It’s time to talk about something really, truly exciting in credit union land.

How about online/mobile calculators?

Calculators!

Yes, I hear those derive laughs but listen up: on this show you will hear from Tim Pranger at Appli, who has developed calculators that users genuinely like and use.  Katie Ullman, vice president of marketing and community at First Source Credit Union in Utica NY, is also on.  That’s an institution with around $1 billion in assets. Also on the show is Romanelli, First Source’s digital marketing agency.

What this trio will tell you is that a good calculator can be fun, it can  bring in new business to a credit union, and it doesn’t have to be expensive.  

The post CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 399 First Source CU and Appli On Calculators That Are Magic and Boost Loan Originations appeared first on CU 2.0.

What do you know about Gen Z?

That just may be the critical question confronting credit unions today and that’s because, age 13 to 29, Gen Z is increasingly the focus of fintechs, neo banks and non banks who all want to grab these consumers.

How can credit unions win in this battle?

On the show is Lee Wetherington, senior director of corporate strategy at Jack Henry, and lately he has been thinking in depth about Gen Z because this generation has entered a prime spending age.

Wetherington believes credit unions in fact have pathways to getting Gen Z as members and he offers a concrete strategy for doing so.,  He acknowledges this will be a tough fight – the competitors are well funded and focused – but he expresses optimism about  the ability of credit unions to win.

Along the way, Wetherington also offers insight into how credit unions can win at AI and how recent developments in crypto banking may turn out to be for the benefit of credit unions.

The post CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 398 Jack Henry’s Lee Wetherington on Gen Z, AI and More appeared first on CU 2.0.

The CUInsight headline caught my eye: “Why credit unions must step up as financial stabilizers to rebuild consumer confidence.”  

The piece was authored by  Dave Buerger, CEO of Union Credit and, before that, he was CEO of CuneXus, where he was a co-founder.

At Union Credit the mission is delivering 1-click, perpetual loans to credit union members. 70+ credit unions are Union Credit customers and a key to Union Credit’s business is that it memberizes non members in a very few minutes.

What triggered Buerger’s piece is a consumer confidence survey commissioned by Union Credit that found that consumer confidence is shaky indeed.

Take aways from the survey are: “Only 12.5% feel very confident about their finances. The majority are in the middle with 57% rating themselves a 3 or 4 out of 5…. 54% are feeling cautious, 45% anxious, and 30% overwhelmed.”

No wonder many institutions are experiencing a slowing loan volume.

Buerger believes credit unions can take steps to  strengthen consumer confidence, 

Buerger wrote in CUInsight: “Consumers are pressing pause, not stop. They’re delaying major financial decisions because they don’t feel safe committing before they understand their options. Yet 36% told us they would still move forward with financing if the offer felt secure and transparent. That gap between hesitation and action is where credit unions have both a responsibility and an opportunity.”

In the show today he elaborates on these thoughts  

Buerger is optimistic but realistic as well.

And he firmly believes that Union Credit’s tools can help credit unions improve their loan volumes,

The post CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 397 Union Credit’s Dave Buerger on Consumer Confidence – and How to Strengthen It appeared first on CU 2.0.

Agentic AI. Google’s Gemini explains what this means: “Agentic AI represents a shift from AI that simply ‘talks’ to AI that ‘does.’ While previous iterations of AI were primarily reactive—answering questions or generating text when prompted—Agentic AI systems are proactive. They can reason, plan, and execute multi-step tasks autonomously to achieve a specific goal.”

Agentic AI is the hot topic in AI today and credit unions can have it. Now.

On the show are Abhishek Tiwari, chief product officer at Eltropy, and Kent Lugrand, CEO at InTouch Credit Union, an $800+ million institution headquartered in Texas.

Lugrand is a past CU 2.0 Podcast guest. That show ranks high among the best we’ve filed.  Today he is here to explain why he wanted to be an early adopter of this Agentic AI technology and he explains in candid detail.

Abhishek, meantime, is on the show to explain the Eltropy tool and to offer details on the Eltropy Safe AI framework – because safety is key to persuading credit unions to deploy this technology.

The post CU 2.0 Podcast  InTouch Credit Union Adopts Eltropy’s Agentic AI – CEO Kent Lugrand Tells Why appeared first on CU 2.0.

