The CU2.0 Podcast

Send us a text The conversation with West Community Credit Union’s Josh Rodriguez started in Ashland OR at the CU 2.0/ Room (39) a event in late September and in this podcast it picks up again. Fodder for the show came in the form of a questionnaire distributed to event attendees and Josh had dutifully filled his in.  He agreed to discuss his answers on this show and we take as the jumping off point West Community Credit Union’s podcast “Banking on You.”  It’s a good show and ought to inspire other credit unions to try something similar. We also talk about West Community Credit Union’s implementation of an AI bot  - this is ambitious stuff for a $400 million credit union but West is proving it can be done. Also dazzling are Josh’s plans for more video and more audio content that will be surfacing in West Community. Along the way we discuss work being done by Anne Legg and Saroop Bharwani - and regular listeners know about this from podcast #378. There’s also mention of an episode with Lee Silber, editor of The Credit Union  Way.  There’s a link in the show notes.   Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text Fact: youth banking is the entry ramp into a credit union.   Fact 2: Credit unions, most of them, will admit that youth banking is not exactly their strongest suit. Enter Cardinal Credit Union, a Mentor OH based institution with assets around $335 million, where CEO Chistine Blake saysthey are winning big in attracting youth to get credit union accounts by doing a lot of innovative thinking and mixing in fun activities. Blake, by the way, is a past podcast guest. In episode 342 she talks about the institution’s relationship with the Cleveland Browns and its Little Brownies debit card aimed at kids.  Since then she has turned to Nuuvia - formerly Incent - where president Marcel King and team have developed a range of youth banking tools and ideas.  King, too, is a past guest.  He was on episode 360 with Pioneer Federal Credit Union EVP Tracey Miller where they talked about youth banking. On this episode King and Blake dive deeply into what Cardinal is offering, why kids like what they see, and why all of this matters in helping to insure a credit union’s long term success.  In the process King shares compelling data on youth banking at Desert Financial, a big credit union in Phoenix AZ. Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text Go back to when I started to report on credit unions and there were over 8000 credit unions.  Now there are 4370.   In 2020 there were 5099 credit unions.  Just in five years the count is down by 700+. The math going forward is gloomy. That’s why I  smiled when I saw Jason Stverak’s CU Insight piece on Why small credit unions matter and how we can help them thrive. Jason is chief advocacy officer at DCUC, the Defense Credit Union Council and is a past podcast guest.   Why is he advocating for keeping little credit unions alive? I had to get him on the show - this episode was recorded on November 12, just hours before the federal government reopened after the longest shutdown in history. We start by talking about what’s going on in Washington DC now - and quickly move into why DCUC has become an aggressive lobbyist and then we focus on why small credit unions matter and why DCUC cares. It’s good stuff. Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text Big data vs. AI. Is this a war inside the walls of credit unions or can the two flourish in harmony? On the show are Anne Legg, founder and CEO of Thrive 3.0, where the mantra is leveraging data to better members’ lives, and Saroop Bharwani, co-founder and CEO of Senso, where he has been bringing AI to credit unions for several years. What you’ll hear in this episode is that indeed big data and AI can - should - co-exist for optimal results in credit unions. Along the way you will hear about successful AI implementations at a number of credit unions, from One Nevada to Suffolk Credit Union.   You’ll also hear how credit unions as small as $100 million in assets are successfully implementing AI and also big data strategies. Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text You have a brand. Know it or not, like it or not, you do. And on the show today is Laura Beauparlant, a Canada based keynote speaker and consultant who helps clients know and polish their personal brand. What’s your brand on social media? In meetings? At conferences?  Others sense your brand and that means it’s important for you to buff your brand until it shows you off in your best light. In the show Laura talks about the how to of shaping your personal brand. And if you need reasons to do it, she also elaborates on why personal brand matters in your daily business life. In the show we discuss Laura’s book, Brand Chemistry.  There’s a link in the show notes. Incidentally, I met Laura at CU 2.0/Room (39a) Launch event  in Ashland Oregon.   This is a different kind of show. But it just might prompt you to change your personal brand! Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text About 45 credit unions are customers of JUDI.AI and they are drawn by the company’s simple promise: Eliminate friction in business lending. There is money to be made serving small businesses and JUDI.AI has the formula, says Gord Baizley, the company’s CEO. A key is automating a lot of the process and that’s JUDI.AI’s business.   Here’s why the company exists: “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, but 40-50% of small businesses rank access to capital as their top challenge. At JUDI, we’re transforming small business dreams into vibrant communities by increasing access to capital.” That’s a big promise but, says Baizley, the company has had very little churn among credit unions who sign up.  