CHICAGO–As Earth Day 2019 approaches, credit unions continue to invest in more environmentally friendly approaches, from LEED-certified branches to recycling efforts to work-from-home opportunities—yet one environmentally unfriendly practice persists—the mailing of paper statements—a practice driven in large part by a surprising group of members.
As CUToday.info has extensively reported, credit unions and their vendors have steadily invested in the so-called “digital disruption,” increasingly moving product and service delivery to electronic channels, from apps to video tellers.
But despite marketing campaigns, incentives and even contests, many members have remained stubborn when it comes to receiving a paper statement from their credit union via the United States Postal Service. It’s not a preference limited to the users of America’s financial co-ops. As CUToday.info recently reported, a new survey from Consumer Action, Americans prefer to receive bills and invoices by mail, rather than electronically.
When asked how they would like to receive important communications from their service providers, 38% of consumers said by mail, the Consumer Action survey found.
“Just 26% preferred digital communication—mostly email—while 36% said it would depend on the situation. The survey went on to address specific types of bills consumers might receive, and mailed communication won for every category,” the survey found.
The Big Surprise
The biggest surprise? It’s not Baby Boomer consumers and the elderly who still like to hold a physical statement in their hands—it’s the so-called digital generation, Millennials. A 2017 analysis by Fiserv found migration to e-statements from paper has slowed, dipping to 1%-2% annual growth.
“Thirty-two percent of credit union members are getting e-only statements, so 68% are still getting paper,” said Chris Chronis, director of product marketing and research at Fiserv at the time the findings were released. “What is interesting is that those who are turning off paper are not Millennials, they’re Boomers. That is a big change that has happened over the last few years. Boomers are more likely to be either digital or paper, Millennials want both.”
The Fiserv data found 55% of Millennial members were taking both paper and e-statements, while Boomer members came in at 30%. (Separate research has also found Millennials are also the primary group that likes physical branches, which involves driving to them).
“Credit unions should not overlook the paper statement, because members still want it and they spend time reading it,” added Chronis. “Credit unions should carefully consider how they use their paper statement to reinforce their brand and cross sell.”
Fiserv data revealed consumers each month spend five to six minutes reviewing their monthly statements, whether they are electronic or paper.
Kids at Home?
Another finding: Fiserv posited that when credit unions are asking members how they prefer monthly communications, they should find out if account-holders have kids at home, as it increases the need for paper statements.
“We are testing our hypothesis that having children at home can influence account holder behavior,” said Chronis. “We think having kids at home makes for a more complicated lifestyle, so people want physical records at hand. The data so far is fascinating—if a consumer has children living at home 73% will take paper, and many are getting digital as well. Compare that to empty nesters, or those without kids, who 53% of the time ask for paper.”
A separate study conducted in 2016 by CreditCards.com found 93 million credit card holders are still receiving their statements on paper instead of online, and 43 million of them actually prefer it that way.
Nearly 50% of those who are receiving paper financial statements said they would be willing to pay to get those mailings if they had to, the survey found.
Creditcards.com reported that for those who are still receiving paper financial statements, 80% said they like having those pieces of paper for their records, while 74% like the tangible reminder that it’s time to make a payment.
Other Digital Disconnections
While 67% of those getting mailed statements are just used to finding out what they owe the old-fashioned way, 50% said they pay their bills by checks and the mailed statements and their payment envelopes, Creditcards.com found. More than a quarter of those getting paper statements say that they didn’t have consistent access to the Internet.
Other findings support the existence of a disconnect between the way digital services are being used. A 2015 study by Javelin Strategy and research found that while 72% of bills are now being paid through online or mobile channels, just 39% of statements are being delivered digitally.
The advantages in getting members/consumers to move to e-statements go beyond just the environmental benefits of using much less paper and burning fossil fuels to deliver it. Javelin further said the advantage to institutions and billers in closing this “digital commitment gap” had the potential for $2.2 billion in savings between 2015-2020.
Credit Unions Not Giving Up
Despite consumer stubbornness, credit unions have not given up their efforts to make every day Earth Day meaningful by getting members to switch to e-statements.
In 2014, Educational Community Credit Union in Michigan staged a #makeastatement campaign in conjunction with three green-inspired organizations, including the Fresh Food Fairy, Kalamazoo Nature Center, and Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy. Members who enrolled in eStatements could vote for their favorite of the three, with a $3,000 donation up for grabs. ECCU will then allocate funds accordingly to each organization based on votes received.
In 2017, Utah-based America First Credit Union asked members to take advantage of electronic statements instead of paper statements, and pledged to donate $1 for every paper statement canceled during a one-month period to TreeUtah, a statewide non-profit organization devoted to ensuring the health of the ecosystems along Utah.
As a result, America First said it raised $9,767.00 throughout the campaign.
A Capitol (Building) Idea
Most recently, as CUToday.info reported, for Earth Day 2019 Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union is encouraging its more than 250,000 members who still receive paper statements to opt into e-statements—and save more than 12 million sheets of paper per year in the process.
“By making small changes to our lifestyle, we can all contribute to protecting the environmental health and vitality of the communities we share. Selecting to receive electronic communications rather than print alternatives, whenever possible, is a perfect example of how that can be done,” said PSECU Board Chair Jodi Lynne Blanch in a statement. “Here at PSECU, our more than 450,000 members have the opportunity to enroll in e-Statements.”
PSECU noted its paper statements average four pages, and that by opting for e-Statements, members can each save approximately 48 sheets of paper a year.
“Currently, around 195,000 of our members are receiving e-Statements from us, but we’re still mailing out nearly 255,000 each month, and that’s something we hope to see change,” said Blanch. “Consider the impact we’d have if all our members would opt into electronic statements. Together, we’d save more than 12.2 million sheets of paper each year,” Blanch explained. “Stacked up, at an average thickness of 4/1,000 of an inch per sheet, the paper we could save would soar to 4,080 feet. To put that into perspective, it’s the height of 15 Pennsylvania State Capitol buildings, one on top of the other.”