Well, you’re in luck. There’s a quick way to make your life easier. No more continuous re-prompting to get what you want.

Let’s talk about creating custom GPTs for credit unions.

What Is a Custom GPT?

Custom GPTs are essentially a built-in prompt. When you open a new chat with a custom GPT, it automatically retrieves the instructions already built into it. It’s sort of like saving a long prompt right into ChatGPT itself.

The biggest benefit isn’t that you don’t have to re-paste in the prompt. No, the best part is that you can include entire documents as context. For example, if you want a custom GPT to craft a job description, you can provide a document with one (or several) of your recent job descriptions into the custom GPT. The output will always resemble exactly what you put in.

How Do I Make a Custom GPT?

The process of creating your own GPT is very simple. You’ll be able to do it in 5 minutes or less.

1. When you open ChatGPT, click your profile icon or look for My GPTs in the left sidebar.
2. In the upper right corner, select Create GPT.
3. A new section will open on the left side where you can fill out custom GPT instructions.

You can fill in as much or as little information as you want in that custom GPT instruction section. One thing to note is that, at least historically, there’s a practical limit to how many words ChatGPT can handle in the instructions. Going beyond that reduces the accuracy of the prompt.

Be careful not to make the instructions too long or complicated. Also try to make sure the GPT is tasked with only one thing. If you need to accomplish multiple tasks, that’s best done by multiple GPTs.

Give the GPT a name, add in any context documents you want it to reference, and give it a spin.

Note: context documents could be anything from desired output examples to a strict set of rules/regulations to follow for the task.

Hot Tips for Better Custom GPTs

If you’re not sure where to start, you can begin by asking ChatGPT. Tell if you want to make a custom GPT to do… whatever it is you want it to do. Then, ask it to create a brief prompt to put in the prompt/context window.

Prompts can get “overbaked.” If your instructions are too exacting or very complex/wordy, it may actually reduce the quality of the final output. Aim for brevity when you can—a tall order if ChatGPT is crafting the prompt for you!

Keep it focused. Don’t ask one custom GPT to do too much. Think of it as a way to solve one problem effectively, efficiently, and repeatedly. If your workflow requires multiple steps, you may be better served by multiple GPTs.

Potential GPTs You Might Create

You’re limited only by need and imagination. Here are a few custom GPTs we’ve helped create with and for credit unions recently:

1. Job posting
2. President’s report to the board
3. FP&A report
4. Minute-taking for NCUA files

We’ll spare you the longer list. The takeaway is that anything you could use ChatGPT for more than one time would be better served by a custom GPT.

Want to Dig Deeper?

CU 2.0 works with credit union executive teams at institutions of all sizes to accelerate AI adoption. It doesn’t matter if you’ve barely touched ChatGPT or Copilot—we can help.

We’ll guide you through every step of mastery, starting from wherever you are now. Whether that means custom GPT creating or using Claude Code and n8n to automate entire workflows in a custom dashboard, we’re ready if you are.

Book your first free call here: https://cu-2.com/ai-coaching-for-credit-unions/

The post Building Custom GPTs for Credit Unions appeared first on CU 2.0.

And First Entertainment Credit Union Begat CineFi.

Say what?

First Entertainment is the big show business credit union.  Based in Hollywood, it has assets of around $2.1 billion and serves around 90,000 members, many of them who work in Hollywood, doing everything from acting to the skilled crafts (such as set building) that create Hollywood’s magic.

On the show is Stephen Owen, CEO of First Entertainment and he is here to tell what CineFi is, why First Entertainment birthed it, and why it is based in Atlanta, GA, some 2300 miles removed from Hollywood.

CinedFi is a digital only institution, no branches, and right now its offerings consist of checking and savings, although Owen says the plan is to augment that product slate later in 2026.

How to become a CineFi member? The FOM consists of a handful of Georgia counties, centered around Atlanta, and although the aim is to serve the large number of entertainment industry professionals who live in the Atlanta area,CineFi is open to others as well. Owen explains in the show.

Understand, CineFi does not have its own charter.  Owen tells how it came into existence – and he adds that there may be CineFis opening elsewhere in the country.

Ours is an age when the creation of new credit unions is rare indeed. You can count on one hand how many were birthed in the US in 2025 and have a finger to spare.

