We asked 5 college students to describe credit unions

Jake M. (20, TD Bank)

“Umm, I don’t know. They’re groups of people that help bring up your credit?”

Molly H. (21, Bank of America)

“Ok these I’m a little bit fuzzier on. Basically, it’s like a bank for people in a certain industry. My mom’s a teacher so she sometimes uses State Employees Credit Union.”

Ana D. (20, Bank of America)

“I cannot. I can try, but I…. I know we have a lot. I don’t know what they’re used for.”

Mercer B. (21, First Citizens Bank) 

“Credit unions? Umm, I honestly could say nothing about credit unions with any authority or confidence.”

Rohan A. (21, Suntrust) 

“Umm… I feel like you can get like a debit card with them or probably a credit card too. And you can have a savings account. But I’m not really sure past that. I feel like they’re smaller [than banks] maybe?”

We then give them a short description of credit union: 

Credit unions are like banks, but they’re non-profit. When you open an account at a credit union, you become a member and own part of the credit union. So while traditional banks are run by shareholders whose goal is to maximize profits, credit unions return all profits to their members in the form of reduced fees, higher savings rates and lower loan rates.

And here’s how they reacted to it:

Jake M.

“It sounds good. What’s the catch? Is there no catch? Why wouldn’t everyone use a credit union?”

Molly H. 

“They seem like a really good solution. I like that fact that that it’s a non-profit and that they reinvest in the people. It makes me think highly of them.”

Ana D. 

“It’s made me more open to the idea. I don’t think that statement alone will make me change. I think I would have to do more research.”

Mercer B.  

“I’m sure in theory that they’re great, and I like the idea of a bank where you’re more valued. At the same time, I’m sure there’s a reason that not everyone is doing it. I just don’t know what that reason is.”

Rohan A.  

“I think it sounds like a better alternative to normal banks. I know like the interest rates for your savings is pretty low, so I don’t know if that’s much different. Yeah, if they’re giving better loans and stuff or better details on that I feel like it’s a good idea.” 

We are not a research institute or some market intelligence company. We are three college students from Duke University who’re believers of the credit unions movement. In the past few months, we surveyed over 500 college students and 76% of them don’t know what a credit union is – and we want to help. Together, we built Zogo, a reward-based financial literacy app that helps credit unions engage and attract GenZ. In April, Zogo won the 2019 NACUSO next big idea competition. And two weeks ago, Zogo was voted by 1500 financial industry leaders as the best of show at Finovate 2019. 

As GenZ ourselves, we know how to engage this demographics.  Visit www.zogofinance.com to see how our solution fits your organization and to schedule a demo to learn more from one of our committed onboarding specialists.