The CU2.0 Podcast

Send us a textSuddenly youth banking is back in the conversation and that’s because this time there is real optimism that it’s a product that’s emerging at the right time.  Case in point of the optimism is a recent Finovate article headlined “Why Youth Banking Is Set to Surge In 2025.”  Better news is that this market isn’t solely for the big banks and fintechs.  Now on the scene is Incent with its youth digital banking tools and it’s launched a CUSO that right now has one member owner, Idaho based Pioneer Federal Credit Union, a $700 million institution.Many credit unions already are signed up to be customers of Incent.On the show to tell about why now is the time for youth banking and the product is Incent are Marcel King, president of Incent, and Tracey Miller, EVP at Pioneer.Listen up.Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com  And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.  Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a textTalking about credit/debit card disputes and chargebacks.Probably you don’t want to.  For good reason.  One estimate is that there were $62.5 billion in chargebacks in 2023.And at most credit unions every chargeback or dispute involves a lot of staff time.  It’s an expensive matter and it is often profoundly irritating to members - at least some of whom decide to change FIs as a result.More worrisome is that increasing numbers of Americans file disputes, often just as a way to get an easy $50 or $100 back in their own pocket.  Lots of disputed charges are simply fraudulent.Enter Casap, which automates the dispute process and in the process resolves cases much faster and at dramatically lower costs.  Casap CEO and co-founder Shanthi Shanmugam is on the show to talk about the 21st century way to handle disputes.Listen up.Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com  And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.  Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a textRisk.For years I have said that to a credit union senior executive the foulest four letter word is risk.It’s a risk averse industry and that’s a paradox because a credit union makes money by taking risks.Then too we are now in a universe of unprecedented risk: there are wars, threats of a recession, threats of uncontrolled inflation, and of course there now is so much competition - neo banks, non banks and more.Risk is everywhere.Enter Ed Vincent CEO of SRA Watchtower, a Virginia headquartered company with a toolkit that is designed to automate risk management for credit unions.  “SRA Watchtower is committed to helping financial institutions unlock the power of data, which we believe is the currency of the future,” said Vincent. You know you are in a sea of risks.  Know that SRA Watchtower knows that and that is why it has tools to help credit unions manage in today’s environment.  Listen up.Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com  And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.  Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a textWant to know the secret about how to better target a new member acquisition campaign?Of course you do.  Just about every credit union in the country is scrambling to gain new members - but could the campaigns be more efficient and effective?In many, many cases the answer is a loud yes.Enter Vertices Which is blending data and AI  to give credit unions tool to enable more precise targeting strategies and tactics.On the show is Mitch Rutledge, CEO of Vertice AI and himself a past podcast guest, episode 247,But don’t take just his word.Also on the show are business development specialist Tiffany Sharpensteen  and Bradley Herbert, senior VP of technology, both of Education Credit Union of Amarillo, Texas which has assets around $480 million. Education shares its experience in the pilot program of Vertice ACQUIRE - and, yes, the reviews are glowing. Listen up.Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com  And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.  Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a textAre you ready to grapple with the new NCUA requirement that every credit union have an up to date succession plan that covers both senior executives and board members?The good news: you’re not required to have a written plan until January 1, 2026.The bad news: if you don’t have a plan by then, or if your plan falls far short of NCUA’s expectations, the credit union can be written up by an examiner.On the show is Jeff Paille, partner in The Bonadio Group’s Assurance Division, who offers a primer on what every credit union needs to know about this NCUA requirement.And he also talks about what will happen if you simply tell the examiner you haven’t gotten a plan together.Incidentally, although the NCUA explicitly flagged mergers triggered by a lack of a succession plan  as a prompt for this new requirement, Paille says that a common succession plan at many credit unions is in fact merger.Listen up.Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com  And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.  Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a textSome 4.18 million Americans will turn 65 in 2025 and many of them will have to make difficult and crucial decisions about their Medicare coverage.Credit unions can play a crucial role in this process and in this episode from May 2023 Rock Carter tells exactly how credit unions can get involved.And if you think Medicare has to be easy, well, get ready to hear the complexities.Listen up.