That’s rare indeed.

So the creation of CineFi is an exciting event and it just may give CEOs and boards of other credit unions the impulse to do something similar.

How cool would that be?

The post CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 396 First Entertainment CU CEO Stephen Owen on the Birth of CineFi appeared first on CU 2.0.

Are you still relying on product based rewards for members?

In mid February, Curql, the collective of 160+ credit unions, announced its first blockchain investment into Stablecore, a company that provides digital asset infrastructure for credit unions.

Literally hundreds of billions of dollars now are flowing into stablecoin, a digital currency backed by fiat currency and accordingly it has little volatility.

Big banks are pouncing on stablecoins but the credit union problem is a lack of tools for managing digital currencies. Enter Stablecore which is designed to enable credit unions to manage member portfolios of digital currencies.  It’s a solution that’s needed and that’s why Curql chose to put money into Stablecore.

On the show are Nick Evens, President and CEO of Curql, and Alex Treece, CEO and co-founder of Stablecore,

Along the way, Nick offers insights into Curql’s investment strategy and Alex issues an invite to credit unions that might be interested in a pilot that he is putting together.

Sure, you are glad that you sat out Bitcoin but stablecoin is a very different entity. Now’s the time to get to know about it.

The post CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 395 Curql and Stablecore On Why Now Is the Time for CUs to Embrace Digital Assets appeared first on CU 2.0.

Are you still relying on product based rewards for members?

Meet the new tool on the block: relationship building.

A trigger is that interchange rates are under attack and, for many financial institutions, it’s been interchange that funded the rewards programs.

So what’s the new approach? On the show is Beth McCoy, CEO of CORA Loyalty, who provides a roadmap for building member relationships that benefit both the member and the institution.  

CORA Loyalty explains what it does this way: “Loyalty leaders are shifting from card-centric to relationship-focused campaigns. The approach rewards customers for activities across the institution: maintaining checking accounts, paying account fees, using credit and debit cards, transacting regularly, and long-term relationships.”

“The goal isn’t card spend, but broader and longer lasting outcomes like growing deposits, encouraging treasury management adoption, and strengthening the full banking relationship.”

Sound good?

The post CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 394 CORA Loyalty’s Beth McCoy on What Loyalty Means in 2026 appeared first on CU 2.0.

Fact: credit unions have lots of data about their members. Everything from home address to their liquidity.  

Fact: credit unions, most of them, are woefully inept at mining this data to better serve those members and also to boost member retention and up cashflow into the credit union.

Enter DeepTarget, a Huntsville AL based fintech that serves 285 clients, 85% of which are credit unions and they range in size from around $25 million in assets to several billion dollars in assets.

All come to DeepTarget for its toolkit of proven tools that get results. In 2025 for instance DeepTarget tools helped its customers open 328,000 new accounts, generated $1.98 billion in new loans, and brought in $2.7 billion in new deposits.

The DeepTarget secret is how it effectively mines the data a credit union already has on hand.

That sound you hear is the CU cash register ringing.

Monthly DeepTarget fees are affordable, too, typically four figures a month.

And usually a credit union’s own staff involvement in DeepTarget campaigns is minimal, although accommodations are available for credit unions that want a more hands-on role.

In an era of generative AI all this may seem unglamorous and maybe it is.  But it delivers meaningful bottomline results to credit unions.

On the show is Preetha Pulusani, the company founder and CEO.

And if you wonder how all this tech happens in Huntsville, I have one name for you Wernher von Braun.  If the name doesn’t ring a bell, look it up.

The post CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 393 DeepTarget’s Preetha Pulusani on Putting CU Member Data to Work appeared first on CU 2.0.

Unfortunately, it’s not a perfect world. Any credit union growth strategy is going to rely on marketing for brand recognition. Growth depends on it.

The real question is, how much does a new member cost? And, just as importantly, is it worth it?

The Problem: Most Credit Unions Don’t Know Their Numbers

One of the more telling issues that we’ve repeatedly seen is that credit unions don’t know how much it costs to acquire a new member. Usually, this is because of two variables.

Variable #1: No Standard Methodology

This is the most common reason why credit unions don’t have solid numbers for member acquisition costs. There is no set methodology for calculating member acquisition costs. Each credit union might include different variables.

