May 20, 2010 in Blog, Project Updates by Ryan

Organizational meeting Wednesday 26 May 2010 at 5:30 SLC 2143

You are invited to attend an organizational meeting for the Waterloo Banking Project. Learn more about our plans to create student-run financial services in Waterloo. Students from both the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University are welcome to attend. Find out how you can contribute to this worthwhile initiative.

Waterloo Banking Project Organizational Meeting (UW)
Wednesday 26 May 2010 5:30 p.m.
SLC 2143

Update: We added another meeting at WLU campus
Waterloo Banking Project Organizational Meeting (WLU)
Wednesday 26 May 2010 3:30 p.m.
SBE 1230

If you plan to attend the meeting or are interested in participating, please fill out this online form:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dEktQTJ2UUxGSUpxMExsb1JkV1VoZnc6MQ

The purpose of these questions is to collect information about potential staff members. We want to know about people, what they expect from the project, what they can offer, and when they’ll be available. As well we want to know people’s ideas.

Email questions or comments to waterloobanking.com@gmail.com.

April 1, 2010 in Blog, Project Updates by Ryan

We launched our student finance survey today

Abhi made the final changes and published our student finance survey today.

With the responses we hope to find out more about Waterloo students’ financial situations and requirements for financial and banking services. The responses will help us as we work to develop and improve financial services for students in Waterloo.

As an incentive for answering our questions, respondents will be eligible for a draw prize of an Apple iPad. Only current students at University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College, who are registered at campuses in Waterloo Region, are eligible for a chance at the prize.

Alumni, faculty and staff and other people with relationships to the local university are welcome to respond, but are not eligible for the draw.

You can find the survey at:
http://www.askitonline.com/survey/waterloo-banking-project/

If you have questions, please comment below or e-mail us at:
waterloobanking.com@gmail.com

March 4, 2010 in Blog, Project Updates by Ryan

Results from our test survey on personal financial management

As a part of our market research we are implementing a survey to find out about their need for financial services, knowledge of financial management, how much people know about credit unions, and how willing they would be to support or use student run financial services.

In planning the full survey, we made a test survey specifically about personal financial management. The survey was not meant to represent the population, but help us with subsequent surveys. The results gave us an insight into people’s financial habits and ideas of how we might structure questions differently.

Here is a review of some of the results:
Read more »

November 19, 2009 in Blog, Project Updates by Ryan

Pitched the project at Waterloo StartupCamp

Yesterday night I presented this project idea at Waterloo StartupCamp. It starts out with people putting up ideas for presentation on a whiteboard. We each talk for 30 seconds. Then attendees would then vote on which ones they wanted to hear.

My 30 second pitch was like this:

Hello, I am Ryan Chen-Wing. We want to start co-operative student-run financial services for students. There would be three main benefits. One, student staff would have an amazing experience. Two, students could use financial services that not only save them money, but make them money. Three, students would be educated about personal financial management. I want to get ideas for possible innovative financial products that make sense for students and would be pleased to answer your questions. So, please vote for me.

Out of 12 ideas, I was voted tied for seventh.

Then when it was my turn to give my five minutes, I said:

So, our project name is Waterloo Banking Project. In offering the services of a deposit-taking institution there are two possible was to set up. One is to get a charter independently and the other is to operate in partnership with an existing credit union. An example of the first one is at Georgetown University which is entirely student run and they control $10 million in assets. Examples of the partnership model exist in the student caisse system mainly in Quebec where high school groups operate a student branch of a local caisse
populaire or credit union.

We see four main keys to success in our operations: cultivating a good partnership, raising capital from sponsors and from alumni, developing the students staff and building the organization, and attracting
students as customers.

So, I’d like to get ideas for products and answer your questions. We expect to offer a full suite of products like chequing accounts and savings accounts, credit cards and things like that, but we also want
to have products that make sense for students. I’ll give you an example:

There are many students in co-op at Waterloo. About half of them in any given year will have two co-op work terms and may end up owing some income tax. But under the lifelong learning plan funds only have
to be in a registered plan for three months before they can be withdrawn to pay tuition. So, we could set it up that in September of the year to put savings for tuition in an RRSP. In December they can withdraw it to pay tuition, just as they would from their savings account, but come tax time they would get more of a rebate.

