Nearly one in six people in the United States is Hispanic,according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but many credit unions aremissing out on connecting with that market. This market group,which controls $1.3 trillion in buying power, will have a projectedreach of $1.7 trillion by 2020, according to Nielsen research.

CU Times asked three pros what credit unions can do totap into this market and how to get started. Here's theiradvice:

Do: Haverelevant products for the underbanked and unbanked.

Don't: Limit your offerings to prepaid cardsand money transfers.

Things like remittance products, prepaid cards and check cashingare common go-to products for credit unions and other financialinstitutions that want to attract more Hispanics, but those aren'tthe only products Hispanics want.

“'If you build it, they'll come' — it doesn't work like that,”National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions SVP ofMembership/Business Development Pablo DeFilippi said. “The Hispaniccommunity is so diverse that it's not about just one product.”

The median income of Hispanic householders is $42,491, accordingto the U.S. Census. A better strategy is to use products andservices as a way to help people get to know the whole creditunion.

“If we look at the unbanked market, that first-generationmarket, there's some transaction-based products that are meetingthe needs of the community today outside the traditional financialmainstream, like remittances or prepaid cards,” Coopera ConsultingCEO Miriam De Dios noted. “Those tools are very helpful to engageinitially, to help folks kind of meet them where they are today.But they're also looking for access to credit building, which willlead to lending products. They're interested in purchasing cars andultimately obtaining a home and things like that.”

Financial planning is also in huge demand, though few financialplanners are courting the market, she said.

Do: Offerbilingual personnel and paperwork in Spanish.

Don't: Assume Hispanics only preferSpanish.

“Yes, you are going to have to make an investment in terms ofmaking sure that you have bilingual services,” DeFilippi said. “Butthat doesn't mean every Hispanic wants to be talked to inSpanish.”

“I think that we — and this applies to every nationality — Ithink that people just want us to feel like you respect theculture,” he said.

Most Hispanics — 65% — are not foreign born, according to theU.S. Census. Those who are new arrivals to the country might preferSpanish, but younger, tech-savvy Hispanics and second- andthird-generation Hispanics frequently prefer English, De Diosadded.

“Right there, you have two segments,” she said.

English-preferring Hispanics are often heavily courted bymultiple institutions, she noted.

“If they don't already have a financial institutionrelationship, it can be very difficult to attract them or take themaway from the current relationship that they have,” she said.

The most untapped market has a higher percentage ofSpanish-preferring customers, which means credit unions may need tolook at how they recruit and hire if they want to connect with thatsegment, De Dios explained. Spanish-language phone lines andinterpreters can help in the short-term but may quickly becomeinconvenient and even create some frustration. Credit unions haveto invest in human resources.

“You want to have that capacity internally and have frontlinestaff that are not only bilingual, but also bicultural, who canhelp members through that entire experience,” she noted.

Do: Make aneffort to connect with the Hispanic community.

Don't: Assume branches can only be inSpanish-speaking neighborhoods to succeed.

“I think that people tend to get overwhelmed, but when it comesto serving the Hispanic market, I think that this is just like anyother business development opportunity. You have to make aninvestment, you have to develop the market by establishing thatrelationship with the community, and it takes time,” DeFilippisaid. “It doesn't pay off overnight. We are looking at some peoplewho have never banked before or people who have been takenadvantage of. People don't trust anybody anymore.”

Branch location is secondary to value proposition if the creditunion is working with community partners, De Dios added.

“If the market isn't being served well, people will go to thatbranch,” she said. “It may not be convenient at first, butcertainly if they have everything in play, such as bilingualpersonnel, if the products are relevant, if they can get access toproducts because the credit union has allowed for flexibledocumentation — especially for that unbanked immigrant market — ifall those other things are in place, then I think the locationissue can be overcome.”

Ultimately, attracting this new demographic is a long-termstrategic investment, not a to-do list that can be completed byFriday, DeFilippi said.

“It's not just about making sure you're bringing in enoughrevenue this year; it's really looking at your future. Are yougoing to be here ten years from now if you don't really learn howto serve this demographic?” he said.

By the numbers

About one in six: Number of people in theUnited States who are Hispanic (17.6% of the population), accordingto the U.S. Census.

56.6 million: Number of Hispanics in the UnitedStates as of July 1, 2015, according to the U.S. Census.

$42,491: Median income of Hispanichouseholders, according to the U.S. Census.

14.4: Percentage of Hispanics 25 and older withat least a bachelor's degree, according to the U.S. Census.

$1.3 trillion: Buying power of the Hispaniccommunity today, according to Nielsen.

$1.7 trillion: Projected buying power of theHispanic community by 2020, according to Nielsen.

14th largest in the world: Economy U.S.Hispanics would have if they were their own country.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2016; The Nielsen Company,2016

How one credit union does it

In 2005, Vacaville, Calif.-based Travis Credit Union, whichtoday has $2.6 billion in assets and 186,000 members, beganstudying how it could tap into the Hispanic market.

“As we started watching the Census reports, we knew that thegrowth of the Hispanic community was going to be a business case inthe future,” Travis CU Director of Corporate Relations SherryCordonnier said.

After about four years of research and planning, Travis doveinto the market in 2009, focusing on grassroots marketing thathelped it build relationships in the Hispanic community. Inaddition, the credit union translated its product and servicemessaging into Spanish, created Spanish-language branding elements,and rebranded and relaunched signature loan products, among otherthings. The credit union also hired Spanish speakers, and the boarddecided to accept the matricula consular, an identity card issuedby the Mexican consulate, as a form of ID, Cordonnier said.

“We know trust is a big factor, so I would say it is importantto have someone who speaks Spanish in the branch — at least oneperson,” she said. “People will drive the distance or go where theyfeel comfortable and familiar.”

By 2015, 22% of Travis CU's members were Hispanic, Cordonnierreported.

“We took the time to realize it was going to be a long-terminvestment, number one, and we listened to our Hispanic community.We now have a Hispanic advisory committee that is composed ofleaders throughout the counties that we serve who come to the tableevery quarter,” she said.