Wescom, a leading Southern California Credit Union, is helping area residents get Daylight Saving Time off to a great start on Sunday, March 12, 2023 by treating them to free coffee and tea. The 9th Annual #WescomKindness Daylight Saving Time event will take place across twenty-two select The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® locations in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties.

“For 89 years, Wescom has been dedicated to helping Southern Californians live better lives,” noted Tamar Atamian, Vice President of Marketing at Wescom Credit Union. “Giving people in the community a taste of #WescomKindness by picking up the tab for their coffee after they’ve lost an hour of sleep is a simple expression of how much we care.”

Wescom is also taking some of the pain out of losing an hour of sleep by offering recipients of #WescomKindness a chance to win $500 when they post a photo of themselves on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with the hashtag #WescomKindness. The winner will be chosen randomly from eligible participants.*

Wescom will be providing $44,000 worth of beverages for the day beginning when doors open the morning of March 12 at each of the 22 designated Southern California The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® cafés. The free beverages are available on a first-come, first-served basis until funds allocated to each café have been exhausted. A list of participating The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® locations, as well as details of the $500 giveaway, are available online at wescom.org/cbtl.

“Wescom’s tradition of picking up the tab for our guests on Daylight Saving Time always brings a smile to their faces,” said Daniella Voysey, Head of Marketing, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® brand. “Wescom and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® are both dedicated to creating a greater sense of community and we love partnering for this annual event.”

In addition to the many acts of #WescomKindness performed throughout each year, Wescom has a proud tradition of supporting community-based organizations through strategic grantmaking and community engagement via the Wescom Foundation.

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY to enter or win. Post a photo of yourself on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and tag it with the hashtag #WescomKindness between 03/12/2023-03/16/2023 and receive one (1) entry into the sweepstakes. Limit one entry per person. One (1) prize winner will be selected at random to receive one (1) $500 Visa gift card. Winner need not be present to win. Odds of winning depends on the number of eligible entries. Visit wescom.org/sweeps/cbtl for official sweepstakes rules. Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram.

​Plinqit, the first platform that brings together automated savings, data-driven financial wellness content and virtual account management, reveals that younger Americans are more likely than older Americans to say they are saving for something this year, according to the company’s State of Savings Report. The report uncovers new insights into the savings habits of consumers based on a Harris Poll survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults.
 
Plinqit’s State of Savings Report found that nearly 95 percent of adults ages 18 to 55 are saving for a purchase this year compared to 85 percent of those age 65 or older. Specifically, younger adults ages 18 to 44 are more likely to be saving for a vehicle or a home compared to adults who are 45 years or older. Of those between the ages of 18 and 44, 40 percent are saving to buy a vehicle and 30 percent are saving for a home, whereas only 23 percent of adults ages 45 and up are saving for a vehicle and only 10 percent are saving to buy a home. Younger adults are also four times more likely to be saving for a major life event compared to adults who are ages 45 and older. For adults ages 55 and up, travel and retirement are among the top savings priorities.
 
“Gen Z and millennial adults have navigated their share of economic challenges, from the Great Recession of 2008 to a global pandemic,” said Kathleen Craig, founder and CEO of Plinqit. “Unsurprisingly, each of these economic events has had a major impact on the spending and savings habits of every generation.”
 
Craig continued, “It’s inspiring to see that both generations understand the importance of saving money and are actively working toward their financial goals. Community financial institutions can help these adults, who may be just starting their journey toward financial wellness, and empower them to achieve their goals, no matter what they’re saving for.”
 
Plinqit’s mission is to help individuals of all ages live their best financial life while helping community banks and credit unions generate low-cost deposits, attract new customers and expand their retail footprint. The company’s platform is the first savings platform of its kind to bring together automated savings, data-driven financial wellness content, and virtual account management.
 
With Plinqit, customers can save for specific goals, such as purchasing a home or a vehicle, using an automated mobile experience that makes saving money fun, rewarding and social. For financial institutions, the platform makes it easy to provide relevant advice and cross-sell your products, including mortgage and auto loan offers, in a way that truly resonates with account holders.
 
To access the full State of Savings Report, click here. To view the State of Savings infographic, click here.

