Breaking Down Silos and Boosting Loans

Want to score an 85% conversion rate on funded loan offers without losing your sanity?

On the latest podcast from The Credit Union Connection, host Sarah Snell Cooke catches up with Jaynel Christensen, EVP at Commonwealth Credit Union, and Gabrielle Champine, Head of Growth and Client Success at Movemint, to discuss how the $2.7 billion credit union turned embedded finance into a powerhouse.

With over $246 million in funded loans across 25,000+ loans, Commonwealth proves that delivering the “Amazon effect” comes down to two things: ruthless simplicity and obliterating internal silos. Whether you’re eyeing commercial growth or just trying to get your team to actually buy into a new tech rollout, this episode is a must-listen masterclass.

Tune in to catch the full conversation and learn how to make your next lending strategy feel less like Mission: Impossible and more like a walk in the park.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Hello, and welcome everyone to another exciting adventure on the Credit Union Connection podcast. I am Sarah Snell Cooke, your host here as always. I am joined today by Jaynel Christensen. Welcome.

Jaynel Christensen: Thank you. Glad to be here.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Yeah, we’re glad to have you. She’s from Commonwealth Credit Union, executive vice president there. And we also have Gabby Champine. Welcome.

Gabby Champine: Thank you so much, Sarah.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Thank you, and she is the head of Movemint’s growth and client success. Now, you all wanna do a little bit introduction of yourself and the organizations you work for? I guess we’ll go back in the same order. Jaynel, go ahead, start off.

Jaynel Christensen: Thanks. Yeah, I am Jaynel Christensen, EVP at Commonwealth Credit Union. I am coming up and celebrating my 25th year here with the organization in October, so that’s exciting. I’ve had the opportunity to grow up at Commonwealth through the different primary under the lending umbrella, and then, up through over operations now to the EVP role. So excited to be here today and talk to you about Movemint and, share kind of our story of the Movemint program.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Congratulations on that almost big milestone. That’s great. And how about you, Gabby?

Gabby Champine: Yeah. Thanks so much, Sarah. It’s so great to be here alongside Jaynel today. So I lead growth and client success here at Movemint. And Movemint is an embedded finance technology that’s gonna drive that loan deposit and non-interest income growth. Prior to joining over here though, I did, come out of a credit union where I oversaw marketing and saw a lot of success with the platform. So it’s been fun to be on the fintech side of things, bringing some of those strategies to life with such a great partner like Commonwealth.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Awesome. So yeah, let’s, talk a little bit about Jaynel. What were you looking to solve when you went looking for a solution like Movemint?

Jaynel Christensen: Yeah. So we were really trying to find a way to make, lending for our members and our team members easier and convenient. We launched with Movemint in 2018, so you think eight years ago at this point almost. And today our world is even more Amazon-driven, like we want the Amazon effect in all that we do, but eight years ago, that mentality was really, starting to ramp up. Now it’s just become table stakes and it’s what you have to do. And we were trying to find a way to meet our members’ needs on the lending aspect with that Amazon experience, that instant experience that was available for them any time of day. And when we, went and looked at options and talked with different companies, Movemint was the preferred partner—beyond the software and the technology that they offered, what we really found from them that made the differentiator was the partnership mentality. They were willing to walk alongside us and help us get out of our own way to make the technology a success.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Yeah. It seems like that’s many credit unions issues is everybody’s honestly having to get out of your own way. That’s funny. Gabby, how’s the, the partnership work? What is the, the operations of it all?

Gabby Champine: Yes. So at the simplest level, we assist financial institutions turning the data that they already have into those personalized or pre-approved offers for their members, and like Jaynel said, that they can act on really instantly inside all of their channels, so digital banking, at the branch, over the phone, wherever the member kind of is. And I think, anchoring to what you mentioned, Jaynel, is that the whole idea is that Commonwealth has an abundance of relationship data. You know your members the best, and so our platform is really a way for them to assist in that activation, so getting that right offer in front of the right member at that right moment and closing that gap. And so obviously Commonwealth is one of, the gold standards that we would describe in a partnership because they bring that innovation right back to us in how we can, really excel in the product, how we can support their teams, their operations, and their goals.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Yeah, it sounds like a really cool platform, because personalization is so hot these days, and I’ll definitely get to that in a bit. But, I wanna talk results. I’m jumping to the end here. So Commonwealth generated 246.5 million in funded loan value across more than 25,000 loans. You’re a $2.7 billion credit union, you got big numbers there. But also is an 85% conversion rate on funded offers, which really I think was a, a bigger deal to me. Is this all… Talk a little bit about that. Is it all direct? Is it indirect? ‘Cause it kinda sounds like direct is the way it works, but yeah, let us know.

