This week, CreditUnions.com tells credit unions what to know about contactless, looks back 10 years to the start of the Great Recession, releases the results of its 2019 Economic Outlook Survey, and more.
Here’s five can’t-miss data points.
Three-Fold
Following the path forged by EMV chip cards before them, contactless plastic is expected to ride a major wave of adoption this year and next. In fact, they’l be on the same card. The wave-and-pay functionality of contactless cards resides in a chip embedded in tandem with the EMV chip, and while the contactless function requires a new type of plastic, dual-interface card, the attraction of these cards is three-fold: They’re convenient, secure, and competitive.
Read: Keep The Card. Ditch The Contact.
10 Years
June 2009 marked the official end of the Great Recession and the beginning of an outstanding period of economic recovery. The Great Recession was the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression, and the decade since has been the strongest period of growth in the history of the American credit union movement. So, what’s next? There’s a lot to build on.
Read: The Great Recession: 10 Years Out And Looking Ahead
250
Growing deposits, affordably, to meet loan demand was easily the leading challenge credit union leaders identified in Callahan’s 2019 Executive Outlook Survey. The respondents also generally reported stable to strong economies in their local markets, with some exceptions in rural areas dependent on a single industry, such as mining. A few respondents also expressed fears of a coming recession in the eighth annual year-end survey, and a couple cited growing delinquencies as an area of concern. Local challenges included high housing costs and home affordability, and across the country, many leaders noted it was only getting tougher to find good help. In the nearly 250 responses, competition from credit unions, banks, and non-banks frequently appeared, as was the need to grow membership and provide a better digital and branch experience.
Read: 2019 Economic Outlook
16
This April, CUNA has been celebrating National Credit Union Youth Month with the theme: The future is yours … Picture it! Save for it! Share it! The association has asked young members to share images of what they want their financial futures to look like and pushed credit unions to listen, learn, and help these young members fulfill their dreams. Callahan & Associates is helping young members save for it by suggesting savings practices that have worked in real life as well as give their take on what to save for. Here’s what 16 of us have to say.
Read: 16 Ways To Help Young People Save
6
Competition is keen within financial services as banks big and small plus fintech disruptors vie with member-owned credit unions for wallet share and consumers’ hearts. In this rapidly changing environment, how can the leaders of the industry’s most successful credit unions turn to determine how their institutions are faring? By benchmarking. We’ve identified six comparisons that capture varying business models and operating resources based on asset size. Although the industry average is a useful general point of comparison, gauging performance against institutions with similar resources and other attributes makes for more meaningful evaluations.
Read: 6 Metrics That Showcase The Power Of Benchmarking
Happy Reading!