Article

Case Study: Doubling Down on Debit Cards

Closeup view of a credit card
By Fiserv

3 minutes

CardVision℠ helps Staley Credit Union achieve best-in-class results.

Sponsored by Fiserv

Founded in 1930 as a financial cooperative, $130 million Staley Credit Union, Decatur, Ill., has thrived by providing its members throughout Illinois and Indiana with convenient, low-cost financial services. In decades past, loan margins were enough to sustain the credit union, but the prolonged period of low interest rates challenged its business model.

“We had to find other ways to grow,” said CUES member Kim Ervin, CCUE, VP/CFO. “We found that in debit card interchange.” In 2011, Staley CU partnered with Fiserv to leverage CardVision, a toolset of analytics, strategic insights and marketing campaign services designed to boost card performance, cardholder engagement and portfolio growth.

What You Monitor, You Improve

Every month, CardVision gives Staley CU access to two reports that provide insights into the health of its card portfolio: the Debit Scorecard and the Network Essentials report. The Debit Scorecard compares current debit card performance with industry averages and with top-performing card clients of Fiserv, helping Staley CU set realistic goals and make informed decisions about card usage.

“We found that the upper quartile of Fiserv clients averaged 25 transactions per month, per card, while our average was 21 transactions, so we set a goal of 25 transactions per card, per month,” Ervin explained. “The scorecard also gives us activation and usage metrics across the entire portfolio, which allows us to monitor trends, growth and seasonal changes.”

She said segmentation also enables the credit union to review portfolio performance: “If I’m concerned with the penetration number, for example, I can pull a report that shows how different demographic groups contribute to that number.”

Staley CU relies on the monthly Network Essentials report for a breakdown of interchange activity. “This report allows us to monitor our debit card revenue, which is constantly changing due to where the transactions are processed,” she explained.

For additional insight on portfolio performance, Fiserv provides a quarterly peer performance report. The report compares the usage behavior of Staley CU members with that at similar institutions and empowers Staley CU to monitor marketplace impacts on its portfolio.

Data-Driven Campaigns Get Results

Armed with information on ways members are using (or not using) their debit cards, Staley CU uses CardVision to deploy targeted marketing campaigns to boost usage and revenue. It can use turnkey campaigns, based on proprietary Fiserv analytics and proven best practices, to prompt new cardholders to begin using their cards or motivate existing cardholders to use their cards more often. Campaign materials are customized with the credit union’s brand, and all processes are controlled by Staley’s marketing staff.

“We can do very selective, targeted promotions through CardVision, which ensures that every marketing dollar is going to produce the results we want,” said Ervin. “When we see that certain members are not using their cards much, we can send those members an incentive to use the card.”

After a promotion is mailed, Fiserv tracks its success and sends follow-up reports. In this way, the credit union can continuously evaluate and improve its marketing efforts for maximum results. Through monthly debit-adoption campaigns and twice-yearly usage campaigns, Staley CU has significantly increased its portfolio growth and exceeded industry benchmarks for debit card usage.

Consulting Keeps Focus on Growth

Ervin meets monthly with a dedicated CardVision consultant who assists the credit union in developing and successfully executing long-term growth strategies. “The meetings help us understand the wealth of data that CardVision gives us so we can put it to work,” Ervin said. “We start with the dashboard to review where we are. If I see something interesting, Fiserv can pull a segmentation report on it. Our consultant keeps us focused on the factors that are going to drive revenue growth.”

Debit Card Goals Are Achieved

By any measure, CardVision has exceeded Staley CU’s expectations. Through a keen focus on metrics and regular marketing campaigns, the credit union has averaged two additional transactions per card, per month—a 26 percent increase in total debit transactions.

“Fiserv provides us with the products and tools we need to make engaging members and growing revenue seem almost effortless,” said Ervin. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Fiserv and are excited for what the future holds.”

For more information about CardVision℠ or other Fiserv industry solutions, email getsolutions@fiserv.com or visit www.fiserv.com.

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