So, that’s something that gives the student more money for switching to us. So, that’s it. The project is called Waterloo Banking Project and our website is waterloobanking.com. That’s our project blog.

Then I got questions about stability, revenue model, and alumni retention. I also got suggestions like bidding to be provider of the alumni credit card.

After the event more people talked to me including designers, a guy suggesting a training program, and someone suggesting places to look for similar models.

update: A friend pointed out that the registered plan idea wouldn’t work as described. Since lifelong learning plan is a loan and doesn’t give additional deduction, in many cases it would be better to save your deductions for when your income is higher.

September 21, 2009 in Blog, Project Updates by Ryan

You can help advance the 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.

August 27, 2009 in Blog, Project Updates by Ryan

Talking to Steve from Creative Arts CU

Megan and I met today with Steve Mumford, CEO of the Creative Arts Savings and Credit Union. Hearing Steve’s stories and insights was exciting. He speaks softly, but is so energetic and passionate.

The Creative Arts & Savings Credit Union is the most recently chartered credit union in the province and grew out of a project at ACTRA, a union of actors and performers, but is pursuing the vision of serving all types of creative professionals.

Steve had worked at Rochdale Credit Union for more than 20 years when he was approached by ACTRA to become the founding CEO at the new credit union.

He recalled that at a meeting of other credit union managers they had laughed at the notion of a credit union for performers as an “impossible dream.”

Because performers work on productions and often supplement their income with other jobs, banks see them as not having stable income and as poor credit risks even though performers’ incomes are higher than average, Steve told us.

By considering the unique employment situation of their members they can make an accurate assessment of the risk. And if they do reject the application, they explain why.

They just got their charter last year, but they have already paid off the $800,000 loan from ACTRA for the startup costs and they are going to have a launch celebration in October.

We talked with Steve for almost two hours and at the end we asked him whether he had any more advice for us.

He said, “Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture. Don’t be deterred.”

August 6, 2009 in Blog, Project Updates by Ryan

The idea for student-run financial services at Waterloo

“You. Really?” Larry Smith feigned surprise when I told him I had a bit of an interest in entrepreneurship. A few months after I encountered the idea, I was explaining to the enterprising professor why I was pursuing this project.

I also have an affinity for the University of Waterloo and its students. Student-run financial services could benefit Waterloo students in many important ways. It may be an audacious project, but I think it is possible and it is surely worthwhile.

In the Winter term I was researching for another project and I started looking at businesses operated by university students that have a big impact on those that run them and those they serve.

Those I found included Harvard Student Agencies, which publishes the Let’s Go travel guides; Queen’s University bookstore, which is the main textbook supplier to students at the university in Kingston; and University Venture Funds, where students do research and make venture capital decisions.

Then I found a reference to Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union.

Since 1983 students at Georgetown in Washington D.C. have provided financial services to their fellow students. Now over 100 student volunteers run the credit union, which has about $10 million dollars in assets.

Students provide the customers service, they make the investment and loan decisions, file the regulatory forms and everything else in between.

There are other student-run credit unions. Students at Miami University in Ohio can become members at First Miami University Student Credit Union and the University of Pennsylvania has the Student Federal Credit Union.

Students at these schools can get better student-focused services, they can learn to manage their finances better, and can get amazing experience operating a financial institution.

That leads to the question: Why not at Waterloo?

We have begun working on a plan to start a student-run credit union at Waterloo under the organizational name Waterloo Banking Project. It will be a lot of work and we will need a lot of advice and assistance, but it will be worth it.

• Georgetown University Alumni & Student Federal Credit Union
• UPenn Student Federal Credit Union
• First Miami Student Credit Union
• Student-run university businesses 19 Feb 2009