The Filene Research Institute has sold its popular Debt in Focus tool to San Francisco-based SavvyMoney, a comprehensive resource company providing a mix of “do it yourself" tools and advice to help individuals get out of debt quickly.
According to Mark Meyer, CEO of Filene in Madison, Wis., the move forward in a relationship with SavvyMoney has been a way to live the Edward Filene quote: “Progress is the constant replacing of the best there is with something better still.”
“With Filene’s success, we have also learned our limitations. In order to be our best, Debt in Focus found SavvyMoney to be the best company to align with in order to meet our members’ ever-evolving needs,” said Meyer.
"We are looking forward to collaborating with the Filene team moving forward to provide the very best product for the credit union industry. Together, with our technical expertise and their unparalleled expertise in the industry, we will shape the next version of Debt in Focus to help improve the user experience for consumers and credit unions, and maximize the overall impact of the tool on helping users turn their financial lives around,” said JB Orecchia, CEO of SavvyMoney.
Debt in Focus is the product of an i3 innovation team’s goal to make financial guidance simple, powerful and anonymous. More than 500,000 consumers have received financial assessments, workable budgets and actionable guidance through 300 credit unions since the tool was publicly launched in April 2010, Filene said.
For consumers, particularly those intimidated by traditional offerings, it provides a thorough debt analysis, along with all of the support necessary to help in reaching their debt management goals, Filene said.
Credit unions will get more out of Debt in Focus, with better technology, increased branding flexibility, enhanced administrative tools, and providing a soup-to-nuts solution for members, the organization said.
