How do we attract younger credit union members? It’s a question that we discuss often with our CU partners, and it’s an important one too, as the future of the sector very much lies with young people. Here are a few reasons that Gen Z should consider joining a credit union:
Purpose before profit
A study from BBMG says that Gen Z is 3x more likely to believe the purpose of business is, “to serve communities and society”. There’s no better example of putting people before profit, than credit unions and community banks, which exist to better the financial wellbeing of their members. Remember, this is the generation that came of age in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash, and as such, are said to have a distrust of big banks and corporations. With credit unions, there are no overpaid executives or corporate shareholders - your money is directly contributing to the improvement of your local community.
Standing out from the rest
The past decade or so has seen the rise of challenger banks, such as Starling, as well as an increase in mobile and online capabilities. In the age of fast finance, credit unions are adopting better ways to make money management easier. With Faster Payments, 24/7 account management, and mobile apps, we’re helping to tackle the notion that credit unions are less agile than their newer counterparts. What’s more - credit unions won’t seek to add any hidden fees, and there are no gimmicks. It’s tried and tested, and will continue to be a sustainable way to save and borrow. This reliability will go a long way to making sure younger members join credit unions, and stay loyal.
Financial Education, Post-Pandemic
As credit unions, there are few better placed organisations to improve the financial education of your community. Very few curriculums (if any) in the UK include money skills, and 9 in 10 people feel that they’re undereducated when it comes to personal finance. As we navigate our way through a post-pandemic world, younger people are likely to be more cautious when it comes to where they save.
This month, we’re going one further, by empowering credit union members to take control of their credit report, with MyCredit, powered by TransUnion. MyCredit is an educational tool that helps users to understand which factors go into creating your credit score, and adjust different factors to simulate how changing your circumstances can change your score accordingly.
Being able to offer personalised financial support like this is what sets credit unions apart, and is sure to be needed as younger generations seek support from their financial providers, post COVID-19.
So, how do credit unions rise to meet the challenge?
For us, there are two elements: a streamlined, end-to-end onboarding process, and service levels to match that of the competition. At incuto, we’re working hard to enable this. We’ve plenty of things lined up in the very near future, to bring a whole new market to credit unions and challenger banks. We know that capturing younger members is going to be crucial to the long-term viability of the credit union sector, and we want to make this happen.
Andrew Rabbitt,
CEO