How American Eagle FCU Improves the Financial Wellness of Members

Jim Marous (00:10):

Never in the history of banking as far as I go back, has the ability to innovate, ability to personalize financial services, the ability to actually move from experience to engagement been more exciting.

Jim Marous (00:24):

I think what's also exciting is how organizations can really transform their organization from what was an analog business to a digital business in a matter of a few years, relatively speaking. It used to take us years just to decide what product we were going to introduce next. It used to take us a whole month to figure out what the next rate was going to be.

Jim Marous (00:45):

We're far beyond that, and the ability to actually move because of collaboration with third party solution providers, provides immense opportunity and sometimes, some challenges.

Jim Marous (00:56):

In this episode, we're going to talk about an organization that has achieved great aspirational goals and still has others to shoot for. I'm really honored today to have two guests from American Eagle Financial Credit Union with me today. Mari Gadlin, the Director of Digital Services at American Eagle, and Pamela Villanova, the SVP of Digital Services.

Jim Marous (01:20):

So, let's start off with talking about what your roles are. If you can spend a little time on what your roles are within American Eagle, that'd be great.

Mari Gadlin (01:30):

I can start. So, I am the Director of Digital Banking Services. My team, we have a small team of five, and they do everything digital from online account opening to bill payment, remote deposit capture, regular digital banking. They do everything possible to mitigate fraud, look at reports, also often help the member facing teams answer questions often about mobile banking, different things that some of our teams struggle with.

Jim Marous (02:04):

Great. Mostly on the consumer side?

Mari Gadlin (02:06):

Yes. We really don't have a separate business banking model right now. We do have some businesses, but they use our retail banking, so it's not as complex.

Jim Marous (02:15):

Got you. How about you, Pamela?

Pamela Villanova (02:17):

So, I'm the Senior Vice President of Digital Services. We created the department about four years ago as part of a reorganization internally. So, prior to that, I ran all of the operations teams. So, super excited to be able to focus on digital as a strategic move for the credit union and build a great team with Mari and our other partners within the organization

Jim Marous (02:37):

And really helping make the back office perform in a way that's good for your members on the front facing side.

Pamela Villanova (02:44):

Absolutely.

Jim Marous (02:45):

So, in doing some research around your organization, I know you're really focusing on trying to personalize services for your members, personalize experiences and engagements for your members. In addition, you're doing a lot in the area of wellness, which actually is a great way to get into the digital engagement side.

Jim Marous (03:05):

So, obviously, you both have been with the organization because we talked about it before, not obviously for any other reason. You've been with the organization for 20 years and 15 years, roughly speaking, 16, I think. It wasn't digital back then, so where did you start within your organization?

Mari Gadlin (03:22):

So, I actually came in, in 2004 to create and start running the call center. They didn't have a call center, I actually was moving from the West Coast, so they started it briefly, and then when I joined there were about five reps. They were folks that came from the checking department and the savings department who did CDs, very old school.

Mari Gadlin (03:48):

And we did have online banking. They had just converted to a very basic, simple program. And in the years I was there, in the call center for 16 years, we grew from five agents to, gosh, I think 25 agents by the time I moved over to digital.

Mari Gadlin (04:06):

So, over the years, definitely saw a progression in the complexity of calls and trying to help people use the tools, the features. Bill pay was something that a lot of people either they used and loved it, or they wouldn't touch it for numerous reasons.

Mari Gadlin (04:25):

So, those were the questions that really sort of could stump some of our member facing teams and our call center reps that we had to work with to help them understand the complexities as it changed over the years.

Jim Marous (04:39):

So, Pamela, we're all playing catch up. It doesn't matter how big the financial institution is. The consumer, we used to be able to solve their issues simply by giving them what we wanted to give them and they took it.

Jim Marous (04:51):

The consumers have become much more discerning because in the digital world, they get exposed to a whole lot of organizations that they really quickly tie the knots together and say, “Wait, why aren't you being able to deliver the kind of experience I have at Amazon, Uber, the local retailer, or even the carryout restaurant that now knows what I ordered the last time?”

Jim Marous (05:13):

How do you keep up as an organization of modest size, how do you invest, and where do you focus on your investments?

Pamela Villanova (05:20):

It's been a challenge, Jim, because to your point, we are not competing with the other credit unions or financial institutions in our area anymore. We're competing with every other digital experience that our members are having. And there's a significant investment you have to make in technology platforms, resources, people, product to provide those items.

Pamela Villanova (05:42):

So, what we're focused on now is, as I mentioned, shift to digital as a strategy, it's one of the primary strategic initiatives at the organization at this point. We are working to not only get our hands on more data from our members, but then to ... and this is where Alkami comes in, have a platform and a tool that we can take that data and turn that round into personalized messaging within those platforms, create campaigns …

Pamela Villanova (06:12):

See patterns that are happening maybe even before our members realize they're happening, and be able to push out to them that next best tool, that next best product, or just let them know that something's coming up that they should probably be aware of.

