Credit unions exist to provide affordable, responsible financial products to the people who turn to them for their household banking and borrowing needs. These individuals then become member-owners of their financial cooperative.
That’s just one reason why credit unions look for ways to lower or eliminate punitive fees, such as those from overdraft and not-sufficient fund transactions. It’s also good business in the face of competition from banks, non-bank lenders, and increasingly, FinTechs.
But fee income is important. Even though credit unions are not-for-profit, they still need to survive and thrive to keep serving their communities. Growing lending by extending credit to more members is the most obvious strategy for lessening the dependence on fees.
We are, after all, “credit” unions. But today’s consumers have numerous options when it comes to borrowing, and today’s complex digital landscape demands marketing expertise that can be impractical for all but the largest lenders to maintain in-house.
So how does a credit union target and win more of this business? GDS Link’s Marketing Services platform supports credit unions in driving new loan opportunities. Ser Tech uses sophisticated, predictive analytics to determine who among the creditworthy is most likely to respond to your loan offer and extends loan offers through engaging marketing mediums.
Ser Tech works with credit bureaus and other data sources with access to thousands of credit attributes to prescreen likely borrowers, including members with high-interest loans elsewhere. Ser can comply to the credit union’s specific underwriting requirements, including non/near-prime and prime borrowers, that fit their individual needs and risk profiles. Your credit union marketing team can then choose from several physical and digital channels to deliver loan offers directly to your members or potential members as close to the members’ point of decision as possible.
In addition to traditional delivery channels for loan offers, Ser Tech integrates with partner and leadgen channels to expand the reach of credit union loan offers meeting members and, equally important, potential members closer to the point of sale where a lender and financing decision is made. Ser Tech believes providing greater access to credit unions where lower cost of capital will be a competitive advantage will help preserve members relationships and be a source for new members and growth.
Ser Tech’s credit union clients also use access to credit data to offer members credit scores and education through your credit union’s online and mobile banking platforms. Credit education is critical as we consider the average American family is $155,622 in debt, from credit cards to car loans, and inflation will only make matters worse. Credit unions can help these families deal with debt and find financial stability.
Replacing fee income with interest income is an imperative that may intensify in the face of more regulatory scrutiny of such fees and consumer awareness in general. Ser Tech’s Fetch Marketing can help credit unions responsibly target existing and potential new members across the credit spectrum with products and services they need when they need them while building your credit union’s loan portfolio.
With the recent GDS merger, Ser Tech also helps credit unions decision and underwrite consumers more precisely and broadly while reducing risk. The combination of services allows credit unions to cast a wider and safer net thereby allowing for more loan opportunities at lower loss rates. GDS Link brings robust access to data to more precisely target loan opportunities and underwrite all risk levels while achieving better returns than a standard credit score. This datacentric approach allows marketing and lending criteria to be customizable based on client needs.
