MAXX Speakers Break Down Diversity & Inclusion, Data Ethics: Onsite Coverage

SPOKANE, Wash. – Educational breakout sessions on the second full day of the Northwest Credit Union Association’s MAXX Convention hit on hot-button topics, including how to serve the rapidly-growing demographic of Hispanics and developing member data use practices that are ethical. The convention concluded with a presentation of the NWCUA’s highest honors – the Summit Awards – to credit union teams and individuals for demonstrating outstanding service to the credit union movement.

Serving Better With Segmentation

Multicultural consumers currently comprise 39% of the U.S. population, and by next year, Hispanics specifically will make up 18% of the country’s population. However, at credit unions, 90% of C-suite executives and board members are white, which is creating a disconnect, according to Victor Corro, CEO of consulting firm Coopera in Des Moines, Iowa. “If we don’t have those [multicultural] voices represented in chartering the future of the credit union, then we’re not representing the communities we’re in,” Corro told attendees of his session, in which he explained the rapid growth of minority communities in the U.S., why seeking their business is valuable to credit unions, and ways to attract them as members.

He said the number one mistake credit unions make in their efforts to attract new Hispanic members is launching a Hispanic outreach program while assuming that all of their targets are the same, when in fact the backgrounds and characteristics of Hispanics and Latinos vary greatly. Corro, who was born in Panama and has lived in the U.S. for 30 years, said for example, he dislikes it when he receives direct mailers from cable companies advertising their Mexican channels in Spanish because he is not from Mexico and prefers to speak English.

Credit unions should determine the country of origin, life stage, socioeconomic data, and shopping and media behavior metrics for the people they are targeting, he noted. “You can’t assume they all look the same, speak the same or see the world the same way. It’s very important to find a couple of target markets in your field of membership, and pursue them as part of your need to grow and create a better member journey for them.”

He noted credit unions can benefit from embracing more Hispanic members because they’re making a major economic impact, with Hispanic GDP at $2.13 trillion and growing 70% faster than non-Hispanic GDP, and 4.37 million Hispanic-owned companies in the U.S.

Corro also recommended credit unions create personas of the types of members they hope to attract, complete with names and photos, to help employees understand the types of services they might be seeking. “That helps create empathy, because you can relate to a person you can see.”

Using Member Data Ethically

Accessibility to consumer data has exploded, with some marketing companies holding around 1,500 data points on 96% of U.S. consumers, and 95% of the top free mobile apps now collecting data on their users. What’s more, 90% of the world’s data has been created in last two years, and the pace of data creation isn’t slowing down.

Shahar Ziv, senior director of global corporate strategy for PayPal, presented these stats to kick off his session, which explored how to leverage this ever-expanding amount of data responsibly. For credit unions, member data can be used to personalize promotions and interactions with the goal of improving the member experience, but credit unions must question whether member data is being leveraged in an ethical manner, Ziv said. As an example of a data practice that some might see as unethical, Ziv described how a retailer sent coupons for baby and pregnancy-related items to the home of a pregnant teenage girl and her father as a result of the girl’s purchasing history and internet activity. However, she had not yet told her father about the pregnancy, putting her in an awkward position when he questioned why they had received the coupons.

Ziv revealed that the majority of consumers are in fact OK with companies they trust using their data, and financial institution customers or members have said they’re good with their data being used if the purpose is to prevent fraud. “It’s not about gathering the data, it’s about explicitly explaining to your members how you’re using their data and how they’ll benefit from you using their data,” he said.

Credit unions should consider the issue of fairness when using data, for example when making decisions on loans, because algorithms can sometimes discriminate, Ziv said. He added that members want to feel like they have control of their data, that it’s secure, that you’re analyzing the right data, and that they have the ability to own their data and take it with them somewhere else.

He emphasized credit unions should ask themselves the following questions when evaluating their member data practices:

• How do we use our members’ data?
• How do we inform our members about how their data is being used?
• Are our policies transparent and member-friendly?
• What are our privacy rules?
• How do we build and maintain trust with our members?
• Are our data collection policies opt-in or opt-out?
• Do we make it easy for a member to change their preferences?
• Are we compliant with regulatory obligations?
• Have we ensured that we are using data fairly?
• Do we audit to ensure our analytics are not discriminating?
• What are the policies of our partners who have access to member data?

Northwest Credit Union Leaders Honored at Summit Awards

On Thursday evening, the NWCUA presented its Summit Awards to 10 credit unions and four individuals. Debie Keesee, 22-year president/CEO of Spokane Media Federal Credit Union, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. According to the NWCUA, she was an early champion of legislation, allowing municipal governments in Washington state to deposit public funds in credit unions, resulting in choice and better returns on taxpayer deposits. She was also a leading Northwest advocate for the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act last year.

Other credit unions and leaders honored with Summit Awards included the following:

• Mary Vasquez, community advocate at the Portland, Ore.-based Point West Credit Union,  received the Young Credit Union Leader Award for deepening relationships in the city’s Latinix community, and for committing 400 hours of service to more than 30 community organizations last year.
• John Moore, chief experience officer at the Clatskanie, Ore.-based Wauna Credit Union, received the Impact Award for creating programs to train the credit union’s future leaders. He also created a program to help the staff better understand each member’s specific financial circumstances, resulting in relevant, customized service to members.
• Tim George, director at the Medford, Ore.-based Rogue Credit Union, was honored as the Northwest’s Distinguished Director for 27 years of staff and member-focused service to the board.
• Nine credit unions serving the Portland metropolitan area received the Cooperation in Action Award for jointly holding a job fair to raise awareness about the benefits of working in not-for-profit, cooperative credit unions: Unitus Community Credit Union, Advantis Credit Union, Clackamas Federal Credit Union, First Tech Federal Credit Union, iQ Credit Union, Point West Credit Union, Rivermark Community Credit Union, SELCO Community Credit Union and Trailhead Credit Union.
• The Meridian, Idaho-based CapEd Credit Union received the Members on Main Street Award for its Get $100 and Give $100 program, which resulted in more than $80,000 in contributions benefiting 243 local schools.