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Envisant, a service corporation of the Illinois Credit Union League, has partnered with fintech Sparrow to help credit unions attract Gen Z members by addressing a challenge young consumers often face: Financing higher education.
The CUSO’s Monday announcement said as a result of the partnership, its partner credit unions would gain access to Sparrow’s college financing and marketing automations platform. Sparrow’s solution includes a white-label student loan marketplace, which enables credit unions to connect members with student loans without taking on the risks commonly associated with underwriting, funding and servicing student loans themselves. The solution also allows credit unions to automate the process of expanding their relationships with unengaged members – such as members acquired through indirect auto loans, dormant members or single-transaction members – by developing personalized email campaigns and delivering tailored recommendations, according to the announcement.
The New York, N.Y.-based Sparrow currently serves just under 100 credit unions with asset sizes ranging from $6 million to $34 billion, Envisant’s announcement said. What’s more, the organization said credit unions can launch the solution in 60 seconds, that it does not require core system integration and that it can give credit unions access to over 260 unique data attributes per user.
“Becoming a trusted financial steward for the next generation of members is extremely difficult,” Sparrow CEO Harrison Hochman said. “To stand out, credit unions must solve problems for Gen Z. With our Envisant partnership, we’re excited to help more credit unions solve one of the hardest financial problems young adults face, and in turn develop deep relationships with them over time.”
Libby Calderone, CEO of Envisant, added, “We are committed to providing our credit unions with the tools and resources they need to compete effectively and serve their members better. Our partnership with Sparrow allows our credit unions to offer a valuable solution tailored to the next generations most pressing financial needs, and the ability to launch in minutes.”
The announcement also noted that 70% of users leveraging the Sparrow platform through the fintech’s existing credit union clients have been younger non-members who later stated their interest in becoming members of the credit union.
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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.
