Case Study: MSUFCU Credit Union

How Pocketnest is identifying $1.2B in non-interest income and boosted employee wellness by 55%

Digital strategy takes centerstage

MSU Federal Credit Union, like many other credit unions and retail banks since 2020, was seeking ways to boost non-interest income. The pandemic and all its aftershocks hit the world—and hard. As credit unions, retail banks, drive-thrus, and brick and mortar financial institutions closed their doors to the public, credit unions just like MSUFCU were seeking ways to continue their relevance, relationships and revenue.

Lucky for MSUFCU, they were well prepared for the shift in the industry. Unlike many financial institutions that were completely caught off guard with the immediate pivot to digital banking, MSUFCU has prioritized innovation and digital strategy since the beginning.

Ben Maxim, chief digital strategy and innovation officer at MSUFCU, brought on Pocketnest to align with the credit union’s digital strategy of building deeper connections with its members. And, they opted for the cherry on top: bringing Pocketnest onboard in the credit union’s internal employee benefits package.

The payoff of working with Pocketnest

Working with Pocketnest, the 1,000-person credit union with 330,000 members and $6.7B in assets was able to focus on deeper, more meaningful connections with members and richer, more impactful employee benefits.

And as for non-interest income?! Pocketnest is identifying more than $1.2B in cross-sell opportunities that could generate an equivalent amount in non-interest income for the credit union.

Bringing MSUFCU members financial wellness

In addition to identifying cross-sell and non-interest income opportunities for the credit union, Pocketnest also deepened the credit union’s relationship with its members. With more insight into members’ financial situations—if they just had a baby, bought a new home, inherited money, hiked up their retirement savings, invested in Bitcoin—the credit union was able to be timely, relevant and, most importantly, not recklessly salesy.

Offering products and services that are actually needed, and being efficient with members’ time, they were able to become a more trusted partner. And, not to mention, MSUFCU increased its members’ financial wellness by 53 percent in their first month using the platform.

To date, 35 percent of MSUFCU members who use Pocketnest link their external accounts, giving MSUFCU further insight into their financial situations and a chance to better serve them. They’ve answered 130K questions about their financial situation (did you recently have a baby? do you need help reviewing your home and auto insurance? are you considering a 529 college savings plan for your child?), guiding the credit union to offer members timely and relevant product solutions.

Boosting employee financial wellness, too

Just as Pocketnest brought MSUFCU members financial wellness, it served as a crucial employee benefits platform for its internal team of about 1,000 employees. Of course the credit union offered a retirement savings plan and paid time off. But, especially with the pandemic and all its tailwinds, they knew the employee benefits of yester-year were simply not going to cut it.

Using Pocketnest, MSUFCU increased its employee wellness by 55 percent in just the first month of using the platform.

So, what did the people say about Pocketnest as a financial wellness platform?!

Interested in bringing Pocketnest for financial wellness to your members and/or your employees? Reach out for a demo!