Tanya Peterson, Executive Vice President of Rock Valley. “Mahalo has proven to be a partner whose product and collaborative working style best suit us in working toward achieving our digital goals. We appreciate the team’s flexibility and commitment to ensuring we are able to execute on agreed upon deliverables in a timely, streamlined and efficient manner.” Mahalo Banking offers a robust digital banking platform designed to meet the needs of credit unions and their members. The platform offers the industry’s first and only online banking solution to fully integrate comprehensive neurodiverse functionality, allowing credit unions to better support all members. Designed by credit union industry natives, the platform offers a modernized digital banking experience that enables credit unions to maintain a competitive edge with a unified omni-experience, deep integrations into credit union cores, streamlined third-party integrations and a highly secure architectural design. “Digital banking technology is advancing quickly, and credit unions must act strategically to continue serving members with progressive functionality that meets their needs,” said Denny Howell, co-founder and COO of Mahalo. “Improving platform offerings today requires credit unions to consider where there are opportunities to deliver more inclusive options to expand their reach and interact meaningfully with each member. Our team intuitively understands credit unions’ dedication to serving members well, and we are delighted to play a role in helping Rock Valley leverage a more accessible banking platform for their community.” Financial Plus Credit Union donated $2,000 to the Hurley Foundation in celebration of Children’s Hospitals Week, and this week Co-op’s Miracle Match program pledged to match that donation. Hurley Children’s Hospital will use the $4,000 donation to purchase bottle warmers for babies staying in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). “Children’s Hospitals Week is a wonderful way to honor the miracles at Hurley Medical Center that have touched our families, friends, and our community. We’re thankful that the Co-op Miracle Match will help our local Children’s Miracle Network hospital; Hurley Medical Center takes great care of the children in our community,” remarked Madeline Mason, Public Relations and Social Media Specialist at Financial Plus Credit Union. “Medela's Waterless Milk Warmer is designed to safely, conveniently, and effectively warm milk for the premature or critically ill infants that find themselves in the 44-bed NICU at Hurley Children's Hospital. This special bedside unit is convenient, easy to use and easy for the NICU staff to clean and maintain. We are grateful to Financial Plus Credit Union for this generous donation which will allow us to purchase two additional waterless milk warmers for the NICU at Hurley Children's Hospital,” said Brooklyn Kennings, Assistant Director for CMN Programs, at the Hurley Foundation. Financial Plus Credit Union is a member of Credit Union for Kids, a combined network of credit unions that support nonprofit children’s hospitals in the United States. The Co-op Miracle Match program is designed to encourage credit unions to raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and in turn, offer additional funds. |
Author: Mike LawsonMarried to a most gorgeous and wonderful wife, raising 5 kiddos (including twins!), enjoy helping others tell their stories, and love surfing SoCal waves. Keep it simple. Archives
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