Waterloo Banking Project

We are working on an audacious and worthwhile project. It is a business, a social enterprise, a startup, and it will have a meaningful impact on the lives of our fellow students.

We are working to create a financial institution that will provide education and experience to students at our university and offer financial services that make sense for students. You can help advance the Waterloo Banking Project.

Our project can benefit from a the contributions of people with different skills, types of knowledge, and time available. People who help further this endeavour will get experience in a new organization that will help students and make our university better.

The following picture shows the structure of the project organization and the path of succession. Interested volunteers would normally go from being a supporter to becoming staff, a director and then, perhaps, an advisor.

As can be seen in the diagram, everyone would continue to be a supporter regardless of other roles they accept.

1. Supporters
   
   People who agree that this is a worthwhile initiative are encouraged to become supporters, which entails joining our mailing list, learning more about the project, and being willing to help out with individual events or efforts lasting a few hours. Supporters will be informed of opportunities to volunteer for implementing surveys, give feedback on project initiatives, and contribute ideas.
2. Student staff
   
   Students who can work on performing market research, finding information for organizational planning, creating parts of the business plan, should become staff. The time commitment will be several hours over the course of a few weeks, depending on the specific assignment. This group will be the beginnings of the staff of the newly created institution.
3. Directors
   
   Those who are motivated and willing to make a commitment for the term and want to take a lead role in the project can become directors. This role entails managing staff in their assignments, coordinating market research, assembling the business plan and developing policies. The directors will be the leaders of the project and the core of the organization.
4. Advisors
   
   People who can advise the project including, alumni, university faculty and staff, and industry experts can become advisors to the project. The commitment will be at most a couple of hours per month to discuss, provide insight, or review plans or ideas. Being an advisor will not require much time but can have a big impact through your input and experience.

To step forward to help, find out more information, or sign up to the supporters e-mail list, send an e-mail to WaterlooBanking.com@gmail.com.

The main selling point that credit unions use to promote membership is the idea that members own the business. Not only does that mean that members have democratic control of the institution, but they are also entitled to surplus revenue or profit.

Banks have shareholders, who own it, receive a share of the profits, and have ultimate authority over the corporation. Because of this structure, banks have an additional obligation to their shareholders while they try to serve their customers.

The difference is illustrated in this graphic comparing a bank’s structure to that of a credit union.

(graphic created by Ben Kendall at Drive Creative)

In a credit union, the members are entitled to all profits, compared to a bank where others take a cut. That difference is one we will leverage in working to set up a student credit union and offer more value to students.

Waterloo actually used to have its own credit union. In 1965 professors and employees of the university got together and started the University Faculty & Staff (Waterloo) Credit Union.

According to the Daily Bulletin, the credit union had 715 members and $2.1 million in assets in 2000, when it merged with the Waterloo County Education Credit Union, which started serving local teachers in 1972.

The Education Credit Union has had a branch at the UW R+T Park since 2007, where it offers surcharge-free ATM services, even to customers from other banks. The ECU’s headquarters is at the public school board offices in Kitchener.

Megan and I have met with both the credit manager and the CEO of the Education Credit Union to learn more and get advice from them. I expect we’ll be talking to them more in the future.

• Businesses open at TechTown DB 4 Apr 2007
• Credit union will move to north campus DB 8 Aug 2007