Nook (www.nook-inc.com), a pioneer of niche experiences, is excited to announce OceanAir Federal Credit Union (Oxnard, CA) has signed an agreement to implement Nook’s ​​Niche Experience Platform to enhance the member experience. 

"At OceanAir, we are committed to continuously enhancing our member experience," said Daniel Bednar, Chief Strategy Officer at OceanAir Federal Credit Union. This collaboration with Nook marks a new era of digital engagement, allowing us to deliver customized content and services that support our members' interests. Implementing Nook’s Niche Experience Platform positions us at the forefront of innovation within the credit union space and reflects our ongoing mission to be a trusted financial partner.”

In rebranding from CBC Federal Credit Union in August 2024, OceanAir was motivated to remain relevant in an ever-changing financial landscape, ensuring a welcoming atmosphere for its diverse membership. With Nook, OceanAir now offers members in the 50-plus age demographic access to the OceanAir | Living50+ Niche Experience, providing frequent lifestyle content relevant to their daily lives. Nook’s relationship banking model takes a member-first approach, designed to deliver valuable guidance, intuitive digital tools, and educational resources through digital channels and personalized interactions.

“OceanAir’s reputation for being innovative and forward-thinking make them an ideal partner for us,” said Austin Wentzlaff, Co-Founder & CEO of Nook. Together, we’re setting a new standard for how credit unions can engage with members, offering tailored tools and resources that support their daily lives while elevating OceanAir’s forward-thinking brand.”

​Corelation, Inc. proudly hosted its 2024 CEO & CTO Forum, gathering top leaders from the credit union industry on October 15-16 in San Diego, CA. The event gathered 166 attendees, including credit union executives and technology leaders from across the country, to explore innovations, share best practices, and discuss the future of financial technology. The forum fortified Corelation’s commitment to empowering credit unions through innovation and partnership with insightful presentations and collaborative sessions. It provided engaging discussions and networking opportunities, all centered on industry leadership.
 
Throughout the two-day forum, industry leaders led a series of engaging sessions covering a wide array of topics that sparked many informal conversations during the open discussion time. These topics explored leadership dynamics and the impact of community-focused business models. They also addressed the alignment of people, processes, and technology, along with the use of real-time data and analytics to enhance decision-making and reveal hidden opportunities within banking systems.
 
“The forum was fantastic, filled with engaging presentations and a strong sense of open collaboration,” said Michael Hirt, Chief Technology Officer of Credit Union 1. “I truly appreciated the opportunity to connect and share insights with our peers and Corelation leadership.”
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The first day of the forum featured a full agenda, starting with a keynote presentation by Gary Perez, President and CEO of USC Credit Union, discussing how the path to the CEO’s office now often goes through the CTO’s office. The general sessions were rounded out with discussions led by Jules Epstein-Hebert, Director of Membership Growth and Partnership at Inclusiv; Jeremy Neuharth, Co-Founder of Sycorr; and Paul Scheibal, Director, Data Architecture at Together Credit Union. Attendees also participated in open discussions and enjoyed lively vendor speed rounds, where modern solutions and services were showcased.

The second day participants were split into specialized tracks tailored specifically for CEOs and CTOs. The CEO track included insights from Wayne Oleksak, SwitchThink’s SVP of Experience & Innovation, who led guests through the process of developing a customized digital strategy for their credit union, highlighting the essential role of a marketing team. Key takeaways focused on creating a digital credo, assessing the member journey, and designing a seamless, member-first experience.

The CTO track contained a variety of technical presentations, including one from Dan Gonzalez, VP of Customer Relations at Federal Reserve Financial Services, who outlined how credit unions can leverage FedNow for instant payment solutions. An interactive panel also covered key aspects of Commercial Lending and Treasury Services, focusing on strategies to grow business deposits and manage loan portfolios. Panelists included Daryl Brubaker of Park View Federal Credit Union, Monte Drake of HAPO Community Credit Union, and Rachel Snyder from CU Business Group, who offered industry landscape and trends.

“At Corelation, we're proud to foster a community of like-minded credit unions, and this forum is focused on providing our clients valuable takeaways to bring back and better serve their members,” shared Corelation President Rob Landis. “These direct interactions are vital—we’re committed to listening and ensuring a consistent experience for credit unions as trusted business partners. We sincerely appreciate our credit union partners investing their time, coming with open minds, and embracing the opportunity to collaborate and network."

​Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) is proud to announce its Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak has been named as a National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics (NILE) 2024 Top Lobbyist. Jason is recognized for his exceptional contributions and commitment to ethical standards in the field of lobbying and advocacy.

Stverak shared “Advocacy allows me to ensure the priorities of millions of credit union members are heard in Washington, D.C., and across the country. The opportunity I have as the Chief Advocacy Officer at DCUC is an amazing opportunity to advocate for policies that allow credit unions to help their members achieve their dreams.” Stverak continued, stating, “It is humbling to do so on behalf of millions of veterans and members of the military and their families.”