Jim Marous (06:27):

So, we have a lot of options in the marketplace as you look at partners. We can't do it without partners as an institution size of your size, but when you look just back five years ago, the cost of those solutions, the deployment of those solutions, the way the organizations work with each other when you have multiple players that you're trying to bring this all together to make a great experience that looks seamless and integrated.

Jim Marous (06:54):

From the internal standpoint, how do you go through the selection process of organizations that you use when they're not any of them going to provide everything you need? And you probably still have a traditional core.

Jim Marous (07:06):

So, how do you make that decision? And internally, just to add to that question, how do you sell internally what looks on the surface as being a duplication of efforts? Let's say you buy a new account opening solution, or you buy a digital mobile platform of some sort where your traditional core may offer that as well. How do you sell that internally? But also, how do you set how you select the partners you want to work with?

Pamela Villanova (07:35):

Those are great questions. I feel like you've read my mind. Well, where we started was, a couple of years ago when we formed this department, we did a digital assessment. We did a really deep dive on what do we have today, how does that marry up or measure up to the competition? And then what are some things that we know are gaps that we needed to address?

Pamela Villanova (07:57):

From there, we started to talk about those gaps and what was important to us. So, I think from a perspective of if you're going to be going out and seeking new partners or potentially new partners, you have to know what you want out of a platform before you can go shopping for that platform.

Jim Marous (08:16):

If you don't know your North Star, you won't know if you got there, or where you're going. You can't just tell Uber, “Take me to my home and not tell them the address.”

Pamela Villanova (08:23):

That's true. So, we knew pretty early on we needed to be really specific about what we wanted to do here. So, we focused on three major things, primarily the user experience; secondary, the data – and not secondary as in order of priority, but just in order of how we thought about it, and the ability to turn that data around as I described.

Pamela Villanova (08:45):

And then finally, a solution that would grow with us, allow us to plug in other services, other third-party providers, whatever that may be, and build out that roadmap. We were not good at roadmap before. We need to get there, we're not there yet, but we will be-

Jim Marous (09:07):

Never have a sound just like digital transformation. Geez, I wish there was actually a goal there, but digital transformation is moving as faster and faster than we are.

Jim Marous (09:15):

So, from a deployment standpoint, how do you take what is created, what is partnered, and actually make it so that we don't just know our members, but we make sure that they know we're starting to know them and we're starting to put together solutions. How do you deploy it effectively in the marketplace?

Mari Gadlin (09:35):

That's a really good question. I think that some of it is about knowing your members, but some of it is about knowing what they don't know.

Mari Gadlin (09:47):

And so, maybe thinking about what they could use based on whether it's data or experiences or feedback even from the member and what sort of giving them a solution, a tool, a feature that they didn't even know they needed. And again, not because it's flashy or looks good, but because it gives them the Information-

Jim Marous (10:09):

That’s how mobile deposit capture came about. Remember the first time you gave somebody back a check as they gave it to you in public? And they go, "What are you doing?" "I deposited it already." "What do you mean you deposited it? It's supposed to come from my statement. Now, you got it now."

Jim Marous (10:23):

But it's a very good point. Steve Jobs said, "If I was waiting for somebody to say what they needed, we would've never had the iPhone." You certainly wouldn't want to put phone calls and texting and music and video, everything else on that.

Jim Marous (10:37):

So, from a standpoint of understanding your members, how do you get an assessment of what they want?

Pamela Villanova (10:43):

So, we've done quite a few things. Number one, you have to listen to what they say. So, wherever that lands, whether it's by doing surveys, by listening to your member facing teams, giving you that feedback – we did a CSAT survey last year specific to digital banking, which is the first time we had done anything specific to that platform.

Pamela Villanova (11:02):

We got a lot of great information, we got a very high response rate from the survey that we sent out, and we gleaned a ton of information out of there that really, it was validation, Jim, more than anything else. It told us that we were on the right path and the ideas around what we were looking at strategically.

Jim Marous (11:18):

Where were your shortfalls, where we did things-

Pamela Villanova (11:19):

Yeah, that we were doing what our members were saying that we needed to do.

Jim Marous (11:28):

So, let's take a short break here and recognize to sponsor this podcast, Alkami Technologies.

[Music Playing]

Jim Marous (11:38):

Welcome back to the FIsionaries Podcast sponsored by Alkami Technologies. So, when you talk about moving forward and you do innovations and you bring things, you referenced it to a degree, some of your members may not want that change, they may push back.

