NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Three credit union organizations have received funding from Innovations for Poverty Action under the anti-poverty group’s U.S. Household Finance Initiative.
IPA awarded $15,000 grants plus technical assistance to:
• Freedom FCU in Roanoke, Va., to test a line of credit and small dollar loan products which feature discounts for voluntary delayed loan disbursement
• Self-Help FCU in San Jose, Calif., to pilot test its 5 for Me account, which will serve as a direct conduit between check cashing transactions and savings actions through a commitment contract for saving followed by automated savings deposits as part of every subsequent check cashed
• Montana CUs for Community Development, to test the seamless conversion of loan payments to savings deposits upon the successful repayment of a loan. This “pay-yourself-back” feature will be applied to multiple products such as unsecured, auto, small-dollar and home equity loans
The grants were provided through a Financial Products Innovation Fund, which was created as a joint effort between IPA’s U.S. Household Finance Initiative and the Ford Foundation to support the development of scalable, market-tested products that help households make better financial decisions, escape cycles of debt, build assets and achieve financial resiliency.
