LAS VEGAS–It’s time to be brave and “rethink everything” when it comes to what a credit union’s member commitment should look like, according to one person.
In remarks to the Underground Rock Festival: Xtreme Leadership event here hosted by Mitchell Stankovic Associates and broadcast live on YouTube, Sarah Szilagyi, SVP-experience operations with CO-OP Financial Services, said it makes sense that every credit union is taking a look at its technology and its financial wellness models for members. But there is an even bigger rethinking required, she said, and that involves positioning the credit union to meet members’ lifestyles, which is a step beyond the traditional focus on life stages.
“If you have been to any place where CO-OP has been talking in the last couple of years, you know we’ve been talking about this,” said Szilagyi. “We’ve done several years of research with partners like EY and Accenture, and without a doubt a commitment to lifestyle banking leads to growth for a financial institution” but also for the member.
“Member expectations have changed and continue to change dramatically,” Szilagyi added. “The table stakes are, ‘Please help me to access my money wherever and whenever I need it.’”
The Vehicle
CO-OP has also been emphasizing the payments are the keystone to everything from gathering data and analyzing it to truly understand members to being a touchpoint with the member on multiple occasions every day.
“Payments are the vehicle that facilitate these everyday transactions,” she said. “The pace of life is intensely faster and payments needs to catch up. It’s the digital channels that are enabling payments to catch up.”
What’s critical, according to Szilagyi, is becoming an ingrained piece of the member’s mindset.
“It’s that ability to transact quickly, to move money and to trust us to do it for them,” she explained. “Solutions like contactless and P2P are really important. But it gets more complex than that. This is where CO-OP comes in.”
Understanding Microsegments
A key aspect of that partnership, according to Szilagyi, is deeply understanding microsegments among the membership.
“CO-OP working on these digital microsegments and being there for people throughout their daily lives,” Szilagyi told the event. “But to be there requires one critical thing I need to be able to offer them, and that is trust. That enables me to build a preferred financial relationship with them. They trust I will protect their information and will make sure the information gets through. That is a cornerstone piece of the credit union movement and a real advantage we have. But, what about proactive financial wellness? If we are there for members throughout their days, shouldn’t our financial wellness capabilities be able to help them navigate all the choices that are there for them?”
Pairing financial wellness with trust and support creates a unique value proposition for consumers that few other providers can offer, Szilagyi said. “Then we have what I would call a true member-centric model for 2021 and beyond.”
Looking to the years ahead, Szilagyi urged CUSOs—of which CO-OP is one—to better partner with one another as part of a vision to deliver lifestyle banking.
“I know we can do it together,” Szilagyi said.