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Posted August 9, 2009 in Blog by Ryan

Learning from Georgetown’s credit union

After deciding to pursue the idea of a student-run credit union at Waterloo, it makes sense to learn more about other schools where they have already achieved one.

Early on, I learned how much control students have at the Georgetown credit union.
guasfcu website
In March, I had e-mailed the faculty advisor on the board and he downplayed the role he played and suggested that I direct my questions to the students.

We are very proud of what the alumni and student credit union has achieved at Georgetown. Please know that the students lead the effort and a few of us serve as advisors with whom they can brainstorm about current issues.

So, I contacted the student CEO, Justin.

He told me how they had recently done a round of hiring for 16 positions and received 230 applications. Though the staff are not paid during the school year, most of them stay with it throughout their time at Georgetown. Just told me that they retain almost 100% of their tellers.

Among other questions, I asked him for advice in founding a credit union at a university.

Starting a Credit Union as this time considering the current banking environment is very capital intensive.
[...]
That being said I think it is also very attainable if you present your university with a detailed plan. Your first steps would be to do focus groups of the current banking environment on your campus to determine the needs of your potential member base. This will also help you determine one of the most critical questions when establishing a credit union, who your charter will be serving.
[...]
For instance, GUASFCU’s charter allows all Georgetown Students and Alumni and their immediate family members to open accounts with our financial institution. You and your colleagues will have to determine, which member base your credit will most adept at servicing.

When some people hear about the Waterloo Banking Propject and our idea they question whether students can really run a financial institution.

I tell them that students already do, just not at Waterloo.

At least not yet.

1 Comment to “Learning from Georgetown’s credit union”

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