Shared Accounts With CU Times: Modernizing Credit Union Credit Cards
Orange County’s CU Chief Lending Officer Jeff Harper tells us what it takes to grow a credit card program.
Credit cards have never been credit unions’ bread-and-butter loan product, but more financial cooperatives have been investing in their credit card programs – just as demand for them has been increasing among consumers as a result of ongoing inflation.
On this episode of “Shared Accounts With CU Times,” Jeff Harper, chief lending officer for the $2.6 billion, Santa Ana, Calif.-based Orange County’s Credit Union, discusses how his credit union reinvigorated its credit card program to meet members’ needs. While the credit union’s credit card portfolio still has some growing to do to catch up with those of its peers, the program seen some promising results in recent years, including a 245% increase in credit card applications since partnering with a new fintech. The credit union is now in the process of modernizing and boosting the security of its credit cards through an initiative it calls Cards 2.0.
Harper, who has been a credit union industry professional since 1980 and with Orange County’s CU since 1997, also talks about witnessing the evolution of technology in banking, and how the current economic environment has impacted members’ finances and loan performance at the credit union. He also shares his thoughts on the Credit Card Competition Act, which has been heavily criticized by trade groups in the industry.
Plus, Harper gets us all dreaming about a vacation to sunny Southern California as he shares his favorite spots around the region – and confesses which TV show he tunes into for real estate and outfit inspiration.