GREENVILLE, S.C. – Your Marketing Co. has launched a new program to improve credit union outreach to the Latino community
“Statistics show almost 30% of Latino households are underbanked, which leaves them vulnerable to predatory financial institutions like check cashers and payday lenders,” said CEO Bo McDonald. “This represents a clear and urgent need, one that we want to help our clients address in their communities.”
McDonald added that an increasing number of its credit union clients are identifying local Hispanic communities as new growth markets that have historically been underserved by traditional financial institutions.
To support its Hispanic marketing efforts, YMC said it has hired Christian Cuzme, who successfully drove the Hispanic marketing efforts at Lafayette FCU in Maryland. In addition to his credit union marketing experience, Cuzme brings a personal passion educating credit union on the value behind targeting the Hispanic market and a demonstrated ability to collaboratively develop effective plans to engage this community, according to the company.
YMC said its research into the Latino market demonstrated significant community benefits as individual families became more financially secure.
“For example, just one year after credit union focused on serving North Carolina’s growing Hispanic population opened, Charlotte police reported that armed robberies against Hispanics dropped 22.6% locally,” the company said. “Similarly, two years after the credit union opened a branch in Durham, 163 fewer total robberies per year were reported. Seeing that empowering underserved individuals can improve entire communities, the YMC team was motivated to take action.”
Your Marketing Co. said Serving the Hispanic population is far more than simply translating existing collateral into bilingual campaigns. “YMC’s Cuzme and team will help participating credit unions understand the nuances of Hispanic-American culture, learn authentic ways to build trust, and identify unique needs to determine the right combination of products and services to market,” the company said.
YMC said it is looking for three new clients to test our program in 2020. These clients will be staggered throughout the year to ensure sufficient planning and a thorough onboarding process.