Credit unions and other financial institutions have a hugeopportunity to add members if they offer products and services thathelp people take better control of their finances, according toa new Fiserv/Harris Poll survey of 3,050 U.S. adults.

The survey, conducted over a two-week period last fall, foundthat 45% of consumers agree time spent thinking about managing their money is a chore and 60% view financialmanagement as a “have to do” rather than a “want to do.”One-quarter said they feel lost when trying to manage householdexpenses, and 48% admitted they don’t have anyone to rely on foradvice on managing their finances.

That gives financial institutions a big opening, according toFiserv.

“Fifty-three percent of consumers view financial institutions aspartners in managing their finances, indicating that banks andcredit unions have an opportunity to fill this gap,” it said.

Many consumers like their financial institutions, the surveyfound. On a scale of zero to 10, 76% gave their primary bank orcredit union at least an eight, and more than one-quarter ratedtheir primary financial institution a perfect 10. According to thesurvey, 52% have had an account with their primary financialinstitution for a decade or more.

Consumers are less thrilled about their own financial managementskills, however. On average, the respondents gave themselves a Bfor their short-term money skills such as paying bills or stickingto a budget. They only gave themselves a C+ when it comes tolong-term skills such as saving for college or retirement.

But given that consumers have relationships with an average of3.7 financial organizations, according to the survey, there’splenty of competition for their attention.

“Very rarely do households use a one stop shop approach tofinancial management, wherein they rely on only one institution tosatisfy all their financial needs,” Fiserv said. “Working withmultiple institutions generally reflects a focused strategyintended to maximize rewards, rates and results.”

However, the survey respondents did identify some financialmanagement products and services that may make members more likelyto stick around:

• Three out of four households (more,if they’re millennials) want real-time balances on allaccounts;
• Seventy-two percent want instant posting of transactions;
• Twenty-eight percent said real-time access is the most helpfulresource for managing finances;
• Twenty-five percent said managing all accounts from differentfinancial institutions with a single online location or app was most helpful for managingfinances;
• Twenty-four percent would like a single directory of allfinancial institutions and people with whom they could regularlymove funds; and
• Forty-eight percent are interested in a “name your price” toolwhere they could customize their desired outcome.