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In this special eight-part series of the Banking Transformed podcast — recorded at MeridianLink® LIVE! and featuring MeridianLink® customers — industry leaders discuss their journeys, strategies, and lessons learned along their unique paths to digital growth.
David Park, vice president of loan operations at Pennsylvania-based Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union (FMFCU), sat down with the Banking Transformed Podcast’s Jim Marous for a deep dive into the credit union’s innovative approaches to collections and credit products.
These efforts are part of FMFCU’s push for digital progression, leveraging data to promote financial wellness and deepen member relationships.
Learn how MeridianLink is helping our customers digitally progress their operations with an actionable blueprint to success.
Redefining Collections
Collections has quite the reputation, and it’s not necessarily a positive one. FMFCU is on a mission to change that perception.
Over the past few years, the credit union’s collections department — referred to as Member Solutions — has been focused on driving member-centric collections processes. Using the data-powered integration between MeridianLink® Collect and MeridianLink® Insight it’s able to better understand members’ financial situations and create personalized solutions for delinquencies.
To do this takes data and robust analytics. Using MeridianLink Insight analytics, FMFCU has been able to get a fuller picture of delinquent members’ circumstances to inform actionable workouts.
This has created a culture of trust among members who can rest assured that their financial institution is their champion, not their adversary, and this shift in perception has also instilled greater confidence in the Member Solutions team that they can present worthwhile solutions and preserve member relationships.
Building Credit & Financial Wellbeing
FMFCU has also been innovating in its approach to lending, allowing all members to open a traditional, unsecured line of credit designed to support financial health.
This line of credit can be used to cover various expenses, but it can also be used for overdraft protection, to pay off high-interest credit card balances without balance transfer fees, and to digitally transfer funds to checking or savings accounts.
Alongside functioning as a helpful buffer when financial challenges arise, it also serves as a means for those with little-to-no existing credit to build their credit, setting these members up for a more stable future.
The integration between MeridianLink Collect and Insight allows staff to take a comprehensive look at each member’s portfolio to determine line of credit increases and revocations. In the case of revocations, FMFCU gives members a chance to have their credit reinstated upon paying back their delinquent balance — now converted to a loan — and completing financial education on credit and credit scores to prevent the scenario from repeating itself.
This helps build goodwill among members, as they see their institution working with them rather than against them to get their finances on track.
And these innovations are only the beginning: Listen to the full episode below to learn about FMFCU’s journey and its goals for the future, and stay tuned for the next installment in this Banking Transformed Podcast series!
