ProjectNewAge.com Blog

Texas Credit Union Adds New Savings Account To Gen-Y Offering

Shell Federal Credit Union, in Deer Park, Texas, has just launched a new Savings Account product called iSave, targeted at Gen-Yers.

The new product offering is a complement to SFCU’s iLife Campaign that encourages Gen-Yers to join the FCU (Furthering Community Unity) Team and volunteer their time for worthy events and organizations like Habitat for Humanity.

The site also goes on to offer financial education in the “Financial Hookup Section” and other great financial tips on cheap summer vacations and Father’s Day gifts.

SFCU already offered Gen-Yers targeted products like iDrive, a car loan that offers up to a 100% financing as long as you haven’t had derogatory credit reported within the past 6 months. Or the Be Green Checking Account that rewards you with higher returns when you choose debit purchases, automatic payments/deposits, and paperless statements.

The new iSave Saving Account product, guided by feedback from independent consumer focus groups, works like this:

-    Open an iSave account with a $25 deposit
-    Deposit at least $25 every 30 days for 12 consecutive months
-    Don’t withdraw any money and receive a $25 bonus

And if you do make a withdrawal from the account, you are charged a $5.00 fee. This was put in place to deter bad behavior.

But you have to wonder if it will just deter new accounts. Gen-Yers are always looking for more benefits and perks so it will be interesting to see if they see the value of being penalized.

Don’t Give Consumers The Wrong Idea. Protect Your Advertising Budgets!

When budgets are tight, marketing dollars are many times the first thing to go.

But new data from Ad-ology, published by eMarketer, suggests that cutting advertising budgets could be a bad decision, especially for banks.

It seems that many consumers gauge a company’s health by how often that company advertises. In fact:

• 48% of consumers believed the bank was struggling when they saw a drop-off in advertising from the institution
• 12% of consumers believed the bank may not be in business any longer

Conversely, for those banks that advertised frequently, consumers saw them as committed to business, being competitive or doing well.

This is important data to keep in mind when you are planning your Q4’09 budgets. You want to stay top-of-mind with your consumers!