In Case You Missed It (v36)

We’re putting the personal in personal loans. We’re looking into the financial future. We’ve got a possible DLT credit union, the straight dope about Tech and all the stats on 2023. While you’re home for the holidays, we’re… also home for the holidays. Here’s what we’ve noticed, in case you missed it:

The American Zeitgeist

The folks over at Pew Research keep their finger on the pulse of the world with data. Here’s their summary of America’s most striking survey findings of 2023. Among other things, a record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married. They also highlight concerns over AI, a steep rise in teen gun deaths, and much, much more. Pewresearch.org is well worth a top spot in your bookmark list.

What real live people really think of their real personal loans

The fine fintech folks over at Finopotamus have put together some very interesting highlights regarding personal loans from this Forbes Advisor survey of borrowers. From the article: “The leading reasons for taking out a loan were for medical bills (15.13%), home improvement projects (15.08%), debt consolidation (14.57%), vacation expenses (12.76%), unexpected expenses (12.41%) and making a large purchase (10.54%).” Also interesting: “…39% didn’t compare options because they received a loan offer in the mail.” (Yep, direct mail still works…)

A peek into the crystal ball?

The Financial Brand recently released the results of a survey asking banking industry execs about several future-oriented questions. Of course, how accurate these surveys are is always open to debate, but it is something of a barometer of what people in consumer finance are thinking and worrying about. Some obvious stuff (like increasing use of “AI”), some puzzling stuff (virtual and augmented reality for transactions… uh, why?) and some marked cooling off in some areas (in the wake of several high-profile crypto collapses and scams, there’s far less optimism around crypto and digital currencies).

The first Distributed Ledger credit union?

BankSocial recently announced that it’s working on launching proposed DEFY Federal Credit Union, the first credit union powered by Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and operated around the credit union ethos. This is a serious effort powered by an entire constellation of CU superstars, and it’s going to be interesting, very interesting. Sooner or later, DLT has to rise above its sordid beginnings and become a real-world, everyday technology people can trust. And the credit union business model is a great place to start.

Tech is only part of the answer; it’s people too

This Financial Brand article is a one good example among many of a successful tech rollout – and a reminder that shiny new tech is only part of the equation. The main point is that the bank in the article invested significant resources, attention, and time into thorough, detailed training to ensure their technology investment paid off.

Home for the holidays

Just a quick reminder; the iDiz Inc. offices are closed between Christmas and New Year’s so we can enjoy time with our families . But we will be keeping an eye on email and we’re available to clients as needed! Best wishes for a very hairy Christmas and a monster New Year!

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