Credit Unions are quickly realizing that the millennial marketis their target market, but are they noticing that the Hispanicmillennial consumer is coming out as the most influential?

If you’re not including Hispanic millennials in your growthstrategy you’re missing out, said a study called the HispanicMillennial Project published earlier this year by ThinknowResearch, in collaboration with Sensis, respectively an advertisingagency and an online marketing company.

The study that shows how Hispanic millennials behave inregards to financial responsibility and actions, compared tonon-Hispanics in the same age bracket. For example, nearly 50 % ofHispanic millennials pay off credit cards each month, compared to61 % of Asian millennials and 46 % of black and non-Hispanic whitemillennials claims the study.

Furthermore, college enrollment by Hispanics has surpassedWhites and Hispanics were the only major ethnic group to see adecline in its poverty rate in 2014.

But are credit unions taking notice?

“I have a credit union and I had a student account without anyfees, but I think that was for every student,” said Cindy Varjas,28 of San Diego, CA. who is a member of the $6.9 billion San DiegoCounty Credit Union. “But other than that, I see them marketing tome the same way they market to my mom.”

Varjas said many of her friends use alternative banking as theirmain financial institutions, a trend that could have credit unionsrethinking their marketing plans.

“Hispanics are clearly the most adventurous whenconsidering non-traditional institutions, while non-Hispanics arethe least willing to try something new,” stated the January 2015Hispanic millennial Project. The study also showed that:

• 58% of HMs are open to non-traditional banks with no brancheslike Ally or Capital One, dropping to as low as 47% fornon-Hispanics.

• For non-traditional banking companies like Amazon, Apple,Google or Facebook offering banking services, it’s 55% vs.47%.

• And for non-traditional banking retailers like Wal-Mart orTarget offering banking services, Hispanics were at 54%, 9 pointshigher than non-Hispanics.

Not only are Hispanic millennials the trendsetters financially,their purchasing power will continuously increase, challenging thespending habits of the Baby Boomers.

Hispanic millennials are also frontrunners when adoptingtechnology and they lead when it comes to mobile banking trends.Around 69 % of Hispanics use their smartphone for mobile bankingand 49 % use tablets for the same reason.

The Hispanic millennial segment continues to be one of the mostimportant and misunderstood consumer demographics in the financialsector.

Some of the key findings of the research show that finances,money and financial relationships are important topics for Hispanicmillennials:

• Finances are an important means to an end for the Hispanicmillennial and not the end in itself.

• Younger Hispanics have a pragmatic approach to money and aremore responsible when it comes to spending, particularly comparedwith older Hispanics.

• Hispanic millennials take a conscientious approach to financesin line with post-recessionary consumer trends as well as rooted inHispanic cultural norms.

• The American Dream, particularly in the form of home ownership,is alive among Hispanic Millennials, but the method for realizingthat dream is less clear.

Millennials’ parents have finally been acknowledged as creditunions offer money transfer services and check cashing, but mostefforts have been focused on the “unbanked,” which is not the worldof the youngest Hispanic demographic.

“My parents didn’t have a lot of money and didn’t go tocollege,” said Daniel Salgado, 27, of San Jose, CA. who belongs tothe $340 million Premier One Credit Union. “But things aretotally different with me. Hopefully credit unions understand that,because I like my credit union, but I want them to know what I wantand keep up with the trends. It’s really not that hard. Just ask mewhat I need.”