Free Decision Kit: financial health and wellness

Your members want a money manager, not another dashboard.

This kit walks your exec team through the financial health and wellness category: what works, what to demand from any vendor and how to evaluate fit for your credit union.

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Six sections in one PDF, sent to your inbox: the category brief, buy box, Cache profile, ROI scenarios, 90-day pilot plan and compliance checklist.

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Only 1 in 3

Americans are considered financially healthy

72%

of credit union members want their FI to help manage their financial health

42%

of younger consumers would switch FIs for better money tools

Sources for these figures are under "What the data says" below.

The state of financial wellness tech in credit unions

Three waves of financial wellness tech. Most credit unions are still catching the second.

Financial health and wellness technology has moved through three phases. The first wave (2010 to 2017) was built on PFM widgets: pie-chart budgeting tools in online banking that almost no one used. Single-digit engagement rates were the norm. The second wave (2018 to 2022) added credit-score monitoring and prequalified-offer engines. Engagement improved, but members still had to act on what they saw. Most mid-size credit unions are somewhere in that second wave today.

The current wave is different in kind. These platforms don't just show members where their money went; they automate where it goes next. Savings sweeps, bill-pay sequencing and debt-paydown acceleration happen without the member logging in to decide. Adoption is still early: larger credit unions ($1B+) are piloting or deploying, while the mid-tier ($250M to $1B) is still evaluating. Three things changed in the past 12 to 18 months. The CFPB's Section 1033 open-banking rule gave credit unions a framework for aggregating external accounts. Fee-income compression made a subscription wellness revenue model more compelling. And several megabanks launched visible AI-driven "self-driving money" features that board members can see on their own phones.

Category trends

Where the category is heading

From insights to actions

Credit unions are shifting from retrospective budgeting dashboards to automation-driven tools that move money on behalf of members, part of a broad move from passive insights toward active financial management through 2024 and 2025.

Examiners want evidence

NCUA and state examiners, especially for CDFI and low-income designated institutions, increasingly ask credit unions to document measurable financial wellness outcomes. That makes mission-aligned technology a compliance consideration, not just a marketing one.

Younger members are the growth problem

Gen Z and younger Millennial acquisition is now a board-level priority at most mid-size credit unions, and financial wellness features are emerging as the main digital differentiator against neobanks like Chime and SoFi.

Non-interest income is under pressure

Non-interest income diversification is a top-three CFO concern at credit unions under $5B in assets, and subscription-based wellness services are being evaluated as a compliant, member-friendly way to replace shrinking fee revenue.

Open banking makes it possible

The CFPB's Section 1033 rulemaking set data-sharing standards that make full-view financial wellness platforms technically feasible for credit unions that previously couldn't see members' external accounts.

What the data says about financial wellness in credit unions

Only 1 in 3

Share of Americans considered financially healthy: the gap your members are living in.

Financial Health Network, U.S. Financial Health Pulse, 2023

72%

Share of credit union members who want their primary FI to help manage their overall financial health.

Filene Research Institute, publicly reported, 2022

42%

Share of Gen Z and Millennial consumers who would switch financial institutions for better digital money-management tools.

BAI Banking Outlook Survey, publicly reported, 2023

Three problems that don't fix themselves

Credit unions were founded on the promise of improving members' financial lives. Legacy tools, compressed margins and a shifting membership are making that promise harder to keep. Here's where the pressure is coming from.

PFM tools nobody uses

Legacy budgeting widgets see engagement below 5%, so the credit union pays for a capability almost no members open. There's no wellness impact, no return on the investment and no outcomes to report.

Fee income won't come back

Average fee income per member at credit unions under $1B has dropped roughly $189 over five years, driven by overdraft reform and competition, with no clear replacement strategy at most mid-size institutions. A subscription wellness service isn't a perfect substitute, but it's the most credible option on the table.

Younger members are leaving

Members under 35 are choosing neobanks for day-to-day money management and keeping the credit union as a secondary or dormant account, which compresses lifetime value and growth. Financial wellness automation is the feature category most likely to change that, if it's deployed and marketed well.

Everything your exec team needs to decide on financial wellness technology

The kit has six sections. Get it as a PDF in your inbox, or read the highlights on this page.

01 Category landscape brief

A plain-language overview of how financial wellness tech has evolved, where credit unions stand today and what the competitive stakes look like. Just what your board needs to understand the moment.

02 The vendor-agnostic buy box

Eight criteria to apply to any financial wellness vendor before you see a demo or talk price: automated money movement, account aggregation, compliance alignment and more.

03 Featured partner profile: Cache

A detailed look at Cache's product architecture, integration model, revenue approach and how it stacks up against the buy box, with risk factors and due-diligence questions.

04 ROI modeling scenarios

Three illustrative scenarios (conservative, base and optimistic) with adoption-rate assumptions, subscription revenue projections and retention lift estimates, all labeled illustrative and not a guarantee.

05 The 90-day pilot plan

A phase-by-phase launch roadmap from contract execution and compliance review through full member rollout and the first board report, with owners and milestones.

06 Compliance and due-diligence checklist

Key questions your compliance officer, CIO and CFO should ask any financial wellness vendor, covering Reg E, UDAAP, data governance and CDFI reporting requirements.

Evaluation criteria

The minimum buy box for any financial wellness vendor

These criteria apply whichever partner you choose. Don't sign without checking all eight, and apply them before you see a demo. The status column shows Cache's current standing.

