The Millennial Generation is the newest name for Generation Y. That’s the group of people born between 1980 and 2000. The Millennial Generation is the next wave of members for credit unions. During the Michigan Credit Union League’s 2008 AC&E in May, keynote speaker Mary Crane talked about Millennial Generation and their money. A couple of hours later, Crane facilitated a panel discussion with six college students. The six students were asked:
- Where they banked? Of the six, four belonged to a credit union while the other two belonged to a bank.
- What they wanted from their financial institution? The overall feeling was to be treated with respect by the financial institution and also be provided with financial information and help.
- Did they want paper statements? As you would imagine, this generation hates paper statements because they want to be green.
- How much communication they wanted with their credit union? They are looking for reminders when payments were due for loans or credit cards.
- How did they want their CU to communicate with them? E-mail? Mail? Text message? It was no contest, all preferred email.
- Why they would consider leaving a credit union to go to a bank? Lack of ATMs and not having the ability to bank online.
- What is the best way for a CU to introduce themselves to college students? The students thought seeing representation at freshman orientation on campus, as well as using student members as spokespersons.
- How can a credit union learn more about what students are looking for in a financial institution? Credit unions should consider having a student(s) serve on the board of directors.
As you can see from the answers, this generation looks at credit unions with a slightly different eye. More than anything, the Millennial Generation will cause credit unions to move forward at a rapid pace. The student panel also wanted credit unions to have later hours. A complaint was not being able to get into a credit union between the hours of 9 and noon on Saturday or before 5pm during the week.
The people that attended this education session last month left with a lot of answers, but they also left with many questions. We created this forum to continue the dialog with the six college students on the panel. Please post your question and thoughts on this blog and the students will respond. We hope this will elicit a quality discussion about the Millennial Generation and their money.
Happy blogging!
Renee Werth
MCUL Director of Education