That’s because they believe they are getting value and also that in fact they are finding ways to serve their communities’ small businesses. Just about every credit union, certainly all bigger than $500 million in assets, dreams about making small business lending a bigger slice of their portfolio. Baizley insists that dream can be reality.  On the show he tells how. Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text “Prepare: AI is the new CU crisis super villain.”  That’s the title of a recent CUInsight story authored by Casey Boggs, founder of Reputation US, an d of course we had to get him on this podcast. Understand, I am a strong supporter of AI in general and AI in particular inside credit unions.  This is a life and death matter. Yet there is a possible downside to AI and we already know that the main AI tools have played substantial roles in teen suicides, in creating false “facts,” and in many other ways leading humans astray. While I may disagree with many of Boggs' conclusions, his core advice - proceed with AI cautiously and thoughtfully - is on the money. Only fools rush in. Read Boggs’ CU Insight piece, listen to the podcast, read a recent CUInsight story by me where I explore CU use of AI with CU2.0 founder Kirk Drake, and keep on learning and experimenting and using AI.  Listen up Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text Exactly what is Room (39)a? There’s one at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center but today we are talking about the Room (39)a at CFCU, Community Financial Credit Union in Michigan, where past CU 2.0 Podcast guest Tansley Stearns serves as CEO and she has launched this Room (39)a as a CUSO that will offer subscriptions to its research. As for what it does, CFCU’s Room (39)a describes itself this way: “a place where possibility and the unexpected collide. We blend the precision of research with human imagination to unlock new ideas, products, strategies and opportunities for companies and brands.” Could this be exactly what credit unions need today as they battle with mammoth money center banks and fintechs with massive war chests. On the show is Blake Woods, a CFCU SVP who also serves as chief ideator at Room (39)a. The episode explores the Room (39)a approach to research, how it decides what topics to pursue, and why it believes the credit union industry very much needs the kinds of research it is doing. Don’t think this is a propeller head show.  Quite the contrary. We dive deeply into gambling, for instance, and also into questions about credit union sports sponsorship deals. Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text Three years ago Tropical Financial Credit Union, a $1 billion south Florida institution, signed on as a sponsor of the Florida Panthers and magic happened because the Panthers - in the National Hockey League - won the Stanley Cup in 2024 and won again in 2025. That’s the equivalent of winning the World Series in baseball or the Super Bowl in football and, definitely, the Panthers now are the darlings of south Florida because everybody loves a winner. On the show is Marylen Yiris, vice president of marketing at Tropical Financial and she tells how the credit union partnered with the Panthers and the benefits she believes the credit union has gotten from the arrangement. Note: new member activations are one metric she uses in assessing the value of the relationship. Understand: Tropical Financial is enthusiastic about sports sponsorship. It now has  inked a sponsorship with Fort Lauderdale United FC, a women's soccer team that competes in a new league. And Yiris indicates that Tropical Financial is open to exploring still more sponsorship deals with sports teams. Earlier this year the CU 2.0 Podcast hosted Christine Blake, CEO of Cardinal Credit Union in Ohio which has a sponsorship deal with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL. It’s hard to get noticed in today’s cluttered mediascape - and the credit unions that have sponsorships say they work in elevating brand awareness. Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text Back on the show today after a hiatus is Kirk Kordeleski, onetime CEO of Bethpage Federal Credit Union and now a partner in Parc Street Partners where he focuses on credit union executive retirement plans. Kordeleski has been on the show many times but he always is welcomed back because he has deep insight into what it’s like to be a credit union CEO and also into how to compensate those CEOs appropriately.  Here’s a link to the Kordeleski Archives. What brings Kordeleski back to the show is that much is changing in the retirement planning for credit union CEOs and senior staff.  Changing macro economic conditions have triggered significant changes in the retirement plans.  Breathe easily.  There remain good, stable plans.  Kordeleski tells about them here. Know that appropriate compensation for senior executives is a must at credit unions that want to succeed.  And a good retirement plan is a critical part of that package. ‘ Kordeleski brings us up to date. Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text Tansley Stearns had been working in  a credit union for maybe five years when a big idea grabbed her: she decided she wanted to be a CEO of a credit union. For a young woman who had grown up on a farm in southern Michigan that was a very big idea. Three years ago she made it happen, when she was named CEO at Community Financial Credit Union, a Plymouth MI headquartered institution. How is she liking the job? Is sitting in the CEO seat what it’s cracked up to be? ‘In this show Stearns faces questions from two hosts, Robert McGarvey and also CU 2.0 CEO Kirk Drake. You’ll hear what she thinks credit unions will look like a quarter century from now, what she believes the impacts of AI will be on the industry, and also what credit unions need to do more of to stay competitive. Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text Whew, credit unions dodged the threat of loss of their tax exemption - but don’t think all is smooth sailing for credit unions in today’s turbulent Washington DC.  Lots is happening that may impact credit unions, large and small. On the show is repeat guest Elizabeth Eurgubian, a lobbyist - with the Defence Credit Union Council among her clients - who also has served as NCUA Director of the Office of External Affairs and Communications and Policy Advisor to Chairman Harper.  Before that  she was deputy chief advocacy officer at CUNA and before that she was a vice president and a lobbyist for ICBA. Her specialty is regulatory matters and that means NCUA, but also CFPB and other agencies. In this episode she talks about what’s up with NCUA’s one person board, the shrinking of CFPB, the GENIUS Act and the opportunity presented by stablecoins, and NCUA’s Central Liquidity Enhancements Act and why this matters to smaller credit unions in particular, and also NCUA’s recurring paperwork review and how it’s an opportunity for credit unions to seek changes at the agency. See: there’s a lot happening inside the Beltway. Listen up Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text You might know it as the dismal science, but a conversation with Bill Handel, Chief Economist of Raddon, a Fiserv company, is anything but dismal.  It in fact is an enlightening romp through the complexities and confusions of today’s global economy. In the show Handel makes a prediction about the future of interest rates - and, no, don’t expect an imminent return of 4% 30 year fixed rate mortgages.   He also talks about how young adults are adjusting their financial habits to navigate today’s economy. Importantly, too, Handel explains what is going on in the White House’s attempt to reset the global economy - and he indicates that the present economy is something of an artifact of the aftermath of World War II so there are reasons to think a reset is in order. But how is a credit union CEO supposed to navigate in a global economy that is filled with uncertainties? Handel’s advice is to create plans that feature built in flexibility - because, really, you don’t know where interest rates will be a year from now.  Staying flexible will be key to succeeding, he says. Handel also says that the operating margins of credit unions have to improve.  Period.  He tells why in the show. Dismal science? Not in this show.  Here, economics becomes an exciting tool for navigating what’s coming at us. Listen up Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text I am not going to explain to you in any detail what TrustGrid does and that is because in the show Joe Gleinsner, a co-founder of the Austin TX company, does a much better job of explaining than I could. But here’s the fact: TrustGrid’s tools - which enable secure connections of fintech apps with banking systems - are on the job at a couple thousand US credit unions, says Gleinser.   Why haven’t you heard of it?  That’s because TrustGrid does not sell to credit unions, it sells to fintechs and it’s the fintechs that pay for the service. TrustGrid says it delivers fast, reliable fintech networks at scale - and that is why it is a leading provider in a space that is crucial to the safe, secure, reliable flow of financial data. Understand: this is NOT a technical show.  But listen up and you’ll hear why TrustGrid is important and why so many credit unions and banks use its tools. Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text AI - is it real or a mirage? What is certain is that today AI is on the lips on just about everyone in credit union land. What also is real is a recent MIT finding that 95% of large companies with AI initiatives are getting zilch out of them. Ouch. That does not have to be the reality for credit unions. On the show today is Kirk Drake, CEO of CU 2.0, author of FINANCIAL, a 2020 book that envisions the rise of AI in our lives and in credit unions, and he also is hosting LAUNCH, a September 23-25 event in Oregon which wears this tagline: This isn’t a conference. It’s a launchpad. In prior years the event was labeled CU 2.0 Live. This year it is held in partnership with Community Financial Credit Union’s ROOM (39)a initiative. Thus the name change. A huge focus in the event will be launching good stuff in AI. Drake tells all about the event in this show and the website has a small checklist - Are You in the Right Place? - that helps you decide if this event is for you or that it isn’t. Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text In a year about 500 members of First City Credit Union in Pasadena die.  It’s a credit union with 57,000 members. And what happened after the member’s death? On the show is Saeid Kian, CEO and co-founder of Ribbon, a fintech that has developed a tool kit to help credit unions speed up the process of settling a member’s estate and also - this is huge - helping the credit union retain some of those assets on its books. Also on the show is Nav Khanna, CEO of the $900 million First City Credit Union and his is the first credit union to go live with Ribbon. Why did he agree to be the first? What benefits has First City seen?   Know this: at most financial institutions the process of handling a deceased member’s accounts is labor intensive.  It annoys the heirs and very likely it also annoys the credit union employees who are tasked with handling the estate. Saeid knows this first hand because the idea for Ribbon grew out of his own frustrations in settling his father’s estate - a process that took many frustrating weeks.  There had to be a better way, he thought, a way that worked better for the heirs and maybe for the credit union too because the heirs no longer would leave the institution with a settlement check in hand and with the intention to never again deal with that institution. And Nav tells us it’s really working at First City. Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text This is a CU 2.0 Podcast first. Never before, in almost 500 episodes, have we done this. On the show is Crystal Zarse, a member of Interra Credit Union, a $1.7 billion Indiana based institution, and she is here to tell about her experience using the Prizeout Cashback+ debit card which rewards users with cashback often around 10% of purchase price, sometimes much more. Focus on that.  Here’s a member who has taken time out of her to tell what benefits she gets by using the Cashback+ debit card that Interra issued to her. Also on the show is Joel Richard, an Interra senior vice president of member experience, and David Metz, CEO  of Prizeout. Metz has been on the show before and what got him a return visit was when his PR person, Andrea Holland, emailed me to offer up a credit union member who would talk about how Cashback+ makes her life better. A big gong went off in my head.  I had never before done this in a show…and yet credit unions trumpet that they are member focused.  Credit unions are here to improve the financial lives of everyday people. I had to do this show and, honestly, Crystal Zarse is everything I could have hoped for in a guest. Message to other credit unions/fintechs: If you want on the show, grease your path by lining up a member to join the mix. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text Call this a week of different kinds of shows. Today we are doing something we have never done before.   The guest - the only guest - is Lisa Weinstein, VP of Member Relations at Virginia Credit Union and a 33 year veteran of the credit union industry. There is no Eltropy employee also on the show. Weinstein is here to talk about Eltropy’s Collections 2.0, an AI powered tool kit designed to combat delinquencies and increase collections. How is it working at $7 billion VCU?  Weinstein tells us. I am interested in hearing from other CU execs who want to come on the show and tell the good, the bad and the ugly about a tech product their institution has adopted. Email me at rjmcgarvey@gmail.com to get this in motion. Listen up Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com     And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.     Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

Send us a text When will you retire? What years of your life should be the ones where you work the longest, hardest hours? On the show today is Derek Coburn, author of Let's Retire Retirement: How to Enjoy Life to the Fullest—Now and Later, a book that very probably will rock your mind  because it challenges key beliefs that most of us share about retirement. For instance: at what age will you retire?   Probably your answer is 65, that’s the number that jumps off most lips.  But Coburn says probably you won’t and he adds the zinger that other ages may well work much better for you. Like what? How about 75?  Or 70? And fact is more Americans are working longer- indeed the fastest growing age cohort in the workplace is Americans aged 75 and older! Surveys also say that approaching 25% of Americans age 65 and higher are now working. And Ciburn believes that number will only increase as many American seniors are today healthier, more active than were Americans of the same age a generation ago. A bonus: retire later in life and you need far less retirement savings.  You’ll hear actual numbers in the show - and it will blow your mind. As for what years you should work longest and hardest? Coburn argues that it’s when your kids are home and for many that means working less in your thirties and forties. Is that catastrophic for your retirement savings?  No, because you will be working later in life you need less retirement savings.  QED. In the show, mention is made of an app. Death Clock AI.  Here’s a link to the Washington Post story about it.   In the show Coburn mentions CU 2.0 founder/CEO Kirk Drake and Resistance Wine.  I’ve drunk it, it’s good. Coburn says he wears an Oura ring. Here’s the link In the show also there’s mention of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a brilliant psychologist who documented the phenomenon he called flow where work is highly focused and we are happiest.  

Send us a text You probably have forgotten about the role of credit unions in the country’s marijuana business - estimated to be north of $40 billion.  I know I had. It’s been years since we did a show on this topic. But on the show today is Kevin Hart, CEO of Green Check Verified, a business that provides tools to financial institutions that serve the country’s many marijuana businesses. As Hart says in the show, narijuana may not be legal in federal law - it is legal in 39 states for medical use and 24 states for personal use - but there is no federal law prohibiting a bank or credit union from providing financial services to a marijuana business. That marijuana business too must operate in full compliance with the laws in its states. How does a credit union successfully navigate this landscape? Also on the show is Megan Bennett, manager MRB compliance at Wright-Patt Credit Union in Ohio.  the 38th biggest credit union in the country with assets around $9 billion. MRB of course is Marijuana Related Businesses. Bennett explains, in detail, how Wright-Patt decided to serve marijuana businesses, how it’s working for the institution, and why this is a win-win-win for the state of Ohio, the marijuana businesses and the credit union. How many credit unions serve marijuana businesses in the US? Under 200, probably nearer 150.  But Wright-Patt just may illustrate how it can be done, legally and well. Listen up. Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters. Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto