Filene Fill-In Ep. 49: The Credit Union of the 21st Century!

Filene Research Institute

In many ways, the credit union model in this country was officially defined in 1934 by the Federal Credit Union Act (FCUA). At the time, credit unions’ main focus was around promoting savings and thrift, and providing people of modest means access to fair credit to pursue productive investments. While this remains the foundation of the model, the practical definitions of many of the elements affecting financial services and consumers then have fundamentally changed, and many influential factors that did not exist then cannot be ignored within financial conversations today. For that reason, among others, its necessary to take a fresh look at the driving forces that made way for today’s credit unions and refresh our vision of the landscape they are in. We bring in experts Stevie Rea, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine and co-author of Filene's report "The Credit Union of the 21st Century," and Sam Paxson, CO-OP Financial services’ chief experience officer, to discuss that FCUA re-imaging. In this episode, they talk through 21st century economic and social norms, the importance of staying ahead of changing technological trends and demands, and why this research is so important for credit unions. Download the full report at filene.org/459