Even after several years of recession which saw widespread consumer rage directed at banks, a third of credit union leaders responding to a recent survey reported that consumer confusion over CU benefits was their biggest challenge in attracting new members.
The survey, sponsored by the Credit Union 24 ATM and POS network, found that roughly 66% of CU leaders surveyed reported that "consumer misunderstanding of credit union benefits over banks" as the leading factor their CUs had to overcome. This is down from the 77% who cited that challenge in 2010 and roughly the same number that cited the challenge in 2009, the network reported.
"Results of our survey show that credit union leaders are feeling similarly to how they did in 2009; however, it also illustrates that credit unions are continuing to face the same challenges that have plagued our industry for many years," said Jim Park, CEO of Credit Union 24, a Florida-based ATM and debit POS processing CUSO.
"This year's financial reform legislation has understandably caused tremendous uncertainty among credit union leaders – and EFT networks – as no one really knows the full effects of the legislation. The challenge lies in analyzing the 'what-if' scenarios and developing contingency plans to address the legislation while continuing to remain focused on our industry's core mission of delivering superior customer service to credit union member," Park said.
But the survey also reported that 84% of credit union leaders surveyed reported that the numbers of credit union members had risen (45% said this) or stayed stable (39%). By comparison, the number of CUs reporting fewer members also grew, but only 2% from 15% to 17%.
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