Peter Davey

To all #CDFI #CreditUnions Worried About Losing Certification: On December 7, 2023, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) published a revised CDFI Certification Application. Since then, CUCollaborate has heard from many credit unions that they worry about retaining Certification under the revised application. So, over the last few months, we have been working hard to develop strategies -- and the necessary software to support them -- to provide credit unions the best chance of retaining Certification. Below are some of the strategies, including software we have developed: 1. Custom Investment Areas (IA): While the revised certification application has significantly diminished the potential impact of custom IAs, they are still a critical tool for credit unions within reach of Certification but not quite there. Our software draws mathematically optimized, custom IAs based on a credit union’s lending activity and financial services. 2. Financial Services Option Analysis: Under the revised application, credit unions that either have 60% by number and 50% of the dollar, or 50% by number and 60% by dollar, can retain Certification if at least 60% of the credit union's depository account holders are members of one or more eligible Target Markets. We have found that the combination of a mathematically optimized Custom IA and the Financial Services Option is particularly effective in retaining Certification, specifically in desperate cases. 3. Target Market API: We have developed a CDFI Target Market API which supports a number of strategies to ensure that you meet your target market lending requirements moving forward. We have established, and continue to add more partnerships, with Fintechs (like National Auto Loan Network, LoanStar Technologies, GreenLyne, etc.) and loan participation platforms (like Aluvy, etc.) to help source qualified lending to ensure credit unions retain certification in the future. 4. CDFI Certification Dashboard: We have also developed a data analytics platform, allowing credit unions to monitor the necessary statistics to retain certification on a rolling basis to ensure that if they start to fall behind, proactive action may be taken before it is too late. 5. CUSO Strategies: If all else fails, credit unions can leverage CUSOs to either help the credit union attain or retain Certification directly OR indirectly gain the many benefits conferred by CDFI Certification through a CDFI Loan Fund CUSO. We know the value of your CDFI Certification, which is why we have invested significantly in developing strategies and proprietary technology that help credit unions retain Certification. Moreover, the software we have developed allows us to help credit unions retain Certification in instances when it would simply be impossible without it. If you believe you are in jeopardy of losing your certification, please contact us: https://lnkd.in/gsysDMTp

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To all #CDFI #CreditUnions Worried About Losing Certification: The CDFI Fund's revised CDFI Certification Application WILL NOT result in the loss of your certification, if you contact us now. CU Strategic Planning was at the forefront of advocacy to ensure the revision had the flexibility for credit unions to maintain CDFI Certification. Since then, CU Strategic Planning has been actively working with over 100 credit unions to ensure their recertification success. This includes creating advisory boards, community development mission statements, providing product design insights and defensible justification of product attributes. Most powerfully, with the depth of that expert consulting (not available through a technology company alone), we took a giant leap forward by merging two leading organizations to create a profound alliance with Callahan & Associates, Inc. the national leader in data analytics for credit unions. CU Strategic Planning is now a Callahan & Associates company leveraging the power of the most trusted data system in the movement. As THE credit union CDFI certification experts, we are and have been for the last 16 years working to ensure every credit union serving people of modest means can attain and retain its CDFI Certification. If you believe you are in jeopardy of losing your certification, come to the experts. No one has certified more credit unions as CDFIs than CU Strategic Planning. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gbvdeYpe Schedule a call: https://lnkd.in/gr_FemEV

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Same Day ACH v RTP - Battle Round 1Q 2024 I look at Faster Payments trends on a quarterly basis. One of the ongoing questions I struggle with is the need for #Realtimepayments v #fasterpayments. Most #Banks and #creditunions offer ACH and Same Day ACH already. So the question many ask ....... Do I need to add The Clearing House RTP or Federal Reserve Board Fed Now or does #SameDayACH suffice for most of our clients? The Stats- Same Day ACH volume is up 47% YoY on a basis of $565B TCH is harder to get, but it looks like 61% YoY ($42B v $26B) Same Day continues to grow volume at >40% is about 17x bigger than #RTP. Clearing House is growing RTP at about 61% off a base of 26B. The 14% higher growth rate, while impressive, is not really a fair comparison. For context Same Day ACH GREW volume by more than 3X TOTAL RTP volume. So What? - RTP represents about 6% of Same Day ACH Volume up from about 4% last year. I believe much of the RTP growth has been a function of many banks and credit unions adding it along with their #FedNow launch. I will be curious to see how these growth curves continue to trend and if true use cases for Real-Time V Faster becoming compelling enough to shift this volume rather than both just replacing and disrupting checks and other non-digital payments. Do you think the Real-Time Payments use cases will displace the Faster Payments growth that is already happening. Or is Real-Time a solution looking for a problem? Jessica Pinkston Kevin Von Holten Brandi Gregory Lindsay Hooks Mary Wisniewski

