Independence Day: A True Credit Union Holiday

by Amy Neale, Content Marketing Manager
(in her last CU Solutions Group blog)

As our country is about to celebrate 239 years of independence this Saturday, I wanted to reflect on how credit unions celebrate independence on a daily basis. 166 years ago, German citizens declared their financial independence with the first credit union. This “people’s bank” was created to provide credit to urban entrepreneurs. The United States followed suit 60 years later. 

While it may seem a bit of a stretch to compare the independence of our country to that of our not-for-profit organizations, I truly don’t think so. Taking a financial institution’s control out of the hands of shareholders and into members’ hands is no small feat. Cooperative in nature from day one, credit unions soon became known as offering an alternative to traditional loans to help the working class in 1800s Germany. This ideal spread to Canada in 1901 when Alphonse Desjardins learned of a resident that was paying $5,000 in interest on a $150 loan. 

When Edward Filene helped credit unions spread to the U.S., he founded them from an employer-based bond of association. Future paychecks were used as collateral, putting financial control even more in the hands of credit union members. 

No matter what country, credit unions worldwide are based on a single principle: that people could pool their money together to make loans to each other. How’s that for independence?

After looking on the NCUA website, I discovered that there are three credit unions with the word “independence” in them, one with “democracy” and a dozen with “free” in their names. I can’t think of too many banks with those words in their names, can you? It’s no coincidence that the most independent financial institutions in the world often have names to reflect their mission.

So, as this year’s Independence Day rolls around, remember that credit unions have a lot to celebrate as well. Hope you all have a fun and safe 4th of July.

Observing National Cyber Security Awareness Month at Your Credit Union

Not only is October Squirrel Awareness Month, National Stamp Collecting Month and AIDS Awareness Month, it’s also National Cyber Security Awareness Month. While the other monthly observances might be of interest to you, it’s the last one that should be important to your credit union. 

National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) originated in 2004 and is sponsored by the National Cyber Security Division of the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance. It’s also fully recognized by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). And it’s a great opportunity for your credit union to focus on cyber security internally and promote it to your membership.

Weekly Focus

NCSAM has further broken down October into weekly themes to help organizations and people focus on what’s important:

• Week 1, October 1-6 Theme: 10 Years and Beyond – General Online Safety and Stop. Think. Connect.
• Week 2, October 7-13
  Theme: Being Mobile – Online Safety and Security
• Week 3, October 14-20
  Theme: Cyber Education and the Next Generation of Cyber Leaders
• Week 4, October 21-27 Theme: Cybercrime
• Week 5, October 28-31 Theme: Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure 

You can learn more about these themes here.

Why It’s Important

We don’t need to explain to credit unions why a secure Internet/online experience is important. You deal with personal and vital member information on a daily basis. But we have a few figures to consider and perhaps share with your members to help emphasize the significance of observing NCSAM. There were 289,874 consumer complaints of Internet fraud and other cybercrimes in 2012, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. These crimes resulted in losses of $525 million. 

CUNA continues to work hard within the credit union industry and in conjunction with Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC), regulators, BITS – the Technology Policy Division of the Financial Services Roundtable – and other organization to ensure it’s on top of all cyber security issues.

Getting the Word Out

This being the age of social media, there’s already a related hashtag for Twitter and Facebook: #NCSAM. So, if your credit union posts anything about NCSAM, be sure to include this hashtag. 

The National Cyber Security Alliance’s website, staysafeonline.org has a page devoted to NCSAM. Here, your credit union can find social media messaging, icons and other resources. This page also has resources you can share with your members including a tip sheet, family discussion pointers and more. 

The Department of Homeland Security has an online toolkit for businesses, educators and individuals as well. Click here to view what’s available in their Stop. Think. Connect. toolkit. It even offers free promotional materials such as printable bookmarks, fact sheets, brochures and posters.

NCSAM is also the perfect opportunity to share with your members how your credit union keeps their financial information and transactions secure as well as make them aware of and help prevent any possible cybercrimes.

If your credit union needs an extra hand protecting its transactions, CU Solutions Group offers fraud prevention support.

Keep Your Credit Union Moving Forward

by Amy Neale

It’s been a few weeks since the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) released its second quarter report that showed significant loan growth for federally insured credit unions as well as a major upsurge in membership. So, I have one question for you: What has your credit union done to tap into this forward momentum?

Following Newton’s First Law of Motion – an object in motion stays in motion – now is the time to capitalize on the industry’s widespread growth. Although much of this growth has been with larger credit unions, the smaller asset-sized credit unions could also benefit by taking advantage of this seemingly prevalent goodwill. 

For many credit unions, the desire to maintain the industry’s forward momentum is there but many feel the time or resources aren’t. You’re in luck. CU Solutions Group has a few ideas to get you off the ground.

Making it Easy

Loan volume has grown 5.5% in the last four quarters, which means people are out there looking to borrow money. Your credit union needs to make it easy for current or potential members to:

• See what loans you have to offer
• Find out what your loan rates are
• Apply online

Don’t assume that if a member is looking to buy a house or car, or wanting to refinance, that your credit union will be their first and only stop. Most consumers take to the Web first, so you’ll want your website to be loan-friendly. That means spelling it out on your homepage where they need to click to find out more about mortgages, auto loans, etc. And have a link on your homepage that directs users to your credit union’s rate page. Don’t have one? You might want to add it, and a robust content management system build especially for credit unions in mind can help.

They days where people want to apply for a loan in person are quickly disappearing. To fully take advantage of this uptick in national credit union loan volume, you want to offer online loan applications to your members. And if the person seeking a loan isn’t a member, make sure they can apply for membership online as well.  

Many credit unions’ solution to this is having a PDF of the application on their website for the user to print, fill out and bring in – that’s not enough. You’re taking a lot for granted by taking this tactic. Keep their attention the moment you have it and let them be able to complete the whole loan application from their laptop, tablet or smartphone. 

Don’t let this positive forward momentum pass you by or you’ll find out firsthand the other part of Newton’s First Law of Motion – an object at rest stays at rest. Keep moving forward.

Start the New Year with a Website Compliance Review

Compliance and all its associated rules and regulations are familiar to anyone who works in the credit union industry. From opening a share account for a new member to advertising a loan to hiring staff—there’s a regulation for just about everything you do. And that includes building and maintaining your website.

Your website must comply with a variety of rules and regulations from NCUA, OFIS, and the Federal Reserve Board. At least once a year (if not quarterly), your credit union should take time to review your site to ensure that it is in compliance with a variety of consumer protection and credit union laws and regulations, including:

• Truth in Lending (Regulation Z)
• Truth in Savings (NCUA Rules & Regulation Part 707)
• Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B)
• Funds Availability Act (Regulation CC)
• EFT Act (Regulation E)
• COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act)

Consider these questions:

• What, if any, regulatory requirements your site has not met?
• What steps do you need to take to correct each case of non-compliance?
• Do you need to add any terminology or disclosures to your site to make it compliant?

With the seemingly constant changes in the regulatory landscape, you’ll want to take steps today to ensure that your website is in compliance with regulatory requirements. (Think of it as your New Year’s resolution!)


Related Services: Website Compliance Review, Web Development