By Gerry Singleton
As we gather at the nation’s capital for the CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference, we come together with a common purpose: to serve our credit union members and help secure their financial futures.
We know members’ lives are changing, their needs are changing, and their financial and insurance requirements are changing. Broad shifts in lifestyle, financial and social priorities, along with increasing digital engagement are affecting members’ financial and investment decisions. We must keep these changes in mind as we look to the future of our movement.
The Changing Face of Work
How people work today and in the future is changing. The “gig economy” continues to grow. We see new models and disruptors emerging with companies such as Lyft, Uber, AirBnB and Snapgoods. Traditional financial products and services may not fit these new models for work. According to recent research from Intuit Inc. and Emergent Research, approximately 3.2 million American workers actively pursue “gig” or freelance work, and the on-demand labor market is expected to grow by 18.5% per year over the next five years. As a movement, we have an opportunity to support this changing face of work by helping members look for new ways to approach financial services beyond traditional products.
The Changing Face of Family
Protecting one’s family, including their financial security, is paramount to members. According to CUNA Mutual Group’s 2015 What Matters Now study, family and one’s children are most important with 62% worrying about their family’s financial stability on a daily basis.
Today, the changing face of family continues to move into new definitions and financial services may not have caught up to the evolving family structure. For credit unions, this is an opportunity to deepen one’s member relationship by focusing on how best to serve the member and their family, regardless of definition.
Meet Gen Z
It is predicted by 2025, three out of every four workers globally will be Millennials, according to the Filene Research Institute. They’re forming households, looking for financial answers, and seeking new ways to solve their financial needs. More than 40% of Millennials are now parents, with 9,000 becoming parents every day.
Their children, Gen Z, are diverse, tech-savvy independent, mature, and ready to figure things out. They already influence more than $44 billion in purchasing power.5 They are the first generation to be raised in the era of smartphones and many don’t remember a time before social media.
Seventy-three percent of Millennials are already more likely to be interested in financial services from Google, Apple, PayPal or Square than a traditional financial institution, which means credit unions need to start thinking about Gen Z now.
We Can Lead as a Movement
These marketplace trends are an opportunity to showcase our movement’s longstanding purpose of service by aligning with our members’ changing needs. As we look to 2016, credit unions have a significant opportunity to build upon our service focus and create an unmatched member experience for today, and more importantly for generations to come.
Gerry Singleton is Vice President, CU System Relations, with CUNA Mutual Group.