Laura interviews Tansley Stearns, a founding organizer of Backbone, a national coalition of credit unions working to ensure everyone has access to people-first financial options.
Laura interviews Tansley Stearns, a founding organizer of Backbone, a national coalition of credit unions working to ensure everyone has access to people-first financial options.
Money Girl is hosted by Laura Adams. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
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Tansley Stearns
All of the dreams that we have, the things we're enthusiastic about, our retirement, sending our children to college, buying a first home, saving for a vacation, those impossible dreams that all of us have are fueled by our financial situation.
And credit unions can help you have those financial dreams come true. And so even if you have another financial institution today, joining a credit union, starting a 52-week savings challenge, maybe getting a high yield account that pays a little bit more, having options if you ever need a loan. I think joining a credit union, so you have that choice is something everybody can do and it will help fuel your bright future.
Laura Adams
Hey friends, welcome back to episode 918 of the Money Girl Podcast! I'm Laura Adams, an award-winning author, on-camera spokesperson, female money speaker, founder of The Money Stack, a Substack newsletter, and host of Money Girl with over 43 million downloads. You can always connect with me and learn more at LauraDAdams.com.
Today, I’m excited to be joined by the special guest you just heard, Tansley Stearns. She’s the President and CEO of Community Financial Credit Union and the founding organizer of Backbone, a national coalition of credit unions working to ensure everyone has access to people-first financial options.
With more than two decades of credit union leadership, Tansley is a financial services expert. She’s known for turning bold ideas into action—whether driving strategic growth at Canvas Credit Union in Colorado, advancing innovation at the Filene Research Institute, or uniting credit unions nationwide to expand access to community-based financial services.
As you’ll hear in today’s interview, Tansley and I have a great conversation about:
So here's my interview with Tansley Stearns.
Tansley, thank you so much for coming on Money Girl. We're really glad to have you.
Tansley Stearns
I'm so thrilled to be here, Laura. It's an honor.
Laura Adams
Tell us a little bit about what Backbone is, how you got started, and just what your mission is in general.
Tansley Stearns
Absolutely. Thanks so much for asking. Backbone is a coalition of credit unions that have come together to make sure that everyday Americans have the financial best friend that they deserve. One of the things I love about our credit union industry is that we are cooperatives and there are cooperative principles that we carry forward. And one of those is cooperation amongst cooperatives. It's super different than maybe other kinds of industries.
We love to do things together and we believe that together we can create more impact. And this coalition is really about ensuring that the credit union story is being told because we do believe that there is so much economic pain facing Americans today and credit unions are an answer to that. And we are excited to make sure that people know that there is a credit union for everyone.
Laura Adams
Tansley, I love that mission and I do agree with you that I think credit unions are kind of one of the just under looked jewels that are out there in the financial world. I have some people in my family that work with credit unions for credit unions. And I talk to people all the time that are sort of like, what is a credit union?
Maybe they see a sign in their community for a credit union that they drive by all the time, but they don't really know what goes on in there, what it is. So I love that you're advocating for credit unions. Tell me a little bit about exactly how you do that. What are some of the initiatives that you have going on that are going to help sort of raise the awareness of credit unions?
Tansley Stearns
One of the really important things that we're doing is gathering stories that credit unions can share about the impact that they're making in human beings' lives. There's so many things every single day that credit unions do that are transforming lives, walking with people through dark and joyful moments, and we want to share those. We can talk about what is a credit union and when were we formed. But that's not going to change hearts and minds, although we're excited about it.
What we know will really help resonate is that we can talk about the difference in individuals' lives and how that happens, and then translate that for people that might be interested in finding a credit union.
Laura Adams
If you feel like you can share any of those stories, you know, I would love to know what might be just something that comes to mind for somebody that's, you know, just maybe an average everyday person, how a credit union might have helped them.
Tansley Stearns
Absolutely. I have so many. One that's really close to our credit union at Community Financial Credit Union. We're headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan. And one of the things that we've been really thinking about are the dark and joyful moments in people's lives. You know, the typical financial institution, they might tell their story, but you can imagine an advertisement of a couple running into their retirement on the beach together very happily. We want to be there for those moments.
