MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - City-County FCU’s boom! Club has been a growth boon to the CU in the category many credit unions covet–Gen Y. The initiative aimed at ages 13-22 claims 6,190 participants, which has helped lower the average age of the credit union’s membership to 40.
“That’s below the industry average of 47,” shared the $500-million CU’s Education Specialist Tiffany Kirk. “The boom! Club has $5.5 million in deposits, and we continue to have increases in loan balances as well as Visas–we had a 32% increase in Visa card penetration last year. This definitely continues to be a program that’s growing with services young people are using.”
A $5 deposit opens a share account and $250 gets young savers a three-month CD that can be added to in $25 increments. A free, no-minimum-balance checking account is opened for $50, and a fee-free ATM debit card is available. All of the money cards come with restrictions based on age, such as only members ages 16-22 can pick up the boom! starter Visa, which comes with a $250 line of credit. Youth below 18 must provide parent or guardian permission to get the card.
While the CU has had the program since 1999, it added financial education last year, which Kirk said is helping drive growth.
“The financial literacy classes have been successful,” Kirk said. “We send boom! members mailings with dates, topics, and times for the 1.5 hour classes we hold at our central office. They cover four core areas: checking, credit, Internet banking, and investing.”
When boom! members complete four courses, each get $100 added to their checking account.
“We had 222 members complete all four programs,” Kirk explained. “We plan to look at product usage trends to determine if the education is helping members better understand how to use the services and are doing so.”
Club members have been most interested in the credit course, according to Kirk, who feels young adults are “scared” about this topic.
“They don’t understand how it works,” Kirk said. “And they see us as a trusted source... Hopefully, this will help them understand credit, and when they are ready for a credit card they’ll turn to us.”
City-County created boom!, short for “budgeting our own money,” when members started outgrowing its youth savers program.
“These members are the future of our credit union,” reminded Kirk, adding that the program awards three scholarships per year. “We just want to catch them early and give them reasons to be loyal to our us. It’s about retaining them for life.”