Jim Marous (11:55):

I know an organization that changed just simply some of the colors and it flips them out because we're used to seeing things as we're used to seeing things. And many times, we're used to seeing things as we see them elsewhere. How do you make those changes happen so it's not so disruptive to your branch system, to your call center, to your customer care areas?

Mari Gadlin (12:19):

I think some of those changes and we're still learning as we start to move towards Alkami, but some of those things are having the flexibility that maybe we start with a feature for just a group of people. We'll have the ability to do that now with packages.

Mari Gadlin (12:38):

Maybe it's something that we have for everyone, but it's just a subtle little change that's on the side that if you want to use it, it's there for you to use. I think for some, it'll feel like a drastic change no matter what we do. You're right, we just have to sort of mitigate and be there to listen if they need to talk it out.

Jim Marous (12:59):

COVID made it so that a lot of people got over that fence pretty quickly.

Mari Gadlin (13:03):

Yes, that's true. And I think what's going to make us the most successful, in my opinion, is making sure that our member facing teams are on board with what we're doing. Whether it's a minor change, a major change, something in the middle, making sure that they really understand what we're doing, why we're doing it, and what this feature or tool might offer for them and for the members.

Jim Marous (13:27):

How do you do that?

Mari Gadlin (13:28):

Education, excitement. We're trying to build a lot of excitement around this project and really help everybody understand that this isn't just a digital project. This isn't just for my little team of five and myself. This is every employee in the company in my opinion, should be invested in this, to understand the benefits – for our members, for them to have the flexibility, to be nimble, which we've never really been, in my opinion. But we really have to keep them engaged, keep them excited and keep them educated.

Jim Marous (14:03):

This is interesting. I'm going to speak to the camera here because we miss this a lot of times that we take communication for granted. Those of you out there, here, you in your organization, everybody has a point in their mind where they're fearful of the change that's happening. They're fearful of digital replacing them.

Jim Marous (14:23):

Tellers are fearful that they'll be branch closures. Managers are fearful that their job will be taken away from because of AI. The reality is communication can help alleviate this and get them on your team. Because if you don't take them into account and they have this fear, they can put, call them roadblocks, in your place to make it so your initiative fails, not intentionally, but self-preservation.

Jim Marous (14:51):

I think we haven't talked about that very much, but it's a very key element. On the other hand, and very similarly, how did your management make the decision to go to digital? Is it a new management team? Did they all of a sudden have an epiphany and said, "We want to do this?" Or has the culture been there for quite some time?

Pamela Villanova (15:10):

Well, it has not been there for quite some time. I would say up until our organizational change, we always thought digital as an important channel, but it was a part of other departments. Which I think is very common in a model.

Pamela Villanova (15:26):

But the shift in our industry, the COVID experience that we all had – the shift to work from home, and everyone becoming so much more comfortable using those self-service tools is really what was driving us to move forward into that new territory for us.

Pamela Villanova (15:46):

And we're also looking at it, and you mentioned this earlier, from a financial wellness, financial empowerment perspective. So, we want to connect with our members in all those places where we can help support them. Not everybody is excited about having to make an appointment to a branch and walk in the door and speak face to face to someone.

Pamela Villanova (16:08):

A lot of people like that and we want to support that as well. But we also know that we need to be able to provide more immediate and easier to use tools for some self-service perspective, at least to get people started so that we can connect with them in all of the places where they might need help, and really become a partner with them in helping them gain their financial freedom.

Jim Marous (16:31):

Well, it's interesting, in the research I did also, you're doing quite a bit on the financial wellness side. That is really moving from a good customer experience, as in how my mobile app works, which bottom line is, if you took the colors and logo away, it's going to look like everybody else's. And we get high scores in that.

Jim Marous (16:47):

We don't fail very often anymore on the mobile banking app. What we do fail is doing more than simply giving balances, giving transfers, maybe making a mobile deposit thing, this nature. We don't build that engagement, which gives us the information to give (I'm bringing it all home here) you the personalized experience that you want. What have you done in the financial wellness side? What kind of services do you provide your members in that area?

Pamela Villanova (17:15):

We provide a variety of things. A lot of it is what we're building out, to be honest with you. So, in this space right now, we use the fin health tool survey for a lot of our members. We have them score themselves on how they land there.

Pamela Villanova (17:31):

We do financial wellness outreach. We have SavvyMoney already built in our current platform, and we're moving that into Alkami which is a great tool. They have amazing information and ability to connect with people in a way that helps them understand their finances. But I think what we're really looking to do is take it the next step forward.

Pamela Villanova (17:54):

So financial education, financial literacy is really important, but we want to move that needle even further for our members in our communities and help them not just understand better or how to manage things or understand what a checking account is or what have you, but how do they take that next step to improving their situation in whatever place they are today? Regardless of whether it's low income or somebody who has high net worth that needs an investment, all along that spectrum.

