EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — A new personal finance tool for consumers that emerged from a brainstorming team sponsored by a credit union think tank could be just the monetary strength training needed to fight back against the economy's recent body blows.
The tool, known as "Debt in Focus," is designed to give CU members a personal action plan to help improve their credit profiles and reduce debt. According to research by the Filene Research Institute's i3 group, consumers realize they are in dire need of help. The Madison, Wis.-based i3 found 70% of those surveyed after trying Debt in Focus agreed it would help them better manage their debt. Eighty-five percent said they would be interested in additional assistance, for a modest fee.
Kathryn Davis, SVP of marketing and human resources of Xceed Financial CU, here, said Debt in Focus will help credit unions stay in constant contact with their members and give them meaningful assistance. "People won't just come and do something once, they will interact," she said. "What makes it so powerful is it applies to every single member. It is not just for those heavy in debt, or high-end members, it has something for everyone — which makes it important for credit unions to offer."
Filene is gearing up to roll out the Debt In Focus program to CUs as a way to help their members and, by extension, help themselves through referrals and retention, and at press time, 21 credit unions had already signed up to offer the program, according to Denise Gabel, chief innovation officer for the Filene Research Institute.
Two members of the team that hatched Debt in Focus were Xceed Financial CU's Davis and Chad Graves, VP of IT, Ent FCU, Colorado Springs, Colo. Davis and Graves were joined by: Tammy Gallegos, VP of service quality, America First CU; Nan Morrow, VP, corporate development, Centra CU; Tansley Stearns, VP, sales and service, Connex CU; and, Jean Theis, VP, operations, Motorola Employees CU.
The process began in October 2008 at a meeting where the state of the economy dominating the discussion. Graves said the thought on everyone's minds was, "wouldn't it be great if we could help consumers?" Graves said the tool was specifically engineered to be easy-to-use and without jargon. "The real beauty of Debt in Focus is consumers understand it and are not intimidated," he said. "One thing we found in our early research is consumers are embarrassed by their financial situation."
With a few basic questions, the tool is able to offer "powerful results" at the end, he added.
At press time, 21 credit unions had signed up to offer Debt in Focus. Gabel invited CUs interested in getting more information to send an e-mail to:
"We will get them up and running in short order," she promised. "Once they are wired in and using it, they become part of this expanded prototype. We will be working with them to determine the best marketing messages and future functionality."
