You know their names, ages, incomes and balances…but does that tell you who your members are? Does it tell you their motivations? How about actionable insights for helping meet their needs in the way that works best for them? It's no surprise that people with similar demographics can exhibit vastly different consumer behaviors...But a couple of str…

"One transition I’m really interested in is the transition from incarceration to entry back into society. The criminal legal system has an enormous impact on peoples’ lives but it’s one that financial institutions don’t seem to think much about."We have a special discussion for our listeners today as we hand over the reigns to our Filene Fellow for…

Today’s episode is very special – we have a guest on that is well known in the financial world from a national media stage -- and we are unpacking everything about a new, highly valuable Filene member benefit offered through a new partnership between Filene and HerMoney.Jean Chatzky is a former financial editor of NBC’s TODAY Show, bestselling auth…

Sarah Lietz, Chief Experience Officer, MDC and Christie Kimbell, Chief Product Officer, Filene Research Institute provide insights and updates on what is happening in the most innovative pockets of the credit union and financial services space today and how growth-minded leaders can take advantage of innovative ideas to gain a new POV in 2023.In th…

Today’s conversation is about Financial Well Being… well actually to be more specific, financial well being for all.For a substantial portion of households, day-to-day financial struggles remain profound in the face of persistent financial fragility and inequity. According to the Financial Health Network’s U.S. Financial Health Pulse, 2 out of 3 Am…

Today’s conversation is about innovation. I know, right. Innovation this, innovation that, everyone is saying the word innovation so much, it's like the center square on a corporate jargon bingo card. But here’s the thing: Jeffrey Robinson, Fellow for Filene’s Center of Excellence for Innovation and Incubation tells credit unions “If we don’t innov…

Let’s take a trip back in time to big.bright.minds 2021 where we ran into a very enthusiastic supporter of the Filene i3 program – Randy Stolp. Now, Randy promised he had a very unique and interesting story about how he came to be part of i3 and he definitely delivered. But before we get to that…let’s look back in time again, this time if we look A…

Today’s conversation is one you’ve likely thought about before if you work in the credit union industry -- we’re talking about credit unions and cryptocurrencies. The purpose of this conversation is to enlighten our credit union listeners to what they need to know about the current state of digital assets and cryptocurrencies, what risks and opport…

1 in 5 credit union members report that they would be willing to leave their credit union for a bank if innovation was not a priority.If you’re a regular listener of this podcast, you know that we often bring our research fellows on so that you have a chance to hear directly from them, get to know a little more about the work they are doing and lea…

Last fall, Filene launched a new research center to focus on the power of credit unions’ social and community impact — not only to explore the way that this type of work being done by credit unions, if strategically maximized, partnered and amplified, has potential to significantly and positively transform entire communities, but also to explore th…

Data is an amazing thing. It tells us who we are and what we do. And while predicting the choices, preferences and behaviors of one person is nearly impossible, predicting this for many people is a lot easier through the power of data analysis. Once-hidden patterns are revealed, structure emerges, and our data becomes our vision into the future. If…

So much has turned uncertain about our world this year – one thing that helps in times of uncertainty is to stay focused in the realm of what we can control. And while we can’t control the future, there is a trick that does give us a bit of control over the shape the future will be in. When we act in good faith to the question of “How can I become …

We’ve witnessed how much of our societal and economic infrastructure has failed--or is brought to the precipice of failure--with any amount of stress put on it over the last handful of months. Smart organizations right now are looking for ways to infuse innovation into their very DNA: their organizational culture – and create solutions to the most …

In this episode, we introduce you to our newest Filene Fellow for the Center of Excellence for Consumer Financial Lives in Transition. Dr. Lisa Servon is the Kevin and Erica Penn Presidential Professor and Chair of City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design.The Center for Consumer Financial Lives i…

This episode brings you insights from Filene Fellow Huggy Rao, professor of organizational behavior and human resources at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Huggy will make you see the link between what you do and the way you do it, and your performance outcomes. Huggy isn’t your typical professor, you will be well entertained by his colorful…

In a public health crisis, timely, reliable and trustworthy information is critical to safeguarding people’s health and well-being. Unfortunately, the widespread adoption of digital media and information technologies today has made it easier and faster to produce, disseminate, and be exposed to false or manipulated content, from simple misinformati…

