Webcasts & Podcasts Educate BECU Members

BECU (formerly Boeing Employees Credit Union), the 4th largest US credit union, has successfully incorporated webcasts and podcasts into its member education services. In the past year, almost 19,000 members and prospects visited the Education and Seminars web page to download the seminars, according to Todd Pietzsch, BECU Public Relations.

Todd told Mercury Direct: "As a not-for-profit credit union, our focus is aimed at improving the financial lives of our members. We developed the webcast and podcast to reach more of our members and give them 24/7 access" to BECU's financial education seminars.

The credit union has 3 full-time educators who conduct community education on topics such as home buying, understanding credit reports, household budgeting and other financial topics. Webcasts and podcasts allow the credit union to reach more members. "While the classes allow us to reach thousands of people every year, we were limited in our ability to cost-effectively reach more of our members. The webcasts and podcasts have been very well-received and easy for us to create and keep fresh with up-to-date content", says Pietzsch.

In addition to the content, BECU has captured member feedback on the classes, both in-person and electronic. The testimonial page captures member's feedback and links it back to the appropriate seminar.

BECU does an excellent job of adopting new electronic tools to meet the age-old responsibility of keeping members financially well-educated.

Umpqua Bank Helps Customers Go Green

Umpqua Bank, a subsidiary of Umpqua Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: UMPQ), and Energy Trust of Oregon Inc., an independent nonprofit organization, introduced low-interest financing for energy-saving improvements and solar energy systems. Their program, GreenStreet Lending, offers financing options designed to help small businesses and homeowners manage rising energy costs by making it easier to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

All GreenStreet Lending products offer low-interest rate financing, have no loan origination fees or closing costs, and have flexible terms. GreenStreet loan options are available to qualified borrowers on approved credit who are Oregon customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural or Cascade Natural Gas.

GreenStreet products can be paired with Energy Trust’s cash incentives and State of Oregon energy tax credits, making home and business energy improvements financially accessible to a broader market.

Gen Y Gets a "Virtual Wallet"

PNC Financial Services of Pittsburgh is attracting 130 new customers a day with its "Virtual Wallet" program.

Developed specifically to attract Generation Y customers (defined by PNC as ages 18 - 34), the program has signed up more than 20,000 Virtual Wallet customers since July 2008. 65% of these customers are new and 70% are in the Gen Y demographic.

The online program offers 3 account types - Spend, Reserve and Growth accounts. Customers use a financial calendar to track bill reminders, account balances, and hi-light "Danger Days" that alert the customer to overdraft risk. The Money Bar and Savings Engine allow customers to drag and drop money from one account to another, pay bills and set savings goals.

Profit comes in different ways. The bank charges a fee if more than 3 checks are written on the account monthly. The account pays 0.1% interest on checking accounts vs. the national average of 1.25%. They do pay 3% on the Savings Account, but limit deposits to less than $25,000.

With a cost of $15 million, PNC expects the project to break even in two years, compared to a three-year break even for their new branch locations.