​Glia, the leading provider of Digital Customer Service (DCS), is hosting its third annual DCS Summit on April 24th-26th at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort and Spa. The event continues to grow and will be in-person this year, representing the world’s only conference focused on Digital Customer Service.
 
During the two-day summit, hundreds of financial institutions and industry experts will gather to experience the many facets of DCS firsthand and engage with peers to help shape the future of customer service. The event will feature distinguished entrepreneur, Olympic gold medalist and NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson as the keynote speaker, exploring why interactions are the key to fulfillment and success.
 
“Enhancing our Digital Customer Service with Glia is an important part of our strategy moving forward," said Grace Bruins, AVP of Marketing for Horicon Bank. "Glia’s DCS Summit gives us an opportunity to connect with other financial institutions, compare strategies and learn from their success."

"I'm excited to network with my peers, hear best practices and learn how to further optimize our member service. It's all about humanizing the digital experience," said Laura Lobetti, Digital Experience Manager for Community First Credit Union of Florida.
 
The 2023 DCS Summit marks the third event where DCS visionaries have gathered and shared inspiration about their digital transformation journeys. Attendees will hear advice, best practices and lessons learned from transitioning legacy, phone-based support to Digital Customer Service. Some of the additional 20+ speakers and sessions include Kerry Bodine, co-author of Outside In and a globally recognized customer experience expert, and Dan Michaeli, CEO and co-founder of Glia.
 
“We have created a unique community of financial services providers that are at the forefront of Digital Customer Service,” said Michaeli. “We are excited to come together, discuss important DCS trends and opportunities and collaborate on how to best leverage the power of DCS. Together, we are creating a vision for the future of the customer and member experience.”
 
For more information on Glia’s Digital Customer Service Summit, click here.

​Triangle Business Journal (TBJ) recently announced the winners of its 2023 Women in Business Awards, naming Jama Campbell, State Employees’ Credit Union’s (SECU’s) executive director of the SECU Foundation, as a recipient.
 
Nominations for the TBJ annual awards program sought women who have proven to be dynamic and outstanding leaders with established track records of significant business and/or community service accomplishments. Campbell earned the recognition for her 2022 contributions to SECU Foundation’s success, overall organizational growth, community involvement, and other awards and achievements.
 
Under her leadership, Campbell nearly tripled her staff to build the Foundation’s capacity as it increased funding coverage in all 100 North Carolina counties, grew its Mission Development Grant (MDG) program to assist non-profits with organizational capacity building, and created and hosted an inaugural MDG education and networking conference for program grantees. By year-end, 43 recommendations were approved by SECU Foundation’s Board of Directors, representing over $21 million in the funding of statewide initiatives to benefit the people and communities of North Carolina.
 
“Being recognized with this award by the Triangle Business Journal is an honor,” said Campbell. “Our work at the Foundation extends beyond the funding of initiatives – it’s about building relationships, bringing people together to uplift and support non-profit organizations that are providing life-changing programs and services to people and communities in need. I’m grateful for the inspiration and support from my colleagues at SECU and SECU Foundation and look forward to the incredible work we can accomplish in the year ahead.”
 
Campbell oversees SECU Foundation’s mission to promote local and community development through the funding of large-scale statewide initiatives in the core areas of education, housing, healthcare, and human services. She has also been influential in building alliances with like-minded philanthropic groups in associated industries and mentorships with other credit unions looking to establish foundations. The Foundation’s work embodies the credit union philosophy of “People Helping People®.”
 
“This year’s class of honorees represent the best in professional accomplishment, leadership, and community engagement,” said Jason Christie, TBJ market president and publisher. “We applaud their efforts for what they have done and continue to do in the Triangle and beyond.”
 
“Jama’s dedication, compassion, and commitment to helping others both professionally and personally are the foundations of her philanthropic work for SECU Foundation,” said Leigh Brady, SECU chief operating officer. “This is a well-deserved award, and I know everyone at the Credit Union and many grantee organizations helped by the Foundation share my sentiments and congratulatory wishes for her.”

Eltropy, the leading digital conversations platform for community financial institutions (CFIs), today announced the launch of “Video Verify.” The new Eltropy Video Verify solution allows credit unions and community banks to remotely verify the identity of their members before opening accounts, issuing credit cards, authorizing wire transfers, granting loans and other high value-high fraud risk activities.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 1.4 million cases of identity theft were reported in the United States in 2021, representing a 113% increase from the previous year. The most common age group for identity theft victims in 2021 was 30 to 39 years old, and consumers spent 16 hours on average to dispute charges on fake accounts, according to Javelin.