The NILE Team stated “Congratulations on this well-earned honor. NILE is steadfast in our mission to celebrate the unsung heroes within our profession, and we are delighted to spotlight your extraordinary impact amongst the nation’s top 100.”

NILE will host the 2024 Top Lobbyist Reception on November 7th from 6 pm-8 pm EST at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

“We are incredibly proud of Jason’s well-deserved recognition as a 2024 NILE Top Lobbyist,” said Anthony Hernandez, DCUC President/CEO. “His unwavering dedication to advocacy on behalf of defense credit unions and the military and veteran communities sets a high standard in our industry. This honor reflects his commitment to the greater credit union movement and his impactful work on behalf of DCUC’s members. We congratulate Jason on this outstanding achievement and look forward to his continued success.”

A $1 million challenge grant from SECU Foundation to SPCA of Wake County (SPCA Wake) will help the largest animal welfare organization in North Carolina establish a Regional Campus for Pets & People. The site will serve as a community hub to expand affordable pet care services and will include a new Learning Center that will provide more space to grow SPCA’s training capacity for new or potential pet owners and develop partnerships and programming for animal shelter professionals across the state. 

SPCA Wake supports 59 counties, including many rural and under-resourced communities, to help match homeless pets with families, prevent animals from entering area shelters, and address animal suffering, neglect, and overpopulation. In 2022, SPCA placed over 4,250 pets in new homes, provided over 7,300 spay or neuter surgeries, managed 6,700 pet helpline requests, and supplied over 159,000 pet meals to owners in need.

“Pets bring people together and can provide a great source of comfort. It is our hope that the Foundation’s grant will shed light on the phenomenal work of SPCA Wake and the significant need for the new campus facility,” said SECU Foundation Board Chair Chris Ayers. “Our support along with that of many others will undoubtedly help SPCA Wake make a transformative impact in our communities.”
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“We are honored to be a part of SECU Foundation’s legacy of positive impact across North Carolina, and we are humbled to be the first animal welfare organization to receive funding for a capital project,” said SPCA of Wake County President and CEO Kim Janzen. “Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community and the members of State Employees’ Credit Union, we have raised $20.3 million toward the total project goal of $27.5 million.”

Plinqit, an award-winning provider of high-yield and automated savings software solutions that enable financial institutions to grow deposits, attract new customers and expand their retail footprint, reveals that 1 in 4 Americans who are enrolled in a high-yield savings account earn 5% or higher APY, according to the company’s 2024 State of Savings Report. Plinqit’s 2024 State of Savings Report offers exclusive insights into the savings habits of today’s consumers and is based on a recent Plinqit survey conducted online by The Harris Poll of more than 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older.

The survey report reveals that 20% of Americans save with a high-yield savings account and 25% of those who are enrolled in a high-yield savings account earn 5% APY or higher. A majority of Americans who use high-yield savings accounts, 41%, said they earn between 4% and 4.99% APY while 30% of those enrolled in a high-yield savings account earn less than 4% APY. Meanwhile, 5% are not sure what their APY is.

“Most traditional checking accounts earn less than 0.01% APY,” said Kathleen Craig, founder and CEO of Plinqit. “The top high-yield savings accounts offer an APY of 5% or greater, which according to FDIC data, is more than 10X higher than the average rate of a traditional saving or checking account. From our own data, we find that the average deposit in a high-yield savings account is more than $40,000, so the upside is significant.”

Craig continued, “This is where financial institutions can help educate customers on ways to save smarter, not harder, because the savers that have pursued higher rates have yielded the returns. By introducing consumers and educating them about a compelling product offering like high-yield savings accounts, financial institutions can empower account holders to grow their savings and gain control of their personal finances, no matter their age or income level.”
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To access the full State of Savings Report, click here.

Glia, the leader in customer interaction technology, kicked off its annual industry event, Interact 2024, in San Antonio, Texas at La Cantera Resort & Spa. The conference brings together nearly 500 industry leaders and experts to shape the future of customer experience with Unified Interaction Management (UIM).