Filene Research Institute

Filene Research Institute

Filene Research Institute

Join us for a special episode in the podcast studio to get to know Filene Fellow for the Center of Excellence for the War for Talent, Sekou Bermiss!We start with a discussion on the work he’s doing as the lead researcher for the Center. Sekou explains the complexities behind how we know that people are a business’ most critical resource, but yet, f…

The US economy has been humming along for more than a decade with unemployment at historical lows, but unfortunately those numbers only tell a part of the story. One in five American households has zero or negative wealth making it difficult to affordably borrow, make consistent loan payments and build strong credit. In an effort to help credit uni…

Earlier this summer, Filene held a research event focused on creating exceptional member experiences by redesigning organizations from a perspective of both the inside out and the outside in – meaning looking at how your credit union operates and how various internal teams and systems interact, AND looking at how member experiences in turn, inform …

We pick up here where we left off last time learning about the Cooperative Trust community and the Crash experience – if those last few words meant nothing to you, please go back to part 1 and take a listen now. We explain all about this young professional community and these unique event opportunities for them in that episode! If you’re ready for …

We are wired for connection; it is part of our DNA. Human beings have a basic need to belong to groups and form relationships – and we spend much of our lives doing just that. What we don’t often measure is the power that those connections give us to make an impact on the world around us. Insight, inspiration, innovation…none of this happens in iso…

Edward Albert Filene was born on September 3, 1860. While the world was very different nearly 160 years ago when our namesake was born, it has been fascinating to pause this week, taking a moment to learn more about Ed’s beliefs, values, actions and accomplishments from his lifetime and realize how much those same ideas – of fairness, of equality, …

This one is for all of you that love stories about money…where it came from, where it’s going, how it’s going to get there and how our lives will always be impacted by the ways we use physical and digital currencies.Join us on this trip with Bill Maurer -- Filene Fellow for our Center of Excellence on Emerging Technology and Dean and Professor at t…

We had the chance to talk with Renee Sattiewhite, Executive Director of the African American Credit Union Coalition at CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference this year. I wanted to learn more about the AACUC, learn what initiatives they are working on this year and beyond, and better understand some things Renee mentioned to me around a data challe…

This episode picks up where episode 52 left off with our most recent i3 team projects. You’re about to hear from 3 more teams about their experiences working together, examining a problem and approaching a viable solution with care. They talked about how weighty, significant and challenging some of their issues to solve were but by trusting the pro…

On May 31, 1989, Filene was officially incorporated as an organization, which means we are now celebrating 30 years of existence. In this interview with Filene’s chief research and development officer, George Hofheimer, we talk about the past and future of Filene, George’s take on the evolution of our work and some of his favorite reports from our …

If you’re interested in what a day in the life of an i3er is like, this is your chance to get that inside look. I sat down with all 6 of the i3 teams that recently presented their projects at Filene’s “Future of Trust” research event in Seattle. They talked about what problem their solutions aimed to fix, how they came to their solutions, how they …

Dr. Lana Swartz, Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia spoke at the Filene breakfast this year about industries that are using the blockchain and why credit unions might want to consider its use, too. Lana studies money as a communications technology, focusing in particular on the history of payments a…

What really is an algorithm? This episode dives a bit deeper into this topic that we’ve talked about here before and relates to much of our research on emerging technology. I wanted to know more, in ordinary terms, not only what an algorithm is, but how they work, and what the prevalence of the use of artificial intelligence and algorithms mean for…

In many ways, the credit union model in this country was officially defined in 1934 by the Federal Credit Union Act (FCUA). At the time, credit unions’ main focus was around promoting savings and thrift, and providing people of modest means access to fair credit to pursue productive investments. While this remains the foundation of the model, the p…

Mergers-- they have dramatically restructured the credit union system over the last 5 decades. And Credit union leaders have accepted this as a reality of the current financial services landscape.But that does not mean leaders should approach a merger without caution and due diligence. Many leaders are rightly concerned about how a merger would aff…

For today's show, I am joined by Filene’s Managing Director of Research, Taylor Nelms, as we interview Andrew Turner, Legal Research and Writing Faculty at the University of Wisconsin Law School and author of “Who Do Credit Unions Belong To? The Promise and Peril of Being Undefined in a Time of Political and Social Polarization.”In a time in Americ…

In the spirit of our love for prototyping and innovation that changes lives, we at Filene are trying something new today: a research-based streaming music service for the cooperative finance industry. Currently, we have only one song in our song library, but we look to build it up over time. To celebrate this new venture, we would like to give you …

Filene Research Institute’s namesake, Ed Filene, wrote the book “Speaking of Change” in which he emphasized the importance of always looking ahead, never remaining stagnant and keeping up with ever changing times. And at the start of each year, Filene takes a moment’s pause to reflect and speak to our local credit union community to share the lates…

Today’s episode is extra special. We shared our office space last month with Coopera -- a consulting firm located in Des Moines, Iowa, focused on helping credit unions and other organizations grow by reaching and serving the Hispanic market. That brought Kenia Calderon to our podcast studio to share her story of how she came to work with Coopera an…

Credit unions have a unique vantage point to see the way financial barriers hold people back day-in and day-out. And they’re also in a unique position to do something to support those most vulnerable. In today’s podcast we take a look at the very real and complicated way that economic abuse can keep survivors of domestic violence in their abusive r…

The financial industry has long faced change: in technology, consumer preferences, regulation, and new business models. To thrive, credit union leaders, like all financial providers, must scan for shifts in their institutions and markets. To do so, credit union leaders need to master the twin challenges of organizational vigilance – or “seeing soon…

We’ve boiled down our latest research about attraction and retention strategies for credit unions from our Center for the War for Talent. Our new report is called “Diving Headfirst into the Applicant Pool: How Employee Attraction Impacts Employee Retention” by filene fellow Sekou Bermiss at the University of Texas Austin.First, we talk with someone…

So, a professor, a lawyer and a CEO walk into… a podcast…? No this isn’t the set up for a joke…But it is an amazing tale of a credit union growth strategy with seemingly no downside that we could find at least. This is the tale of credit unions’ acquisition of banks and thrifts, as told by David Walker, professor & director emeritus of the Capital …

Interview: Ben Morales, Chief Technology and Operations Officer at Washington State Employees Credit Union and CEO of QCash Financial -- about the real issue behind small-dollar lending.The Federal Reserve surveyed more than 5,000 people to see if their personal financial situations were improving along with the economy, and about 46 percent of the…

Thank you for joining us for part two of our show about Will Be Done – the tool that helps people create wills. It might seem like a tricky subject, or a space that financial institutions don’t see a reason to get into with members, but really, it is a perfect fit. If you protect a member’s financial assets their whole lives, why wouldn’t you also …

We don’t regularly just sit around and talk about our own deaths at Filene… but sometimes we do. A number of us realized we don't have wills and no plans to get one soon. But that's not a good way to be. This episode explores the build-out of an innovative program for credit unions to help their members by making the will-creation process easier so…

Based on three principles: transparency, trust and fair treatment, open-book management engages with employees and gets them to think and act like owners, creating a culture of employee ownership in credit unions. In today's show, we chat with Dennis Campbell, Filene Fellow and Dwight P. Robinson Jr. Professor at Harvard Business School, to discuss…

Today’s show is a LIVE episode, from Filene’s annual “State of the (Credit) Union” address, where we showcase elements of our body of work, what’s new at Filene, and what we see emerging in the marketplace – all very important stuff for our members to hear about. You'll hear updates and insights from Mark, Tansley, George, Elry, Ryan, Andrew, Laure…

Today we have a very special episode of the Podcast, coming at you from our RESEARCH (dream) TEAM! This is our “Wildcard” output for the newly released research report “Credit Union Regtech: Innovation and Expertise.”What is that? Well the report covers What can be done to help ease the regulatory responsibilities for credit unions-- And looks at w…

Lisa Servon, professor and author of "The Unbanking of America: How the New Middle Class Survives" speaks with us on this episode of the podcast. Together with Filene's Incubator Director Adam Lee, we start a conversation on financial justice, to be continued on Oct. 2 at our event in Madison WI and again on Oct. 3 at the YWCA Madison's Racial Just…

Today's story looks at two credit unions doing everything they can to support and grow their communities' small business sectors by building out programs that cater to the needs of business owners and entrepreneurs. These credit unions, Alterna Savings in Canada and Neighborhood Trust in New York, are part of Filene's Financial Empowerment Incubato…