Fraudsters obtain personal information through various methods, including phishing scams, hacking, stealing mail or trash, or simply purchasing information from other criminals. One common use case is when a fraudster obtains a victim’s personal information and then applies for a loan in the victim’s name. They may use online applications, phone applications, or even visit banks or other lenders in person in an attempt to secure that loan.

With Video Verify, CFIs will have an easy-to-use, yet full-featured and robust solution for verifying identity, without having to ask members or customers to visit their branch in person. Video Verify combines remote video, real-time government ID verification, and knowledge-based authentication, ensuring members' identities are fully authenticated and secure.

"We’re extremely excited to launch Video Verify and help community financial institutions everywhere improve this increasingly vital need for modern, identity verification processes," said Jed Taylor, Chief Product Officer, Eltropy. "With the increasing incidence of identity theft and fraud, it's critical that credit unions large and small adopt secure and effective ID methods to protect their members' identities and their businesses."

Video Verify is a capability of Eltropy's Digital Conversations Platform, which also includes Texting, Chat, Video Banking and Appointment Management solutions, enabling credit unions and community banks to easily communicate and verify their members with Video Verify.

In addition, Eltropy also provides a one-time passcode (OTP) solution that allows CFIs to implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) to further secure their authentication processes without compromising their members' user experience.

With these strong MFA and identity theft prevention measures in place, credit unions and community banks can make sure that phishing scams don’t lead to major losses and inconvenience for their members and customers.  

“When we started getting callers trying to impersonate members, we realized the fraudsters were evolving their methods,” said Shelly Butler, Chief Operations Officer at Fibre Federal Credit Union, based in Longview, Wash. “What Eltropy has brought us is an automated, one-time passcode (OTP), real-time authentication and document exchanges with members as well as for collection notifications, that have helped us stop the fraudsters — as we now quickly know with confidence when our agents are actually speaking to a member.”

Credit unions and community banks can learn more about Video Verify by visiting Eltropy's website or contacting the sales team at team@eltropy.com. 

For those attending CUNA GAC this week in Washington, D.C., visitors can drop by the Eltropy booth (#1430) to discuss their unique challenges with the Eltropy team, or pre-schedule a meeting here. ​

​Bankjoy, a digital banking provider, today announced a funding round led by Curql Collective, a Credit Union Service Organization spurring fintech innovation for credit unions, with the potential to revolutionize how people engage with their money.
 
Curql’s limited partners of investing credit unions, CUSOs, and credit union leagues span 29 states and represent institutions of all sizes. These partners identify, assess, invest in, and often establish partnerships with Curql’s portfolio companies, demonstrating the strategic value of Bankjoy’s product offerings. In addition to the funding from Curql, several of Bankjoy’s current and prospective credit union clients, including AEA Credit Union, Community Wide Federal Credit Union and Statewide Federal Credit Union have invested in the company’s latest funding round, a testament to the value Bankjoy delivers for its client base.
 
As a Y Combinator-, Bessemer Venture Partners-backed company, Bankjoy has consistently experienced solid growth since being founded in 2015. Today, Bankjoy’s clients include more than 60 financial institutions nationwide and the company’s end-to-end digital banking platform is now accessible to more than one million credit union members and bank account holders. With this latest funding, Bankjoy will leverage the funds to support its continued growth and facilitate ongoing product innovation to provide a best-in-class digital banking experience.  
 
Engineered by credit union executives, Bankjoy delivers modern banking technology, including mobile and online banking, e-statements, online account opening, online loan origination, and conversational AI to financial institutions of all sizes. Bankjoy has continued to evolve its digital offerings, rolling out several new features and functionalities this year, such as its new, standalone online account opening solution and its new business banking platform, both of which have seen rapid adoption among Bankjoy’s clients and their members.
 
“As we see interest rates continue to rise, competition for deposits will likely intensify over the next 12 months among financial institutions and these trends will influence the digital transformation strategies for community banks and credit unions,” said Michael Duncan, CEO of Bankjoy. “Online and mobile banking apps have a serious impact on member and account holder satisfaction. Research from Deloitte reveals that frequent mobile banking users, defined as individuals who accessed mobile banking at least once in every two weeks in the last year, are more satisfied with their primary financial institution than non-users, demonstrating that the digital banking experience plays an important role in helping financial institutions retain and grow deposits.”
 