Jaynel Christensen: Yeah, we actually offer the Movemint platform across multiple channels. So we offer loan products on the, personal loans, auto loans, vehicle loans, recreational, and home equity loans, and then invite them to apply for student loan refinances and mortgages. So we have a variety of options for members depending on what they need. As far as the conversion, I think the, the 85% conversion rate speaks to the simplicity of it. I think when things are made simple, then people finish them. When we make things too complex and we make it too difficult, that’s where we tend to lose people, the, the multiple clicks down the process. And we worked to really create a simple process for our members. When you select that you want to accept a Movemint offer, you have the paperwork within, a very short period of time, you sign it electronically, and then the money’s put into your account. You don’t have to come into a branch. You don’t have to call anybody. You don’t have to do any additional steps. It’s accept, sign, enjoy. And I think that in itself is what drives the success, and Movemint’s technology allowing it to be that simple and to go through the process and select, kinda add to the cart the different features that you want with the product, do you want this or do you want that, are what help it be a success and those high funding rates.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Yeah, and obviously, I think everybody’s talking personalization these days, especially the, young whippersnappers, Gen Z and Millennials. Although Millennials are creeping up there, but, we got Gen Alpha coming soon. But explain, Gabby, why personalization is so important to being more effective with your marketing and driving better results.

Gabby Champine: Yeah. I think Jaynel said it best when it’s table stakes now, right? And it’s just how the way the world works and that expectation, and just how it’s evolved, right? Personalization at first meant, a first name and an email, but now it’s, trigger-based. We understand the life cycle. We have all of that data to understand, where they are in that kind of financial journey. And I think, just being a little bit braggadocious about how Commonwealth uses our tool, because Jaynel is so humble, is that they really embed it into how they all operate. And so when that member logs into digital banking or they’re talking to that branch member, they’re creating that trust with that personalization and that offer. And so it removes all of that, friction in an application, and it’s not just a siloed view of that member, which is, when personalization works the best.

Sarah Snell Cooke: I love—and I’ll add to that. Great word.

Jaynel Christensen: Yeah. Sorry. Anything to

Sarah Snell Cooke: add, Jaynel?

Jaynel Christensen: Yes, ma’am. I was gonna say, I think, Gabby hit on some really good points there. What has made the program successful, for us is because of the, the collaboration and the lack of removing the silos across the organization. We worked diligently to remove those silos, and, the member gets the same experience whether they walk into the teller line and one of our tellers ask would they like to accept their credit card offer, as they do when they log on to their mobile banking. And getting that organization support is what helped the program be successful out of the gate. So it wasn’t a lending initiative, it was a credit union initiative to change the way we did lending, and that’s really, I think, what has become the differentiator and us being able to make this program a success, that we, when talking with others, that’s where they struggle, is lending, trying to roll out a loan program, but then you didn’t have the operations areas, you didn’t have the digital banking side. Everybody wasn’t in alignment on where we were going, and then they run into challenges.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Yeah. That’s so important, and breaking down those silos, oh my goodness. And related, Gabby, credit union, as you mentioned, they have so many data points. And often we hear it’s a mess coming from different places. How do you help the credit unions with that piece?

Gabby Champine: Yes. So we lead with strategy and not the software. I think that’s, a key takeaway in that partnership. And so when you have lending, marketing, IT, your frontline staff, aligned from day one on what that strategy looks like, the alignment there is, I think, the hardest part but the most important part. And so it’s that consistent experience across those kind of channels. And I do, again, wanna compliment Commonwealth. From the initial start, they really do keep evolving that strategy with this program. And so we fold those into those offers over time. And so they really do breathe life into it by treating it as, a living program, not a one-time kind of tech launch. And they’re really seeing those results compounding. And so it’s that, member experience moving into Amazon. It’s relevant, it’s instant, it’s already approved, and they can stay completely in control of, their own risk and their lending standards.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Yes, for sure. And so Jaynel, how are you using, the member response and the results to shape what you’re gonna do next?

Jaynel Christensen: And I think one thing that our team has always been really good about, as Gabby mentioned, is continuing to evolve. And, I just talked to my chief lending officer last week and, the next thing that we’re rolling out is wild cards for our member commercial loan deposits products. We started out with a program that just, worked for vehicle loans, personal loans, and credit cards. And then we went back to the Movemint team and, when you talk about personalization, I think that’s another good point to make, is Movemint allows us to keep pushing back to get more personalization also. We went back and said, “Hey, we wanna offer auto refinances. Let’s change the credit report file to identify if they have an auto refinance that looks like this, so we can then offer them an auto refinance.” And so now we’re pulling in that data from our core that’s showing that they’re a commercial member, but they don’t have this, and now let’s get them a commercial deposit account with this, because we believe that’s an area of growth. So we continue to try to find ways to utilize the technology to drive the strategy. One of our strategies is to grow our commercial, business, and not just the loan side, but the business side of that portfolio. And so we don’t wanna just grow it on the lending side. We wanna grow it the entire portfolio, both lending and deposit operations, and they allow us to, personalize those campaigns to connect with those members, just like we do our consumer members.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Yeah, and that’s, one thing I think credit unions really are starting to—more than starting to get on the boat with all these, credit unions that are buying banks is to, buy, have, start, commercial lending because it is so important. And as you pointed out too, I always thought it was silly, in the beginning, I feel like probably 20 years ago, when credit unions really started talking about business lending, it was, much more on the loan side. But yeah, the deposits are so important, as we are finding out, as well. So yeah, Gabby Commonwealth, like I said, big credit union, relative to credit unions. And so what results might an average credit union experience, working with you guys?

Gabby Champine: Yeah. I think, there’s not a lot of difference, right? And so the difference that you would see with maybe $100 million, versus, a success story like Commonwealth is that it really is gonna be the same kind of experience. So what we do well is activating that membership for you all in a, a really nice member experience. And so there wouldn’t be, too much of a difference on what that looks like. I would say success, for any kind of credit union really hinders on the ability to move this into operations, to keep evolving, that kind of strategy. And our goal, with all of our partners is to have a member have an offer for every single one of, your products and services that are relevant to them and that lifestyle. And so whether you’re 25,000 in membership or, 1.6 million, we wanna partner with you to drive success.

Sarah Snell Cooke: And Jaynel, what are you, what would you advise another credit union that’s looking for this type of service? What would you advise a peer?

Jaynel Christensen: Yeah. I think the best practice would be to get everybody’s buy-in, if you really want this to be a success. Like I said before, we talk to so many credit unions, that kind of want the secret sauce per se, and, what did you do to make this a success? And, we really continuously go back and contribute it to the fact that we get everybody’s buy-in, and we continue to. I just talked with our lending analyst a few weeks ago and, he was out visiting the branches, continuing to tie in the value for our members with our team members so they can share, the offers to the members, but reminding them of why it’s important to do so, and keeping their buy-in to the program. Like you had said earlier, this isn’t a, roll it out and it’s a done thing. It’s a constant thing that we continue to, work toward to see be successful. And I think keeping that constant kind of pulse check on it is important for the continued growth and success.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Yeah, and I think not only the ease of the application itself, but also it takes care of the cross-selling for you guys too. Helps a lot with that, yeah. Okay. So always allow my guests to close out with final thoughts. Gabby, let’s start with you. What would you like to leave our credit union audience with today?

Gabby Champine: Yeah, absolutely. I think, as, as much project fatigue and, everything that everyone’s working with right now, our goal is to really just be a partner in driving success, and I think, Jaynel’s team at Commonwealth, does that extremely well. And so we’re just grateful to share any kind of story, and be a part of their success in one of the best industries to be in. You’re never gonna find—

Sarah Snell Cooke: One of the best…

Gabby Champine: Better people.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Yeah. Better people. One of the best. The best.

Gabby Champine: Yes, absolutely.

Sarah Snell Cooke: All right. Take it home, Jaynel.

Jaynel Christensen: All right, final thoughts. I think it’s really important, as credit unions continue to look for fintech partners and we try to get comfortable with that technology because especially as you look at smaller credit unions, we continue to see that, they’re learning about that technology and trying to understand it. Having a partner like Movemint is a big differentiator in that because Movemint is gonna help you along the way, and I think, like I said earlier, credit unions tend to get in our own way just a little bit. It’s important to have somebody who’s gonna push you out of your comfort zone and say, “But we could do this together, and here’s the value in it,” to help you see the other side so you can make the program a real success. So that partnership mentality, somebody that continually walks alongside you to help you be, even better, and then takes the feedback to make their program even better, I think is really how you create a successful program and relationship.

Sarah Snell Cooke: Excellent, excellent. So thank you so much for your time today. I appreciate it.

Jaynel Christensen: Thank you.