Filene's i3 innovation program has unveiled 14 new ideas in its latest innovation catalog Key Findings: Blueprints for Innovation (early 2010 edition).
According to author Denise Gabel, Filene's chief innovation officer, credit unions will find "solutions that will help your organization connect, collaborate, and cooperate with other credit unions, in addition to helping members build wealth, navigate financial waters, meet life's milestones, make community connections and borrow responsibly."
Some of the innovations include Hello, a Web-based baby registry account that accepts gifts of cash for a child even before birth. The idea is to turn gifts into long-term savings. Friends, family, and colleagues who choose to give can donate to a Hello account and become part of the child's online community. Pages for accounts will present goals and progress, provide individual "buckets" for savings, and allow posting of photographs and news.
One of the earlier i3 innovations, the savings challenge, has proved successful in helping consumers change how they look at savings and taken off in credit unions across the country.