Today at Interact, Glia launched additional AI tools to help customers, agents and managers, including a new suite of capabilities called AI Analysts. Built natively for the generative AI age, AI Analysts offer a new way for institutions to view contact center performance management; they make insights accessible, powerful and intuitive for everyone. Today’s announcements included:

• Quality AnalystGPT enables the ability to ask any question across all interactions to identify quality issues, trends and areas of improvement
• Insights AnalystGPT empowers better decision-making with the ability to generate insights and visualizations using natural language queries
• Cortex Intercept predicts customer needs based on prior interactions to personalize the AI Assistant’s greeting and reduce immediate requests for human agents
• Cortex Heads-up for Agents automatically analyzes a customer's previous interactions and provides agents with context for faster problem-solving
• Glia Virtual Agent Content Assist automatically drafts suggested GVA responses for banks and credit unions, cutting the time needed to personalize a GVA by up to 50%

“As the industry continues to be inundated with AI hype that is little more than vaporware, Glia has created turnkey AI solutions purpose-built for financial institutions that are responsible, compliant, secure and provide real business value. The exciting innovations announced today are taking this momentum another step forward, providing banks, credit unions and insurance companies with transformative tools that offer limitless possibilities,” said Dan Michaeli, CEO and Co-Founder of Glia. “It was exciting to announce our new features onsite at Interact because this is an event unlike any other, providing a one-of-a-kind venue for industry leaders and innovators to come together and chart a path forward for the industry and contact center technology.”

Interact 2024 features a lineup of customer speakers, including Quontic Bank, Robins FCU, Experian Insurance Services, Heritage Federal Credit Union, Wellby Financial and Umpqua Bank. Leading discussions around innovation and creativity in the AI age are industry luminaries Adam Savage, editor-in-chief of Tested.com, author of Every Tool’s a Hammer and former co-host of MythBusters, Mary Wisniewski, editor-at-large for Cornerstone Advisors; Jason Henrichs, CEO of Alloy Labs; James Robert Lay, CEO of Digital Growth Institute; and Samantha Paxson, founder of Power & Light Collaborative.

Event sponsors include Alkami, Candescent, Coconut Software, Creovai, Illuma, Q2 and Solutions by Text. Recently announced, Coconut Software and Solutions by Text will demonstrate new UIM integrations at Interact 2024, offering SMS and advanced scheduling capabilities to Glia customers.

Nickels, a CUSO that leverages behavioral insights to help people save money on credit card debt, is proud to announce a new partnership with WSECU. Through this partnership, WSECU’s credit cards will now be featured on CardFit, an intuitive credit card comparison site designed to simplify rewards, annual fees, and interest costs into an easy-to-understand dollars-based comparison for users. As a leading Washington-based credit union with an innovative spirit, WSECU is dedicated to bringing new solutions to help its members’ financial well-being. This partnership will now make it easier for people in Washington to find lower-rate, local credit union cards that better align with their spending habits.
 
With this partnership, those living, working, and studying in Washington State will now have access to CardFit. CardFit goes beyond typical card comparison sites, which often focus solely on rewards. Recognizing that over half of cardholders carry a balance, CardFit is designed to help consumers make smarter financial decisions by highlighting when a local credit union card - like those offered by WSECU - provides better value compared to the big banks.
 
For WSECU, this partnership represents an opportunity to further demonstrate the benefits of its card offerings, ultimately helping to acquire new members and promoting financial health in the communities they serve.
 
In addition to providing another financial health resource to the state of Washington, WSECU will use CardFit to acquire new members by showing how their credit cards compare to the most popular cards in the country.  This aligns with WSECU’s ongoing commitment to empowering its community members with the knowledge and resources needed for long-term financial success.
 
Joseph Gracia, Founder and CEO of Nickels stated, "We’re excited to partner with WSECU to bring CardFit to the state of Washington. Nickels is committed to partnering with credit unions to help them achieve their mission of helping members improve their financial health.”
 
"Staying a part of the consideration mix is at the heart of marketing,” said Emily Friesen, Chief Marketing & Analytics Officer, at WSECU. “We have really great products that some consumers never hear about because we are outspent by large national competitors. By partnering with Nickels, consumers can see how our cards stack up and help them make a better-informed choice. We believe empowerment is at the heart of financial wellness, and CardFit is helping us achieve that for our members."

Summit Credit Union is proud to announce its continued dedication to supporting small credit unions and fostering leadership in the industry by committing another $100,000 to the Hamilton Fund for underwriting its Professional
Development Grant Program. This program is designed to support credit unions with $100 million or less in assets by providing opportunities for staff and volunteers to enhance their skills and grow their organizations. Additionally, Summit Credit Union is contributing $30,000 ($10,000 bi-annually) to support the INSPIRE Conference, empowering female leaders in the credit union space in the southeast.

Support for this grant comes from Summit Credit Union and the Hamilton Fund, a legacy of Sis and Jim Hamilton. Sis Hamilton, former CEO of Summit Credit Union for over 60 years and a board member for 70, was a trailblazer in the credit union movement, leaving a lasting impact on the industry and the small credit unions she worked to support throughout her career.

Sam Whitehurst, President & CEO of Summit Credit Union, expressed his enthusiasm for the ongoing support of these programs: “The legacy of Sis and Jim Hamilton continues to inspire us at Summit. Their commitment to the growth and sustainability of small credit unions remains at the heart of our mission. We are proud to once again support the Hamilton Fund and the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation to help equip other credit unions with the resources needed to thrive.”

