Frank Chinn, board chair at Unitus Community CU, Portland, Ore., wants every American to feel the financial support he feels when he walks into his credit unions. To accomplish this, he wrote in CUInsight, he a new year’s resolution.
“Here’s my New Year’s Resolution: I want to get as many people as I can to support Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union®,” he wrote. “If you’re a Board Chair, CEO, marketing lead, or anyone in between, please make a commitment to our movement by asking your credit union to contribute to this campaign. There’s no better way to start off a new year than by supporting our movement as we all work to reach new members.”
Chinn notes that since January 2019, 14 states have launched Open Your Eyes, reaching millions of consumers, but “it’s a long game, and we need credit unions, along with Leagues and CUNA, across the country to get on board to make it successful.”
As Chinn mentions, CUNA launched Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union to raise consumer consideration of credit unions.
“Every American should know there’s a credit union out there for them. They should know that credit unions have a nation-wide network of ATMs, offer online banking, and most of all, are there to support members’ financial needs,” he wrote. “This consideration problem is having real consequences for our movement. Over the last couple decades credit unions’ market share has remained pretty much the same, while big banks have gobbled up their smaller competition. We know credit unions are in their sights, and we have to work together to protect and grow our market share.”