CUNA is now America's Credit Unions.
A stronger voice to advance the credit union industry.
CU Rate Reset
CU Rate Reset, a CUNA Strategic Services alliance provider, allows credit unions to combat competitors that use big data to horn in on members’ business. The company gives members the ability to reset loan and deposit terms in minutes.
CU Rate Reset’s latest solution, Knock Knock, provides two-way interaction between the credit union and the member to deliver “just-in-time” offers. These offers are based on real-time triggers obtained from credit bureau information or the credit union’s loan origination system.
CEO/Co-Founder Keith Kelly says Knock Knock and CU Rate Reset’s other member-interactive solutions not only help credit unions compete, they build relationships with members.
“Inside of Knock Knock, members can see their spending habits,” says Kelly. “It analyzes members’ spending activity and offers advice. For instance, if a member carries a credit card with a high-interest balance, it might recommend a balance transfer.”
Kelly, a former retail mortgage banker, loves the collaboration he finds in the credit union movement. “Credit unions know they can’t compete effectively with Rocket Mortgage given the size of their ad campaigns,” he says. “But collaboration allows us to pool our resources and generate as good if not better solutions for our members than even the fintechs have to offer. Together we have a lot of data, and collaboration allows us to put some action behind it.”
CU Micro Loan Fund
This CUSO handles administrative functions for micro loans ($50,000 and less) from originating credit unions to Business Impact Northwest (BIN), a community partner that works with local entrepreneurs.
Four credit unions own CU Micro Lending Fund: $1.3 billion asset Harborstone Credit Union, Lakewood, Wash.; $18.6 billion asset BECU, Tukwila, Wash.; $5.3 billion asset OnPoint Community Credit Union, Portland, Ore.; and $550 million asset Verity Credit Union in Seattle.
BIN nurtures the business owners until they’re ready to borrow, says Laurie Leno, Harborstone’s chief financial officer. That way, “we as credit unions can provide funds to educated small businesses” that might have difficulty obtaining financing. BIN, which has a loan portfolio of $8 million, funds $2 million to $3 million in new loans each year, says Joe Sky-Tucker, the organization’s executive director. BIN’s clients typically are small operations that “simply provide an income for their families,” he says. “They aspire to grow.”
That said, the loans perform well, Leno says.
“These folks are so dedicated, they’re not willing to walk away from the loans,” she says. “They’re all great stories.”
Sky-Tucker says credit unions’ embrace of those stories is what makes the arrangement work.
“There’s no reason monetarily for the credit unions to do this,” he says. “They see a community need—creating a thriving small business community—and we help meet that need together.”
Adds Leno: “The whole thing makes us feel pretty good.