Automated money-movement capability ✓ Met

Full-view account aggregation ✓ Met

AI and ML-driven personalization ✓ Met

Clear credit union revenue model ✓ Met

Core and digital banking integration readiness ! Unconfirmed

Regulatory and compliance alignment (Reg E, UDAAP, Section 1033) ! Unconfirmed

Member-facing engagement metrics and reporting ✓ Met

Financial stability and vendor viability ! Unconfirmed

From board approval to live members in 90 days

Days 1–30

Foundation and legal

Execute the vendor agreement and complete the compliance and legal review of automated money-movement features (Reg E, UDAAP and data governance).
Assign an internal project team: digital banking lead, compliance officer, marketing lead and executive sponsor.
Complete technical discovery of your core system and digital banking platform's API readiness.
Begin Cache platform configuration: member segmentation, automation rules and subscription pricing.
Develop the staff training plan and member communication strategy for launch.

Days 31–60

Integration and testing

Complete core and digital banking integration, and run user acceptance testing with your internal team.
Review all member-facing automated recommendations and money-movement workflows for compliance.
Train frontline staff on platform capabilities, member questions and cross-sell data.
Soft-launch to an employee group or a member beta cohort to surface friction before full rollout.
Finalize the member onboarding flow, in-app messaging and full marketing launch plan.

Days 61–90

Full member launch

Launch to all members with a coordinated campaign across digital banking, email, branch and social channels.
Monitor adoption daily for the first 30 days: sign-ups, aggregation completion, first automated action and session frequency.
Hold the first executive review: adoption rates, member feedback, support volume and early financial-outcome data.
Resolve any integration issues, member experience friction or compliance concerns from launch.
Build a 6-month and 12-month roadmap with Cache for feature expansion, deeper integration and board reporting.

ROI model: illustrative only

The ROI case in three numbers

These figures are illustrative only. Your results will vary with your member base, marketing investment and adoption rates. Use them to start the conversation with your CFO, not as a guarantee, and confirm all pricing and revenue model details directly with Cache.

$359,400

Illustrative annual subscription revenue at 10% adoption across 50,000 members at $5.99 a month (base scenario)

2–4%

Estimated member retention lift in the base scenario, from increased engagement and proactive financial management

$75K–$150K

Estimated incremental cross-sell revenue in the base scenario, assuming frontline staff use member financial-health data

Illustrative only. Your results will vary. Subscription pricing is hypothetical, so confirm the actual model with Cache. Adoption and retention projections aren't a guarantee of outcomes.

Questions credit union executives actually ask

We tried a PFM tool five years ago and engagement was under 3%. Why would this be any different?

Traditional PFM tools require members to log in, read a chart and decide what to do, and most never get past step one. Automation-driven platforms remove that friction by acting on the member's behalf: sweeping savings, sequencing payments and paying down debt without a login. That's a different product architecture, not an incremental improvement. Ask any vendor for session-frequency data and "first automated action" completion rates from live deployments. That's the metric that separates this generation of tools from the last.

Can we realistically charge members a subscription fee for financial wellness? Our members aren't used to paying for digital features.

It's a real concern, and the data is mixed. Members increasingly pay for digital services when the benefit is tangible, and apps that clearly save them money tend to convert better than general "financial health" brands. The key variable is whether your credit union commits to the marketing and onboarding work that shows members the dollar-level impact quickly. Model the conservative scenario (5% adoption) as your planning floor, not the optimistic one, and confirm pricing flexibility directly with any vendor you evaluate.

How do we know Cache will still be operating in three years? We can't afford a failed vendor relationship.

That's the right question for any startup, and it's on the buy box. Before signing, ask Cache for its funding status, runway, current credit union client count and reference contacts at deployed institutions. Also confirm what happens to your member data and integrations if the company winds down; that should be in the contract. Evaluate vendor financial stability as part of due diligence in every category.

What if Cache isn't the right fit for our credit union? Do we have other options?

Yes. Personetics serves larger institutions and has a longer track record in the bank and credit union market. SavvyMoney focuses on credit-health engagement tied to loan growth, which may fit better if your main goal is lending conversion rather than broad financial wellness. Cache is CU 2.0's current featured partner, not the only answer. Choose based on your size, core, strategic goals and risk tolerance.

What does core integration actually look like for a financial wellness platform?

Cache integrates by API with major credit union cores and digital banking platforms as a SaaS overlay, not a core replacement. Complexity varies by core (Symitar, DNA, Corelation and others) and by your digital banking platform's API capabilities. Most implementations fall in the 60 to 120 day range (vendor-stated), but your internal technical capacity and the vendor's support both affect that timeline. Confirm integration timelines, costs and which cores have live deployments directly with Cache during due diligence.

How does automated money movement work from a Reg E perspective?

Automated transfers such as savings sweeps, payment sequencing and debt paydown must comply with Regulation E electronic fund transfer requirements, including member authorization and error-resolution procedures. Your compliance officer should review every automated money-movement workflow before launch. UDAAP also applies to any automated financial recommendations. The compliance checklist in the kit covers the key questions to put to any vendor, including who bears liability if an automated transfer triggers an overdraft. Don't skip this step.

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All adoption and usage statistics are labeled as vendor-stated or publicly reported. ROI figures are illustrative only; your results will vary. Pricing and contract terms must be confirmed directly with the vendor. See our Methodology and Disclosures pages.

Content on this page is for informational purposes only and doesn't constitute legal, compliance or investment advice. Featured partners may compensate CU 2.0. Pricing isn't published, so confirm it directly with the vendor.