SAN DIEGO–An Underground Collision meeting was held here that for the first time focused on CU business partners and, specifically, CUSOs. According to Mitchell Stankovic, which organizes and hosts the Underground Collision discussions, the meeting walked the fine line between challenges and opportunities for CUSOs and credit unions.
The Underground Collision was held in conjunction with NACUSO’s annual meeting.
“Underground Colliders challenged credit unions’ and CUSO’s preconceived notions of what they are and what they’re intended to do,” said Mitchell Stankovic.
Among the debates during the meeting were “CUSOs: For Profit or For Credit Unions,” “FinTech: Hype or Game-Changing Partners,” and “Sustainable Cannabis Banking or Taxi Medallion-like Bubble.”
The meeting concluded with a “Thinking Big” discussion led by CU*Answers CEO Randy Karnes.
‘Wowed & Inspired’
“This was a first for us, hosting a Collision focused on credit union’s business partners – specifically CUSOs – and frankly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. They wowed and inspired me, from our debaters to our attendees,” said Susan Mitchell, CEO of Mitchell Stankovic & Associates and founder of the Underground. “CUSOs are bastions of the cooperative credit union movement, and we must find a way for them to work together with credit unions to break through perceived limitations and push the boundaries of what’s possible in serving credit unions and, ultimately, their members.”
Consultant Sarah Canepa Bang facilitated and kicked the event off with remarks that ranged from challenging CUSOs to walk a mile in credit unions’ shoes to the way credit unions measure success. She noted Americans on average spend $1.22 for every dollar earned, and anywhere from 40 to 70% of Americans are living pay check to pay check.
‘What Are We Doing About That?’
“What are we doing about that?” she asked, observing credit unions often speak of ROI and asset growth. “Why aren't CUs reporting more on how they're serving members struggling to get ahead, especially those who don’t have great credit scores? And, how can we all work together to find credit union solutions in a variety of areas, like national partnerships and payments. And why, why, why, didn’t credit unions come up with PayPal first?”
The half-hour debates that followed Canepa Bang’s remarks went quickly, with 10 minutes allotted to each side, Q&A with the attendees, and finally the attendees debating the issues at their tables.
Issues Debated
Among the issues debated:
Startup Credit Unions
CU*Answers’ Vic Pantea said his company, which provides core processing and other services to de novo credit unions for the first two years, is receiving more startup chatter than it has heard in a long time.
Service Levels
Jack Antonini, CEO of NACUSO and formerly CEO of USAA Bank, said USAA was successful because it was concerned about member service, infrastructure and other areas before they concerned themselves with growth. “We achieved growth because all the other things were in the right order,” he said.
Fintechs & Disruption
CO-OP Financial Services’ Chief Experience Officer Samantha Paxson and Mike Joplin, CEO of CU Lending Cooperative, discussed fintech and whether the companies are disruptors or business partners. Both said CUSOs and credit unions need to think bigger.
Joplin said CU Lending Cooperative collaborated with LendingTree, one of the more mature fintechs, to get access to their loan pipeline and help credit unions grow loans. Additionally, CU Revest, which he’s also founded, handles charge-offs for credit unions in a way that provides dignity to the borrowers and earns them back to membership and monetizes charged off debt for credit unions.
Paxson added that while credit unions need to be as open as possible and focus on what members need during this time of abundance by using data, it will also help them to be better prepared and “relentlessly, stubbornly optimistic” in more challenging times.
Cannabis Banking
Attorney Katrina A Skinner, president/general counsel of Safe Harbor Services, a cannabis banking CUSO, stressed the business is here to stay and personal opinion on the matter of marijuana itself isn’t as relevant as the need for a safe place for these legitimate, cash-laden businesses and their employees to service their banking needs. “The genie is out of the bottle; now how do we make it safe? It takes courage,” Skinner said.
Thinking Big
CU*Answers’ Randy Karnes emphasized the need to open minds to truly “think big. Our day jobs are pretty tactical, and we must think bigger to better cooperate. Once we step back and take the time to think huge, we can cooperate on a larger scale. I can’t think of the last three things CUSOs pulled together and did,” Karnes stated.
He challenged the entire credit union community to come together and collaborate to create the next big thing for credit union relevancy.
Authentic Dialogue
At the conclusion of the Underground Collision, Susan Mitchell observed, “What we want is to have authentic dialogue about purpose. Focusing on CUSOs gave us the opportunity to see who our partners truly are, and how much more we must stand up.”
The Next Meetings
Mitchell Sankovic will host two more Underground Collisions this year, one in conjunction with the World Credit Union Conference in the Bahamas in July, and the other in conjunction with Money 20/20 in October in Las Vegas.
For info: www.mitchellstankovic.com