Irish Credit Unions embrace FinTech as loans flood in through Facebook

Credit Unions throughout the country have entered the FinTech arena – and it’s paying off in dividends. The Solution Centre is reporting that since they began rolling out their digital loan service initiatives earlier this year, those credit unions involved have seen their interaction with younger adult members increase 10-fold.

To drive its FinTech agenda forward the Solution Centre, managed by CUDA, are holding an event tomorrow, Friday 1st September, in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland, at the Spencer Hotel in Dublin to provide those in Ireland’s credit union sector with an opportunity to meet some of the global leaders in FinTech, to get an understanding of how their innovations can enable credit unions to offer a market-leading member experience.

The Digital Credit Union Experience

Speaking of the event and the growing importance of technology in the future of the credit union branch network in Ireland Kevin Johnson, CEO of CUDA and the Solution Centre,

“The drive behind our move into the FinTech space was bolstered by findings of a nationwide survey we commissioned recently, of 1,000 people throughout the country, 57% of which said that, if given the choice, they would prefer to apply for access to credit with a lending institution using an online channel such as Facebook, rather than attending the branch and meeting with a bank or credit union employee”.

Since its launch earlier this year, the “Facebook Loan” initiative has already been a huge success for several credit unions throughout the country – now accounting for up to 15% to 20% in loan enquiries per month for some credit unions.

Credit unions are now using Facebook to boost their lending by offering fast-approval loans to the tech and financially savvy. Key aspects of the new digital lending initiative involves a 30-second enquiry online, followed by call-backs from dedicated lending officers to ensure all the terms & conditions are explained and agreed.

Following an initial successful pilot project, this has now become an established channel for credit unions, with close to half of those using the facility to take out a loan never having borrowed from a credit union before.

Credit Unions participating in the digital loan marketing programme have seen loan growth of 15% -20% in a relatively short space of time, with minimal investment.

The TechBridge Event

Kevin continued,

“We are committed to our agenda for change and are delighted that many of the country’s leading credit unions, with a combined 1million+ members, are currently working on projects through the Solution Centre that will enhance their ability to deliver, even more, value to more members.

We are hosting a group of FinTech experts from Estonia – a country generally regarded as a world leader in e-Government and Cyber solutions – and from Ireland to present solutions that are centred on the development of credit unions, and aim to build an understanding of how effectively FinTech can be used in credit unions. We are delighted to have such successful companies as Daon, IceFire, Guardtime, Credit Info Group, Cybernetica, Nordigen, Bankish, Ostia Solutions as well as the Solution Centre presenting.”

Rather than simply replicating the actions of banks, the Solution Centre believes that credit unions have the flexibility and adaptability to quickly adopt new ways of doing business that will see an expansion of their credit market share.

Kevin concluded, “It’s clear the movement’s leading credit unions have embarked on a transformative digital journey”.