WASHINGTON--Need a barometer to figure out which financial services trends are going to stick – and which will slide – by 2020?
“Watch how your family lives,” advises Gigi Hyland, executive director of the National Credit Union Foundation. “How do they currently do their finances? What would make it easier? Imagine a series of objectives that align with how consumer’s live their lives,” she suggests.
Gigi Hyland
Hyland, who serves as the chief staff officer of the CUNA-affiliated organization that is recognized as the national charitable arm of America's credit union movement, noted that where credit unions are in five years from now will depend largely on credit unions themselves – the choices they make, and the actions they take.
“What they do with the opportunities they have to leverage the cooperative finance charter to help members and communities” will be a key factor in their future, she indicated.
But she said it might be just as a simple as the action expressed in one word: Grow. A credit union should “look at everything you do from the consumer’s eyes,” she suggested. “Deliver products, information, resources and services to meet people where they are in life.”
And, she added one more critical component: Be an active participant in the community. “Connect your philanthropy with your mission, and tangibly show your members how you make a difference,” she said.
Preparation for competition in the future, Hyland said, is not for those who prefer to dawdle. “Compete now!” Hyland advised. “Bring in young professionals and younger members who need to be convinced that credit unions are worth keeping around as the best alternative for consumers.”
According to Hyland, The Foundation intends to serve as a catalyst to improve people’s financial lives through credit unions. “We provide programs, resources, training and policy direction to assist credit unions with their efforts to help improve people’s financial well-being,” she added.
--Pat Keefe