What we also know is that the darker moments that all of us experience, unfortunately, frequently have very strong economic underpinnings. One of those is domestic and sexual violence. And we have strong partnerships across the state of Michigan with organizations that serve those that have been impacted. And through our innovation and insights team, we partnered with survivors. We listened to them about the economic abuse that can often prevent people from leaving.
And that led us to creating a loan product that has now allowed over 50 women to leave very dangerous situations. And so that's one example of a story that we're really excited about. There's another credit union that's headquartered in South Carolina called Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union. And they were in a situation where there was only one bank branch in a town called Whitmer, South Carolina.
And in the evening at night, it closed and it left a financial gap. It was at what we call a financial desert where for 30 miles, the people in that town couldn't have a financial institution, Citizens Federal Credit Union came in and made sure that they had a branch in that location very rapidly. Those moments where people need us most, credit unions stand up and that's what we're all about.
Laura Adams
Yeah, mean, tell me a little bit about how credit unions are able to do that. How are they different from banks in their ability to serve the community?
Tansley Stearns
Absolutely. Well, first of all, our members are our owners. So in terms of how we are structurally different, instead of chasing quarter to quarter shareholder value, every one of our members owns each of our credit unions. And so that means that we have a longer term horizon. It also means that any of the profits that we earn can be transformed back to our members in the form of lower loan rates, higher savings rates, and lower fees. I think most importantly,
What that structure leads to is that we are four impact organizations. Because our members own us, we use listening as a superpower to understand what our members truly need. What do our communities need? And that listening can be married with our subject matter expertise of financial services to create really unique solutions that others might not think of.
Laura Adams
Yeah, that's great. So if we're thinking about the differences between banks and credit unions, what do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions that people might have about credit unions? Maybe they’ve never been a member, maybe they don't even have a family member that's been a member. What do you find that people are sort of getting wrong or assuming incorrectly about credit unions?
Tansley Stearns
Laura, I love this question. When you work for a credit union, you hear these things all the time. Anytime I'm talking to someone that I've not met before and I say I work for a credit union, often there's a little scratch of the head and what is that again? So one of the things that we often hear as a myth is that credit unions are only for certain people. And while credit unions were founded by groups of people coming together around a common bond, often employment, for example, my first credit union served Macy's employees, so we were headquartered in the basement of a Macy's store. Today, there's a credit union for everyone, and anyone that wants to join absolutely can have a credit union.
There are more than 140 million people in our communities across the United States that are served by credit unions, and so there's a credit union for everyone. Another common myth that we hear is that credit unions aren't as secure as banks.
And we are insured just the way that banks are. It's by a different entity called the National Credit Union Administration, NCUA. We love our acronyms. And so that federal insurance is parallel to what you would find with a bank. It's a different model and it is not a bug. It is a feature. It is really about who we are and the way that we can bring services and community impact to people across the country.
Laura Adams
So what you're telling me is that credit unions are not for profit, but obviously still need to be profitable to employ folks and to be able to provide the services. But their goal is not to make crazy profits and reward people with incredible bonuses and things that we see throughout the typical regular financial world, where there tends to be so much profitability that doesn't necessarily get shared with the customers of those institutions.
Tansley Stearns
The way I like to think about it is that we do need to do well in order to do good, you know, and that does matter. We are creating thriving financial institutions. And just as you said, as we do well, that allows us to give back to our members, to our communities and do so in a way that is uniquely designed for the human beings that we serve.
Laura Adams
Gotcha, so tell me a little bit more about advantages. Like if you become a credit union member, and I know every credit union is a little different in what they're going to offer, but what might be some typical advantages that you would see sort of right off the bat if you do decide to switch from a bank to a credit union that you are qualified to become a member of?
Tansley Stearns
Absolutely. Well, one is I absolutely know that credit names are your financial best friend. And so if you are going through a really awesome time that credit is going to be there to celebrate that with you. If you're going through a challenging time, they're going to find a solution for you that is uniquely designed. One of the things that I love about credit names is that we are such good listeners and we use that listening to solve really big problems on behalf of members, which I think is so important. We are also really integrated into the communities that we serve. What you'll find with so many credit unions around the country is that we are very, very committed to our communities.
