The National Credit Union Foundation wrapped its annual CU FinHealth19 conference last weekend in Las Vegas, the fourth year the Foundation has brought together industry experts and practitioners to address ways credit unions can continue to play a significant role in their members’ financial health.  

“Putting members’ financial health at the center of credit unions’ strategy is what the CU FinHealth conference is all about,” noted Gigi Hyland, executive director of the National Credit Union Foundation. “We talked about measuring, operationalizing and documenting financial health so it benefits members, communities and drives growth for credit unions. Financial health is the future of credit unions’ relevance in the financial services marketplace.”

The conference also explored the connections between financial health, physical health, technology and advocacy. Discussions addressed multi-sector solutions to address the drivers of financial health, and how credit unions could learn from each other’s financial health efforts, explore strategies for engaging new partners, and leverage technology to further advance financial health.

Highlights of the conference’s session include:

• A national update on financial health trends from a panel of nationally-known experts in the field of financial health gave attendees updates on the newest research, trends, advances and work in financial health nationally. They discussed how consumers place emphasis on knowing how to do things is far more influential on financial well-being than knowledge of particular financial facts;
• Examining the next steps credit unions can take to make financial health a strategic priority by exploring how employees are being trained to think in financial health terms. The discussion also emphasized how building relationships with members and leading messages with education and help are much more positive approaches than pitching a product, and produce a better return on investment;
• A panel that examined how credit unions learn from programs that were implemented but had less-than-ideal results. This panel looked at how credit unions really understand members’ needs, how credit unions should work to identify what the real problems members are facing, then work with them to find solutions.
• An deep dive into the research into the the link between physical and financial health, with a deep dive on recent research in this area and how programs implemented between credit unions and health providers are “treating” patients with both health and financial health issues; and
• A look into fintech innovations that affect consumer financial health, including ways to leverage technology to help consumers avoid certain payday lenders, pay off student loans and more.

CU FinHealth19 was co-hosted by the Foundation, the California & Nevada Credit Union Leagues and BALANCE. The conference was sponsored by PSCU and EverFi.