<p>WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Does the term "credit union" scare away some potential members or SEGs? Is it too confusing for today's financial marketplace? These are some of the questions being raised by Paragon FCU President/CEO Richard Rays. In a letter sent to the CEOs of major credit union trade associations, Rays floats a couple of alternative terms for "credit union." They include Cooperative Association, Financial Association, and Financial Cooperative. Rays believes that in cases where potential members or SEGs are not familiar with credit unions, the term "union" can hurt the CU's chances of signing them up. "Just having the word `union' in the name can scare the dickens out of management. They don't even like to use that word," said Rays. Rays said the obvious answer is to educate these potential members and SEGs about what a credit union is, but he said despite educational attempts, the initial contact is often unfavorable because of their beliefs going in. He said more people are familiar with the term "cooperative" and including that in the name may give CUs a better chance in bringing on new SEGs and members. It will be easier for CUs to convey their tax status as not-for-profit with cooperative in their name, said Rays. "Most consumers aren't aware of the tax status of credit unions. Cooperatives are something people can identify with," said Rays. Middle and upper management in particular may be scared off by "union" said Rays. "A lot of it is just perception, but many times you can't get some of the higher-ups in the organization to join a credit union. We have a lot of organizations that are union-shops, but there are a lot of other places that don't want anything to do with a union. They see it as someone wanting to come in and organize their shop. They don't even want to talk to you." He also believes that "union" connotes an "exclusive" group, whereas "cooperative' connotes an "inclusive" group. "We certainly don't want to give the perception of being exclusive financial institutions going forward," said Rays. Rays hopes one of the trades will look into this issue. "Maybe some committee at NAFCU or CUNA can pick up the ball and run with this." Rays is mostly taking issue with the term "union," but some say the term "credit" also has negative connotations. [email protected]</p>