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It's a difficult thing in the digital world for banks to attract young consumers — and garner the loyalty of kids while they're young. U.S. Bank has found a promising solution through a partnership with fintech Greenlight. By integrating Greenlight's accounts and services into its own mobile banking app, U.S. Bank aims to attract the next generation of customers while providing valuable financial education and practical money management experience for kids The partnership addresses a critical gap in traditional banking offerings: the lack of transaction accounts for children. With Greenlight's debit card and money app, kids as young as 10 can learn to handle money and transact cashlessly, all while being subject to parental oversight. Parents can set spending limits, monitor transactions, and establish savings goals for their children, fostering financial responsibility from an early age. U.S. Bank sees two key benefits in this partnership. First, it differentiates the bank's "Bank Smartly" accounts, potentially attracting and retaining depositors who value financial education for their children. Second, by engaging with kids through Greenlight, the bank hopes to establish itself as the go-to institution when these young customers are ready for their first checking account. Greenlight's Brandon Horne, general manager of partnerships, emphasizes that the company's bank and credit union partnerships are an additional channel for growth, not a strategic shift. By embedding the parental experience in the bank's app, Greenlight gives financial institutions more ownership in the customer experience and facilitates a smooth transition as kids approach adulthood. Learn more in the full article by Steve Cocheo:

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We've crunched some numbers and the results were even beyond our expectations... 🚀 Pulsate's most active users surpassed their credit union peers by more than 15X when it comes to year-over-year growth in "Average Member Relationship"! If your FI is struggling to keep your products top of mind in your consumers' moment of need, book a demo to see how Pulsate can help. [Link in the comments] #ConsumerEngagement #MemberEngagement #DigitalEngagement 

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🚀 Brand new blog post on modernizing #ACH processing for banks and credit unions from Kent Brown (CTO) and Blake Herring (Staff Engineer and ACH Expert). 🌐💸 The Automated Clearing House (ACH) network is the backbone of electronic payments in the U.S., but it's facing significant challenges in today's digital age. 🔍 Explore the Challenges: Learn about the obstacles banks and credit unions face with outdated ACH processing systems and how manual entry woes impact operational efficiency. 💡 The Solution: Discover how Payment Manager bridges the gap between traditional banking systems and modern digital environments, offering advanced features like API-driven initiations and automated processing. 📈 Results and Impact: Dive into the transformative results experienced by our customers, including boosted operational efficiency, increased reliability, and enhanced transparency. 🔑 Why It Matters: Understand why modernizing ACH processing is crucial for community banks and credit unions to stay competitive in today's rapidly evolving financial landscape. Read the blog and start a conversation: https://lnkd.in/gFtPAFvg #ACH #Fintech #Innovation #Payments #DigitalTransformation #banking #creditunions

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The #CFPB issued an interpretive rule describing how lenders issuing digital user accounts to access credit are also “creditors” subject to subpart B of Regulation Z. The rule makes clear that lenders issuing BNPL products and other digital user accounts to access credit will be regulated like credit card providers. Read more in this #clientalert: https://ow.ly/8IYm50RTU3w #legalnews

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New blog post: CECL implementation is creating new norms for banks and credit unions. Learn which model inputs your financial institution should be evaluating to ensure you're maintaining a proactive approach to CECL. Read today: https://lnkd.in/eSHWeF-t Thanks to Zach Englert for sharing! Empyrean Solutions

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As member of the Center for Payments, and in conjunction with Nacha and ICBA, SFE is seeking your input on a fraud study: https://lnkd.in/ejhc2kRb.   The study has three primary objectives: -- To deepen understanding of the impact that payments fraud imposes on financial institutions and their customers or members. -- To evaluate the current methodologies employed by financial institutions in identifying instances of payments fraud. -- To delineate the strategies and protocols adopted by financial institutions once instances of payments fraud are detected. The results will be used to provide actionable insights that will empower financial institutions to enhance their defenses against payments fraud and safeguard the integrity of their operations. In addition, each participating financial institution will receive a confidential, personalized Company Performance Report. Please take the time to respond, limiting to only one response per FI. The survey closes May 31, and we want to make sure we have your input! https://lnkd.in/ejhc2kRb. Danita Moss, AAP, NCP Pam Rodriguez, AAP, CIA, CISA Catherine Bishop, AAP, APRP, NCP Sandra Parker David P. Dominic Plumeri, AAP, APRP