Duncan continued, “We are thrilled to bring Curql on as an investor as Bankjoy continues to grow, as this latest round of funding will allow us to pursue new opportunities to redefine the digital banking experience and help more community financial institutions thrive in an increasingly competitive environment.”
 
“We are proud to invest in Bankjoy, as we believe the right technology can positively impact how credit unions engage with their members and how members engage with their money,” said Nick Evens, President & CEO of Curql Collective. “We look forward to supporting Bankjoy’s next growth phase and helping more forward-thinking credit unions deliver digital banking experiences that exceed their members’ expectations.”

by Tim McAlpine at Currency

Choosing to remain ignorant about personal finance may seem harmless, but it can ultimately result in significant financial losses.
​
According to a recent survey conducted by the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC), a lack of financial literacy and knowledge on managing personal finances cost many people money in 2022. The survey revealed that 38% of respondents reported losing $500 or more due to their lack of financial literacy, while 23% suffered losses of over $10,000. This marks a significant increase from the 10.7% who reported losses of $10,000 or more in 2021.

As a result, the estimated average cost of financial illiteracy to individuals in 2022 was $1,819, the highest average since the first annual survey six years ago. This figure correlates with record-high inflation rates and other economic challenges, the NFEC noted.

​Among the common and costly mistakes made by respondents, overdraft fees stood out as a prominent issue. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reports that the median overdraft fee charged on a debit card is $34. 

The survey, citing data from the CFPB, revealed that most debit card overdraft fees are incurred on transactions of $24 or less. These fees, along with non-sufficient funds fees, add up to a staggering $17 billion annually.

In addition to overdraft fees, not paying attention to credit card interest rates can also be a costly mistake. As of the week ending February 24, the average credit card interest rate was at a record high of 21.88%, according to WalletHub. Paying only the minimum balance each month can quickly add up over time.

​Other common mistakes identified by the survey include unnecessary luxury spending, purchasing overpriced new vehicles and falling victim to identity theft, scams and frauds.

Five ways to help your members lower costs in 2023

1. Prioritize financial literacy: Offer financial education resources, classes and workshops.
2. Promote responsible spending habits: Encourage members to review their spending and provide tips for budgeting and saving.
3. Emphasize credit scores: Educate members on how credit scores affect financial products and provide resources for improving credit.
4. Help members avoid fees: Offer guidance on avoiding overdraft and high-interest fees and tools for monitoring accounts.
5. Offer competitive products: Provide members with competitive rates for savings, loans, and credit cards.

By implementing these steps, credit unions can help members improve their financial well-being and save thousands in 2023.

​Cornerstone Resources’ executive search and professional recruiting division is pleased to announce its latest expansion into new territory. Cornerstone Resources – a subsidiary of Cornerstone League – landed a contract to conduct an executive search for the chief financial officer position at Spirit of Alaska Federal Credit Union, a $206 million asset credit union in Fairbanks, Alaska.

This new contract marks an exciting milestone for Cornerstone Resources as it continues to expand its reach and reputation for excellence in the credit union industry. With this latest partnership, Cornerstone Resources will leverage its extensive knowledge to identify and recruit qualified candidates for the CFO role at Spirit of Alaska FCU.

“We are thrilled to work with Spirit of Alaska FCU on its search for a CFO,” said Marcus Cotton, vice president of executive search at Cornerstone Resources. “Our team has a deep understanding of the credit union industry and we are confident that our expertise and resources will help identify the best candidate for this vital position.”

Cotton added, “Cornerstone Resources is dedicated to providing exceptional service and results for our clients, and we are grateful for the trust that Spirit of Alaska FCU has placed in our organization. We look forward to building a strong and successful partnership with them. We hope that other credit unions will leverage this service when faced with a challenging executive search.”

Spirit of Alaska FCU President/CEO Anthony Rizk said his credit union prioritized recruiting a CFO who could be successful in this role and is confident Cornerstone Resources’ credit union expertise will help the credit union find the right candidate.