For example, one credit union might consider only the cost of advertisements, banner ads, newspapers, email campaigns, and the like. Another credit union might add in a portion of their marketing team’s salaries or the cost of their online account opening platform. You might want to include operations’ salaries and the cost of any conference or speaking engagement as well. Yet another credit union may read the average cost somewhere (like here) and call it good.

According to recent industry research, 40% of bank and credit union executives don’t even know their member acquisition cost. Far too many haven’t done the math.

What We’re Seeing in 2026

When we first published this blog in 2021, we estimated the average credit union member acquisition cost sat somewhere between $350 and $700.

That number is trending higher.

Recent industry research (from Debbie) shows the average now sits around $498 when you calculate educational and promotional expenses divided by member growth. If that’s the average you know that many CUs spend much more than that.

The bottom line: the only way to truly know your acquisition cost is to run the numbers yourself. Use your actual marketing spend, include the expenses that make sense for your operation, and divide by your net new members.

Variable #2: Market Conditions Matter

Depending on the market, different account types may be easier or more difficult to market to.

In a bull market, there’s more monetary velocity. Businesses see good profits, unemployment falls, and the paychecks are fat. People are willing to spend money because they can count on more money coming in.

When the market is strong, credit union member acquisition costs for loan accounts are much lower. More people are ready to improve or buy houses, purchase new cars, and so on. They’re already looking for the best loan terms out there, so it doesn’t take as much nurturing to convince someone to open an account.

It can be easier to attract members for loan accounts than for deposit accounts in a bull market. That’s because instead of finding better ways of saving, people are finding better ways of spending.

However, in bear markets, the opposite is true. Fewer people splurge on a new car when the economy’s in the dump. Fortunately, it’s easier to attract new members for deposit accounts when the market is bad. That’s because people are looking for better ways of saving rather than finding better ways of spending.

The bottom line: Your marketing team should adjust its messaging to reflect the market.

Why Rising Acquisition Costs Matter

With member acquisition costs trending upward, it’s more important than ever to think strategically about growth. Long-term growth strategies must be profitable. If they’re not profitable, then what’s the point?

No credit union wants accounts that cost more to maintain than they make in profit. Loan accounts increase long-term profitability significantly. However, an imbalanced loan portfolio carries considerable risk.

For total member ROI, balance is key. A member with deposits and loans is better than a member with loans only. Not only is that better for your balance sheet, but it’s also better for member loyalty and retention. Members with more products are less likely to leave… and more likely to pick up another (profitable) product.

With high acquisition costs, it’s more important than ever to effectively cross-sell to new and existing members.

The Strategic Advantage of Fintech Partnerships

Here’s where rising acquisition costs create an opportunity: fintech partnerships that bring new members through the door become significantly more valuable.

When you’re spending $400-700+ to acquire a member, anything that brings that number down helps. A fintech partnership that delivers qualified new members—either through rewards programs, digital banking improvements that drive referrals, or embedded financial products—can dramatically improve your acquisition economics.

The best fintech partnerships don’t just improve member experience. They actively help you grow your member base at a lower cost per acquisition than traditional marketing alone.

Marketing helps, but passing off some of the marketing burden to fintechs helps even more. Fintechs that serve as member acquisition channels usually offer their own marketing at no additional cost to you.

Fintechs That Drive Member Growth

If you’re looking to improve your member acquisition economics, here are a few partners we work with that specialize in bringing qualified new members through the door:

Glide streamlines digital account opening, onboarding, and cross-sell.

Ribbon handles complicated inheritance issues in a way that brings new family members into the credit union.

PayOnward lets credit unions bring in and support commercial accounts.

Each takes a different approach, but all share one goal: reducing your cost per acquisition while bringing in quality members who stick around.

What’s Next?

Subscribe to our blog to learn more about credit union marketing and growth strategies.

If you’d like to see solutions for lowering member acquisition costs through strategic fintech partnerships, join our Fintech Call Program. We’re happy to discuss best-fit fintechs in the marketplace that can address your pain points. The Fintech Call Program is free to credit union leaders.

The post A Quick Guide to Credit Union Member Acquisition Costs appeared first on CU 2.0.