DriveUp Savings

Carolyn Probasco at Members United Federal Credit Union sent along a nice letter today.

She reports that her credit union is still doing about a 30% takeup rate (meaning 30% of the auto loans they open have a DriveUp Savings attached).

She also included a cell phone sticky pad that was used as a give-a-way at her local chamber meeting. What a great idea!

Thanks for keeping us updated Carolyn, and congratz on the great success you are having with the product.

If your credit union is intersted in launching this product or a similar product, we want to hear from you so we can add it to the growing list of credit unions offering the product. We’ve started to draw interest from credit unions in California and New York, so we may see the innovation take off nationwide soon!

And remember, we’re also happy to help you as an advocate if you need help getting it approved, implemented and/or promoted. Just contact us and we’ll help you get started.

Fresh on the heels of a name change, Via Credit Union has committed to implementing the DriveUp Savings product, with plans to launch in 2009.

This news comes just a couple days following our iGnite presentation at the Indiana Credit Union League Conference. If you were not at that presentation, please feel free to download the presentation we used.

If you have any questions or have plans to implement, please contact us.

Just received word from Carolyn Probasco that the board of Members United FCU in LaPorte, Indiana has granted approval for the DriveUp Savings product. They plan to launch on July 1.

Great news. Can’t wait to hear about your results Carolyn.

Remember, if your institution plans to implement this product or would like to learn more about it for the purpose of building your case for implementation, please contact us.

The Taped Crusaders group wants to thank all of our fellow igniters and atendees of the Indiana CUES Roundtable for their courtesy and guidance as we presented and discussed the DriveUp Savings program last week. As we mentioned, we beleive this is perfect example of a savings innovation that rewards members. Each one of us is passionate about seeing the idea catch on and spread.

We have already had a couple credit union representatives approach us about being pilot institutions, but we so no reason to limit the groups. If you are interested, please contact us. We’re happy to offer suggestions, support and even speak with decision makers at your credit union.

• View our “Member’s Perspective” Videos
• Our September 2008 ICUL Presentation

We are happy to speak with you in more detail. Please feel free to contact us.

You may also consider contacting the ignite Indiana program and/or the Indiana Credit Union League for further guidance.

Indiana Credit Union League’s ignite initiative is making progress, and innovations begun at the start of the year by the ignite working group are ready to be implemented in credit unions, says the league. Several Indiana credit unions have committed to offering the innovations, and working-group members are seeking additional credit unions to adopt them, the league said. [CUNA.org ~ Indiana ignite initiative ready for CU adoption: 12/02/2008]

Six credit unions in Indiana have launched a cool looking program that helps members save when getting a car loan. Not only does the program help your members build up their savings, it has the additional impact of increasing the CU’s deposit balances.  | Topic: AutoSavings/DriveUp Savings [EverythingCUMarketing: 10/16/2008]

A coalition of Indiana CUs have developed a new automatic savings product tied to auto loans called DriveUp Savings. With the account, you can contribute . . . | New automatic savings plan tied to auto loans [The Financial Brand: 10/14/2008]

Taped Crusaders – project name: Drive Up Savings – Please check out their web site describing their innovation project. They are piggybacking off of one of the Filene i3 group’s projects called Auto Savings. One of the exciting differences is offering the same interest rate on the savings account as the auto loan. Yes, you read that right – the same rate. Check out their site and click on financials for the specifics. | ignite innovation projects [Forum Solutions].

• Brian Wilkerson – Kemba CU; VP, COO
• Chad Gramling – Three Rivers FCU; Deposit Product Manager
• Joe Hasto – Eli Lilly FCU; CFO
• Evelyn Royer – Purdue EFCU; VP Risk Mgmt/Support Svcs
• Michelle Peterson – Marion School CU; Marketing Manager

The Taped Crusaders, who produced this site and implementation program, is a working group of the ignite Indiana program. ignite provides a forum for new idea exchange/implementation, collaboration and networking for Indiana’s credit union leaders and emerging leaders. An emphasis will be placed on implementing ideas and projects at Indiana credit unions and developing a track record of results. The success of the Filene Research Institute’s i3 initiative has fueled the quest for an extended program that can operate and implement at the state level. The presence of talented members of Filene’s i3 group from Indiana is an added incentive to create a statewide program whose purpose is tied to enhancing the success of Hoosier credit unions.

No two institutions will implement DriveUp Savings exactly the same. With the reality of varied core system capabilities, organizational tastes and differing makeup of membership segments, it’s impossible to expect that possibility.

However, there are common steps and actions that enable a system that can be used and deployed. We have detailed those items below:

1. Decide Product Type – We recommend a certificate, but CUs may also consider a “holiday club” type of savings account
2. Determine Timeline
3. The Product Name – Feel free to use “DriveUp Savings”
4. Beta Test – Set up the product in your test environment and make sure it works as intended
5. Documentation – If you offer term extensions to lower payments to allow for contributions, you will need to modify your documents. You’ll also want to integrate into your other account opening processes.
6. Expectations and Goals – You’ll want to create expectations and goals based upon your membership and product sales. [See Financials]
7. Marketing – We’ve developed marketing collateral using the DriveUp Savings name. If you choose to brand with a different name, you’ll need to create new. [See Marketing]
8. Set Up in Live Environment
9. Train Staff and Launch Product
10. Follow-up and Tracking – Monitor your success [Don't Forget to Tell Us About It!]

The DriveUp Savings product/program was incubated by the Filene Research Institute’s i3 initiative. The original concept is called AutoSavings . Two credit unions adopted the product and still offer it to members. Those two credit unions are American Airlines Credit Union (TurboSave ) and Day Air Credit Union (Auto Loan Plus ). Both have implemented with success to the benefit of the credit union and the member.

The key differentiator of the DriveUp Savings product is the rate match. Additionally, we’ve developed many resources to help CU’s implement. Other CU’s who are or will implement include:

• Members United FCU – LaPorte, IN
• Purdue Employees FCU - West Lafayette, IN
• Three Rivers FCU – Fort Wayne, IN
• Hughes FCU – Tucson AZ
• AAA FCU – South Bend, IN
• MidWest Financial CU – Ann Arbor, MI
• Fiscal Credit Union - Glendale, CA
• Tarrant County CU – Fort Worth, TX

Implementation outcomes and member adoption information will be shared on this site as they become available. Additionally, we invite your institution to join in this exciting new phase. We’ve created an easy implementation program, have provided the numbers to support the endeavor and have even created marketing collateral for your use with no strings attached. However, we do humbly request that you tell us you are implementing and would love for you to consider sharing your results with us on this site.

To do so, you can either comment on this post or you can use our contact form .

This page will continually be updated as we learn about more institutions who choose to implement.