“I performed my own due diligence in locating a search firm that would partner with us and understood what we truly were looking for,” he said. “Cornerstone easily fit that requirement for us, over three other respectable vendors. Cornerstone Resources has a strong focus in the credit union space in general, and I felt very comfortable with the idea they truly knew the CFO role in credit unions, and could help us find exactly the right candidate we were looking for.”

I recently received the best return ever on an investment: $250 in value for each $1 sent.

Late last year I read about a 501 C3 nonprofit (RPI Medical) that bought delinquent medical debt using  donations and then retiring all the acquired debt for consumers.   Several news articles gave details about churches and local governments using this method to help members of their communities.

A December 20, 2022 New York Times’ article Erasing Medical Debt described how the program had extended to major cities such as Chicago and Pittsburg.   The story stated that 18% of Americans have medical debt turned over to a collection agency.

I decided to test the RPI Medical’s concept.   Was the payoff “leverage” as great as claimed? The 100 to 1 debt abolishment standard sounded too good to be true.

I also wanted to learn how targeted the program could be as a potential initiative for credit unions. Credit unions are significant originators of consumer debt.  They know how past due delinquencies on a credit report can undermine  anyone’s financial options.

Contacting RPI Medical, I asked to purchase and cancel all debt from Jasper County IN, whose county seat is Rensselaer.   Our family lived there for over five years while I was in high school.  The town is primarily a farming community, neither wealthy nor poor, but one where the population today is the same as when we were there 60 years earlier.

The Debt Fulfillment ReportBased on my pledge commitment, RPI retired all the available outstanding delinquent medical debt for 423 residents of Jasper Country totaling $264,878.  They said there was no more debt available in the country right now.

However, with the funds remaining RPI acquired debt from at least one resident in every Indiana county.   The total consumers helped were 2,291 with over $2.532 millions of their debt erased.

RPI had acquired the debt for less than a penny on the dollar.  The total accounts closed (not individuals served) was 4,396.  Of these 9.3% (409) were bought directly from hospitals.  The balance was from the secondary debt market.

Much of the debt (86%) was 5 to 10 years old– specifically 1,812 accounts with balances of $1.9 million.  Only 1.8% of the debt was less than five years;  1.2% of the debt had originated over 20 or more years earlier.

The average debt extinguished had a face value of $846. For me, an overwhelming proof of concept!  A financial “loaves and fishes” story.

The Consumer ‘s ExperienceConsumers cannot apply to RPI for relief.  Rather the non-profit seeks to buy debt in the open market on behalf of funders who donate or make pledges to support their goal of abolishing medical debt for individuals and families burdened by the payments.

To qualify a “soft credit report” is run to determine each individual’s eligibility for relief.  Potential  portfolio’s are  prescreened by holders to identify those  who qualify for  abolishment of debt.    A person must earn less than four times the local poverty level  (nationally an amount of  $111,000 for a family of four) or have debt that exceeds 5% of annual income determined by pulling a soft credit report.

With these qualifications the debt is excluded from IRS taxing the abolished debt as income.  The transaction is considered an act of charity by donors who support RIP’s mission.

Each consumer is sent a letter announcing the relief.  The total debt abolished, number of accounts and  creditor are identified.

The “good news” letter says there are no strings attached and  encloses a  page of FAQ’s  to answer  questions.   Recipients may, but are not required, to share their story about what this relief means to their circumstances.

The RIP Organization: People helping PeopleThis nonprofit was founded in 2014 with a threefold mission:

• Initiate a high volume of debt relief to reduce financial and mental stress for individuals;
• Offer health care providers a way to strengthen their communities;
• Highlight the problems of medical debt to seek a more affordable and transparent health care system.

Since inception the firm has provided $8.5 billion of debt relief helping 5,493,000 individuals and families.

The Credit Union Opportunity
The immediate possibility is straight forward: strengthen members of their primary communities by offering to retire consumers medical debt. When fulfillment data are known, celebrate the relief impact.  Invite  consumers to learn more about another people-helping-people organization, the credit union.

Such an effort is a “win” on many levels:  for the consumer, the credit union, the community and even medical providers with outstanding debt.

If interested  contact RIP Medical and make a pledge for a test project.    I would be glad to share my contact and the reports and information I received.  My project was completed in under 45 days from initial contact  to finish.