The Carolinas Credit Union Foundation, which administers the Hamilton Fund, is equally committed to the success of these initiatives. Lauren Whaley, President & CEO of the Foundation, emphasized the value these programs bring: “Through Summit Credit Union’s generous contributions, we can continue to offer meaningful professional development grants and support women in leadership. These opportunities strengthen not only individual credit unions, but the entire credit union community.”

Since its inception, the Hamilton Fund has played a pivotal role in supporting the educational and professional development needs of small credit unions. This new commitment ensures that credit unions across the Carolinas will continue to have access to crucial resources for years to come.

For more information on applying for the Professional Development Grant Program, please contact the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation at CarolinasFoundation.org. The INSPIRE Conference is slated for September 18-19, 2025 in Charlotte, NC with additional details to be announced soon at CarolinasLeague.org.

​Teachers Federal Credit Union, one of the largest credit unions in the United States with more than $9.8 billion in assets and over 460,000 members nationwide, is proud to announce its new partnership with Filene Research Institute. Leveraging the expertise of senior leaders at Teachers, this collaboration aims to advance two of Filene’s Centers of Excellence (CoE) – “The Next Generation of Member Growth” and “Design for Digital” – with the shared goal of driving digital innovation and enhancing member engagement.
 
“Through our partnership with Filene, Teachers Federal Credit Union aims to influence credit unions across the United States to evolve and position themselves as the financial institution of choice for existing and future members,” said Brad Calhoun, President and CEO of Teachers Federal Credit Union. “This collaboration aligns with our digital-first vision and supports our commitment to staying agile and responsive to the evolving needs of our members as we continue our journey of transformation and expansion.”
 
The “Next Generation of Member Growth” CoE focuses on strategies to attract, engage, and retain younger credit union members, particularly Millennials and Gen Z. Meanwhile, the “Design for Digital” CoE, launching in January, 2025, will address the challenges of today’s dynamic digital landscape by equipping credit unions with tools and insights to improve operational efficiencies and elevate member experiences.
 
"Teachers Federal Credit Union’s support of Filene’s Centers of Excellence for Next Generation Member Growth and Design for Digital highlights their commitment to shaping the future of credit unions,” said Mark Meyer, CEO of Filene Research Institute. “Their forward-thinking vision will pave the way for credit unions to remain relevant in serving the evolving needs of their members. We are excited to go on this journey together, ensuring that credit unions continue to deliver meaningful value for generations to come."
 
Through this partnership, Teachers will continue its focus on elevating the member experience and reinforce its position as a leader in digital transformation within the financial services sector.
 
Teachers Federal Credit Union’s sponsorship of the Centers of Excellence reflects its strong commitment to driving growth and innovation within the credit union sector. By collaborating with thought leaders, academic experts, and industry peers, Teachers is proactively positioning itself at the forefront of digital transformation and membership engagement. This initiative demonstrates the credit union’s dedication to staying ahead of industry trends and continuously evolving to better serve its members.
 
For more information about Teachers Federal Credit Union and its services, please visit www.teachersfcu.org.

​SRM (Strategic Resource Management), a trusted advisory firm serving financial institutions globally, announced that former Navy Federal Credit Union President and CEO Mary McDuffie is the newest member of its diverse and growing International Advisory Board. With a distinguished career spanning over two decades at Navy Federal Credit Union, McDuffie fostered a member-centric, highly-digital culture at the top U.S. credit union (by asset size). 
 
During her time at Navy Federal, McDuffie served as President and CEO after previously holding the role of Chief Operating Officer. She also held various senior leadership roles within the organization, including senior leadership roles in marketing, lending, and digital and voice channels.  
 
“Mary McDuffie is a superstar in her industry, excelling across operations, member experience, and communications,” noted Brad Downs, SRM’s Chief Executive Officer. “Mary’s perspective on the continuing transformation of the financial services industry is exactly what our advisory board needs right now. We’re so excited for her to join us and be a catalyst for SRM’s growth and expansion.” 
 
McDuffie was pivotal in shaping innovative programs at Navy Federal, including establishing a world-class cloud data infrastructure and launching the credit union’s first mobile banking app. As CEO, she shaped a new strategic approach for the credit union. 
 
“It’s an honor to be part of SRM’s International Advisory Board and to have the opportunity to work with an organization committed to guiding clients into the future,” said McDuffie. “I look forward to sharing my expertise in ways that help SRM reach its long-term vision and objectives.”  
 
SRM’s International Advisory Board comprises industry leaders from around the globe. The thirteen board members provide strategic guidance and perspective across SRM’s operating model and services. Members also help SRM foster strategic global partnerships and alliances.