Business advisor and investor Louise Belmont.
MONTEREY, Calif. – Today's biggest disruptors, such as Uber and Lyft, have a few things in common – all of their users' data is collected and managed in an open, accessible manner, and the companies have trained their users to expect better, more personalized service. And if credit unions want to provide better, more personalized service to their members – the same consumers being targeted by large disruptors – they must earn their members' trust and embrace the idea of open banking.
That's according to Louise Belmont, a U.K.-based business advisor and investor, who addressed attendees of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues' REACH conference Oct. 29. She explained open banking is the idea of laying a trail of member data that the credit union can use for its benefit, and noted credit unions are not making the best use of their data. "Financial institutions have done this with their data – hidden it, hoarded it and never used it," she said.
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Belmont presented new research from Signoi's Cultural Weather Trust report, which investigated how consumers in the U.S., U.K. and Australia feel about their level of trust with the organizations they interact with. It revealed that the dominant "codes of trust" – things organizations do to earn consumers' trust – are providing digital security, telling the truth, treating people well, demonstrating ethics and leadership, offering services that work and doing the right thing.
"A [credit union] member is like a daisy, and each petal is a petal of data," Belmont described. "You can use that data to create hyper-personalized, preemptive and predictive service. If I trust you, I'll share a petal of data with you."
She also noted credit unions must come up with new ways to engage with the people who really need help in their financial lives, and eliminate hurdles that stand in the way of teaming up with small innovators to provide better services. "Do you make it easy for innovators to innovate with you, or do you make it hard?" she asked.
Belmont concluded that credit unions should focus on three things to earn consumers' trust:
- The expectation of openness: Know that consumers want to do business with brands that talk to their customers in public, and that they in fact trust other consumers' reviews on social media more than the companies themselves. Organizations should ensure they publicly acknowledge their mistakes and work to correct them, and respond to comments made by their customers on public channels.
- Agency: Brands should offer consumers a feeling of control over their lives, especially during a time in which issues impacting the world, such as politics and climate change, is making individuals feel out of control, Belmont said. She recommended organizations listen and respond openly to customers, give honest advice and allow flexibility.
- Local authenticity: Belmont emphasized the importance of making a genuine local impact: "People want to see, feel and share what you're doing." She suggested that organizations provide local employment; use local resources; and sponsor, take part in and volunteer at local initiatives.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