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To the likely surprise of providers of buy now, pay later (BNPL) financing, the #CFPB recently issued an interpretative rule stating that BNPL products are actually "credit cards" under the Truth in Lending Act and BNPL providers are "card issuers" and therefore "creditors" under, and subject to, Regulation Z. Scott Pearson, Bryan Schneider and Eric Knight explain the significance here:

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For CDFI credit unions that had concerns whether their 2023 loans might not meet the new certification standards, the extension from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) is great news! Now there’s time to make adjustments as needed. So where do you start? Learn more during our July 10 webinar for currently certified CDFI credit unions: https://loom.ly/qKXwPRc #creditunions #CDFIs

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🔔 Major Milestone in Open Banking! 🔔 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has taken a crucial step in the enforcement of Open Banking standards. The CFPB has finalized a rule to recognize industry standard-setting bodies for Open Banking. This rule outlines qualifications for these bodies to ensure openness, transparency, balanced decision-making, and due process. The recognized standards will help implement the upcoming Personal Financial Data Rights rule, promoting innovation and fair competition. The rule includes a step-by-step guide for applications and mechanisms for maintaining recognition standards. NOTE: This is Not the publication of the final 1033 rule that will be published in the Fall but is a giant step in preparing for the 1033 implementation and to ensure its success. Follow OpenFinity and join http://openfinity.org today to stay informed. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gJTm6NGs #openbanking #openfinance #CFPB #FDX Laurent Van Huffel, Laura Heritage Financial Data Exchange

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We're proud to be a #CDFI, and join the other CDFI's and Responsible Lenders across the country in making real change! Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) have turned ripples of finance into waves of change for individuals, businesses and social enterprises across the UK.  They provided opportunity and built resilience for disadvantaged communities and those excluded from mainstream finance. In 2023, lending from CDFI's hit a record high of £287 million - and CDFIs now operate at 31 times the scale they did in 2003, when the sector lent £9.2 million. This growth reflects how CDFI's fill widening needs seen for the right finance at the right time.  Here’s what CDFIs achieved in 2023: - Supported 4,546 start-ups and SMEs with £102m of loans.  - 12,135 jobs were created or safeguarded.  - 99% of businesses had been declined by another lender.  - 371 social enterprises were supported with £119m of loans.   - Households saved £29m in interest repayments compared to high-cost lenders.   - CDFIs lent £66m to 85,208 individuals.  - CDFIs identified a total of £601m of unclaimed benefits for 143,050 customers. Read more about the impact of CDFIs’, plus lots of customer stories in: https://lnkd.in/eWSFydQ2 #RipplesToWaves #ResponsibleFinance #CDFIs Responsible Finance 👏

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Bank and Credit Union CEOs Reveal Top Priorities in Annual Survey https://lnkd.in/eCvXUAGS #CreditUnions #CreditUnion #banking #financialservices #survey #ceo Jack Henry

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CDFI Fund Update: FY 2024 BEA Program Application Demand The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) released application data for the FY 2024 round of its Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program). Key Highlights: ➡️Over $101 Million Requested The BEA Program saw 176 applications requesting over $101 million, more than 2.5 times the available $40 million. These applicants are from 24 states and the District of Columbia. ➡️Significant Increases in Qualified Activities From January 1 to December 31, 2023, applicants reported nearly $1.1 billion in qualified activities, marking a $390 million increase from the baseline period: - $257 million in loans and investments - $78 million in equity investments and support to CDFIs - $56 million in financial services ➡️Commitments to Persistent Poverty Counties (PPCs) Out of the 176 applicants, 98 committed to deploying a portion of their award in Persistent Poverty Counties, including areas in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. Applications are under review, and the CDFI Fund expects to announce awards in fall 2024. #CDFIFund #BEAProgram #EconomicDevelopment #CommunityFinance #CDBA #InvestInCommunities #PersistentPovertyCounties #FinancialInclusion

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Kitchen table issues remain front and center for many customers and members at #communitybanks and #creditunions. Offering a checking product that delivers real value to them is the kind of brand reinforcement community FIs can't buy. Delivering not just value in a product but value across customers/members' lives is why BaZing has been boosting primacy, organic growth, and noninterest income to hundreds of community FIs that have joined us. What's more, as banking continues to become more competitive, BaZing helps community FIs differentiate from the competition. #banks #banking #communitybanks #creditunions #checkingproducts #primacy

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