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Consulting firm CU Strategic Planning and fintech Kasasa have teamed up to expand access to financial products and services at CDFI-certified credit unions, the two organizations announced Tuesday.
The new partnership enables credit union clients of the Tacoma, Wash.-based CU Strategic Planning, which provides business planning services for cooperatives with a focus on community development, to connect un- and underbanked communities to the Austin, Texas-based Kasasa's financial products and services. These include targeted marketing services and the Kasasa Loan, which the fintech said is the only loan on the market with Take-Backs that allow consumers to pay down their loan principal faster, reducing interest payments with the option to borrow back their funds in case of an emergency.
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"This partnership is driven by more than just Kasasa products," Ronaldo Hardy, CU Strategic Planning's chief diversity and inclusion officer, said in a prepared statement. "Kasasa uses data analytics to target potential members with a nationally recognized brand to drive financial inclusion in a way that credit unions can't accomplish on their own."
Hardy continued, "Minorities comprise the greatest share of the underbanked. Like all consumers, the underbanked place greater trust in national brands. Let's move those consumers away from national cash checkers and payday lenders, like MoneyTree, and into credit unions that want to help them succeed."
CU Strategic Planning's services include CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) grant-writing, strategic planning meeting facilitation and business plan development for credit unions.
"We are thrilled to partner with CU Strategic Planning as they continue to drive profound change for credit unions and the communities they serve," Jill Feiler, EVP of client success at Kasasa, said in a prepared statement. "Credit unions work on a local level and have the benefit of knowing their communities better than the megabanks do, making them the best financial institution to reach underbanked consumers in the area. By offering innovative products with a national brand, credit unions are able to expand their reach and grow while creating value for their members and providing a people-first banking experience."
Kasasa provides branded retail banking products, marketing and consulting services to over 900 community banks and credit unions.
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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.