Jim Marous (18:23):

So, in the financial wellness space, do you also include your employees from the standpoint of having them? I guess I had a good point there because they have to buy into that process and understand it. Because your members are going to come in and sometimes they’re asking questions.

Jim Marous (18:38):

But more importantly, you mentioned it earlier. So, there's certain words that people say that you go, they're getting the idea of how to do it: enthusiasm. You try to build that enthusiasm with your employees because they're a member too.

Mari Gadlin (18:51):

Right. Understanding the benefit of that tool, making sure that they can talk to their member and say, “You know what, I'm using this as well.” The next steps, once we build it, it was great. Whether it's a testimonial, those are the things that people … they want to know that somebody's used the feature, the tool, whatever it might be. That goes a long way. Even just when you have somebody who says, “Oh yeah, I use our bill pay as well. This is what I love about it,” that goes a long way.

Jim Marous (19:23):

When you're making this digital transformation process to include your employees, to evaluate your partners based on how far ahead are they, and are they going to be willing if I have to push them to listen? Which sometimes core providers don't do a really good job of that because we're one of thousands upon thousands.

Jim Marous (19:44):

So, getting that personalized engagement, not everything always goes as planned. What's a challenge you have today as you're looking forward – what challenges make it so it's maybe tougher to sometimes, you're slogging?

Pamela Villanova (19:59):

Oh, it's very complex what we're doing. We're not just replacing one thing. When you think about all of the third-party providers that are … we have over 35 third-party providers that we are integrating into this platform.

Jim Marous (20:14):

You've double down on building-

Pamela Villanova (20:15):

Well, and not all of that is new. So, and the core is a huge part of that as well. And one of the things that we talk about Mari and I constantly along with our superiors and the rest of the leadership team is building relationships is probably the most vital thing that we can do when we're working with that number of providers.

Pamela Villanova (20:36):

We need to know that we can count on them, but conversely, they need to know that they can count on us. So, we like to create-

Jim Marous (20:44):

It is truly a collaboration partnership.

Pamela Villanova (20:46):

Exactly. So, the communication extends beyond to our partnerships with those companies and those account representatives, our members, our internal team members. It has to go all the way through in order for us to be successful.

Jim Marous (21:01):

It's interesting because it's the beauty that I started seeing and I reference sometimes in 2019, where the third-party solution providers started talking to each other to say, “We're no longer going to try to compete with each other. We're going to find our North Star,” and they no longer had the exact same elevator speech. We're going to help the digital transformation process, and you didn't have a clue on what they really did.

Jim Marous (21:26):

That has really helped us a lot, I think from your perspective, because you know that one of the first question, “Do you work with my 19 other providers? Because if you don't, I'm not going to have you fighting over it. And number two, I don't want to deal with the integration. I hope you have an experience in doing this in other organizations.” So, the opposite of the challenge, what excites you, Mari, from a standpoint of, as you look forward, what kind has got you jazzed right now?

Mari Gadlin (21:54):

For me, especially with Alkami, it is this accessibility and the fact that my team and myself will be able to do things ourselves. Right now, with our current providers, we often have to just open a case, wait, hope they reply quickly. If it's something we needed quickly, we kind of assume that's not going to happen. And I feel like we are going to be so much more nimble and self-serving, and can do the things ourselves. And for me, that just is beyond exciting.

Jim Marous (22:30):

It's interesting because we're seeing more and more that the partners are really listening to their clients because you're starting to catch up to what's going on in the marketplace and you're pushing them as much as they're pushing you.

Jim Marous (22:42):

And it's good to be in a place where … you're on the Visionary podcast because you're a smaller institution punching above your weight. So, you start to get the attention to go, “These people are doing something pretty special.” What excites you about the future?

Pamela Villanova (22:55):

Oh goodness, I can't wait to get started on what we can do next. As I mentioned earlier, roadmap has not been something we've been very adept at. And I've been talking to a lot of the folks here in the technology showcase and what opportunities we have to be mindful and thoughtful about how we plan things out in order to meet member needs. I'm really excited about what we're going to be able to do there.

Jim Marous (23:18):

Ladies, it's been so much fun. I love it because the enthusiasm blows out. I mean, you can see it, you can see the smiles on your faces. You're proud of what you've done. You know what your history was and where you came from, which is really kind of exciting. It's also great to be able to share with others in the marketplace. Thank you so much for being on the show.

Mari Gadlin (23:38):

Thank you so much for having us.

Pamela Villanova (23:39):

Appreciate it. Really appreciate it.

Jim Marous (23:40):

A special thank you to the Evergreen team who's here today and for all this week actually recording our podcast episodes. A special thank you to Leah Haslage, senior producer, and Will Pritts and Chris Fafalios are video and audio producers. Thank you a lot. It wouldn't be possible without you sponsors

[Music Playing]