Send us a text25% cashback on an Amazon purchase.  35% back at Kroger.  Now do I have your attention?And this is cashback on a debit card.  You thought debit card cashback vanished a decade ago? It had.But now it just may be coming back.On the show are David Metz, CEO of Prizeout, an innovator in adtech, and he is here to talk about a new product, CashBack+ Pay.Also on the show is Amy Sink, CEO of Interra Credit Union, an Indiana institution with assets around $2 billion, an investor in the Prizeout CUSO.As for those eye popping cashback purchases, they are real and both were enjoyed by Interra members who had signed up Cashback + Pay, relates Sink.According to Prizeout, “The first group of credit unions now live with CashBack+ Pay includes Interra Credit Union, Michigan State Federal Credit Union, United Financial Credit Union, Golden 1 Credit Union and People Driven Credit Union.”Cashback rates vary - sometimes by day, often by a member’s particular demographic.  But, says Metz, the usual rate now is averaging 6.8%.  Rewards are instant too.Metz in the show tells about the mechanics of Cashback + Pay and Sink is the articulate evangelist.  Also on the show in a cameo is Andrea Holland, who handles communications for Prizeout.Listen up.Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com  And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.  Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a textBuckle up, there may be turbulence on this ride.On the show today is Elizabeth Eurgubian , now a lobbyist in Washington DC but who just a few months ago served as NCUA Director of the Office of External Affairs and Communications and Policy Advisor to Chairman Harper.  That’s an important position at NCUA - it’s a political appointment.Before that  she was deputy chief advocacy officer at CUNA and before that she was a vice president and a lobbyist for ICBA.She knows Washington DC and she especially knows the lobbying intricacies involving credit unions and community banks.This episode was recorded the day before NCUA chairman Kyle Haputman revealed the staff reorganization plan for NCUA which is a slightly deeper staffing cut than Eugubian predicted but that makes her predictions for NCUA operations with a smaller staff even more chilling.Bottomline: she says everything will take longer at a slimmed down NCUA, an agency she says was thinly staffed before this 20+ percent staffing cut.Along the way Ergubian gives a short course on how to lobby effectively and offers insights into the likely future of NCUA (will it stay independent?), the credit union federal tax exemption, and credit union examinations in a slimmed down NCUA.Listen up.Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com  And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.  Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a textToday’s topic: How to Pass the NCUA Tech Audit (Without Losing Your Mind)The guest is Mike Robins, COO  at Dynamic Edge, a company that’s helped many credit unions - particularly ones with assets between $25 million and $400 million - successfully navigate the NCUA Tech Audit which occurs “periodically,” according to the agency.Hear what’s involved in the audit, how to pass it and - crucially - how to prepare for it.Robin’s key point: prepare and you won’t lose your mind.Interesting, too, is that NCUA provides cheat sheets for the Tech Audit on its website.  Robins tells where to find them and how to use them.  He also tells if the auditors are in fact following the cheat sheets.Listen up.Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com  And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.  Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a textOn today’s show is Paul Dionne, chief strategy officer at Quantum Governance, L3C.  What’s an L3C?  Good question: It’s a low profit limited liability company and, in the case of Quantum Governance, that means it “help[s]  nonprofits, credit unions, associations and foundations realize the full potential of their missions.”The company’s work with credit unions revolves around governance - especially issues involving the board and organizational leadership - and strategic planning.That’s why a key focus of this discussion is a credit union board’s fiduciary responsibility especially in the case of a merger.  When a merger is on the table, a board member’s responsibility is to make decisions that are in the best interest of the membership, said Dionne.What’s that mean?  How can a board member go off course?  In the show Dionne, who worked at Filene before joining Quantum Governance, tells the good, the bad and the ugly.Listen up.Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com  And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.  Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto