In 1938, a group of teachers from Valley Stream, a village in Nassau County on Long Island, New York, started a new venture: Valley Stream Teachers Credit Union. Their aim was to make it easier and less expensive for school employees to save and borrow money, without having to go through a bank. Over the next seven decades, the credit union gradually expanded its membership eligibility, leading to growth in membership and assets, and by 2010 it welcomed all Long Islanders in Nassau and Suffolk counties. In 2019, recognizing the need to reflect its modern direction and expanded membership, the credit union rebranded as Jovia Financial Credit Union.
Over the years, one of Jovia’s primary challenges became the high level of sophistication of its membership, which translated into tighter net interest margins compared to any other regions across the country. To continue to grow, the now $4.6 billion-asset credit union needed a way to expand its membership outside of its geographic restrictions and appeal to younger generations.
Jovia found its answer with Union Credit, the first digital loan marketplace that allows credit unions to deliver credit-worthy consumers access to pre-approved loans embedded within their daily retail and financial activities. Union Credit’s marketplace provides Jovia with the means to reach new and young members, outside of their traditional markets, via digital channels in a way that more closely resembles larger financial institutions.
Union Credit aggregates consumer data, like prescreened credit bureau data, and matches it with Jovia’s membership, products, lending criteria, and rates. Then, Jovia seamlessly integrates their credit options into the e-commerce platforms that Union Credit has existing partnerships with, such as Way.com, QuinStreet, and Bankrate. This allows Jovia’s competitive loan offers to be instantly accessible to millions of credit-worthy consumers at the moment of purchase. Consumers can then review an assortment of already approved loan options, select the offer that best fits their needs and activate it with one click. This simplifies the process, eliminating the need to complete membership and loan applications and bypassing common hurdles associated with joining a new financial institution.
Casey G. Mauldin, Chief Revenue Officer & Chief Lending Officer at Jovia Financial Credit Union says, “Union Credit’s marketplace allows us to deliver our products and services to new markets, tackle the generational gap that most credit unions are struggling with, and truly compete with regional and national financial institutions. Once a new member is acquired, it is then our job to provide them with a personalized banking service that best fits their wider financial needs, which leads to loyalty, retention and ultimately, a boost in profitability for our institution and our members.”
The partnership with Union Credit came as a natural choice for Jovia, as the credit union has been successfully leveraging CuneXus – Union Credit’s partner – for existing membership cross sell opportunity for many years.
In only six months with Union Credit, Jovia gained 4,511 new members, comprising 3,734 credit cards totaling $49.3 million in new credit lines and 1,497 personal loans totaling $16.1 million in funded loan balances. Plus, the credit union now serves members in every state in the United States and has achieved its goal of attracting a younger demographic, with 20% of new members being under 41 years old.
Mauldin reflects, “The journey we have had with the folks at Union Credit has been nothing short of remarkable. For example, within just two months of partnership with them, we surpassed our previous yearly benchmarks in certain product categories. And this year, we are already close to meeting our annual digital membership goals. While growing and diversifying our membership had long been our primary goal, the quick success we’ve had with Union Credit allows us to pivot our strategic focus towards other initiatives for the foreseeable future.”