For example, at Community Financial right now, we have five branch locations in our northern region of Michigan. And just this week, we had a very powerful ice storm that devastated that region. And we've spent this week working together every day, our leadership team coming together to say, okay, what are the things that people need? How do we make sure that we get water to our Northern region? How do we make sure that we get formula to our Northern region? How do we make sure that our team members continue to get paid even though our branches are closed? And there are credit unions around the country that through disaster and crisis step in in that way. Redwood Credit Union is another great example in California through fires that has stood in in a similar way. Those are examples of the way that credit unions really do ensure that our communities thrive.
Laura Adams
That's amazing that they can be so personalized. So in general, would you say that credit unions are regional or local, you know, as opposed to being nationwide? You know, what do you see sort of on average?
Tansley Stearns
You know, it really depends on the organization. We are as unique as human beings are. For us at Community Financial, we serve people across the great state of Michigan. One of the members of Backbone that's called Four Leaf Credit Union, based in New York state, serves people across the country. And so it really depends on the organization. Credit unions can be state or federally chartered. And so the way that we bring that service to life really has a lot to do with the way that the organization was founded and then how they've grown over time.
Laura Adams
Yeah, and what are the typical products that you see? Is it just for personal finances? Do you serve any business customers? Lending credit cards, what are sort of the range of services that somebody might find in a credit union?
Tansley Stearns
What I love about credit unions is that if you have a financial need in mind, a credit union has an answer for that. And often designed in ways that are unique and special for the members that we serve. Definitely have a whole host of personal finance solutions, checking accounts, savings accounts. Right now, the Backbone Coalition, the credit unions that are participating have a 52-week savings challenge that we're doing. So every week you start the first week saving a dollar, every week you save a dollar more. And it's just a really good habit creation product that allows people to start that practice of saving that is so important. And then, credit unions, many of them offer business services as well, investment services. There is a credit union with a product or solution for every American.
Laura Adams
What are some of the financial benefits that can come, ways that we actually save money by being a credit union member.
Tansley Stearns
As not-for-profit financial cooperatives, credit unions are bringing value to our members because we are not-for-profit. We offer lower rates on loans, typically higher rates on saving, and lower fees. It is an economic benefit to every human being to join a credit union because you're going to save money and earn more money.
Laura Adams
I love that. So if someone goes to Backbone.us, what are they going to find there? And you know, is that a good starting point? How do you recommend people sort of think about, I'm interested, but you know, where do I go from here to find the right fit for me?
Tansley Stearns
We would love for them to visit Backbone.us. That's a great way to learn more about our coalition, about credit unions. There is a feature there where you can find a credit union for you wherever you are across the country. There's also space there to learn more about the work that we're doing as a coalition. So we'd love to be able to continue to communicate. So it's a great launch pad to find out more information about credit unions and specifically what might work for any individual.
Laura Adams
I think switching banks can be a little intimidating for people sometimes. Getting a loan from a new institution or a credit card seems pretty easy, but if somebody is interested in switching their checking and their savings, is there an easy way to do that? Is there something that you recommend that people can make that a little less intimidating?
Tansley Stearns
Absolutely. I know that switching your financial institution is a lot like taking a visit to the dentist. It's not something that we look forward to. And credit unions make that really easy. At Community Financial, we know now that it only takes five minutes to open your account with us. We do that digitally. If you choose, certainly you can do it in a branch location as well. Credit unions have invested a lot in digital technology and make that switching process easy.
My recommendation is that if you're considering that, choosing the credit union that's best for you and opening that account and then being able to have some time to have that transition occur. And what I can commit to is that any credit union across the country will be welcoming a new member and someone that wishes to switch and make that really simple.
Laura Adams
Yeah, I think the biggest mistake people make is that they close their old account too quickly. You know, they don't really give it enough time for all of their automatic deposits and withdrawals to clear and switch over to the new account.
There's nothing wrong with leaving that old account open a little bit longer, making sure everything is coming over to the new account. And then once you're absolutely positive that everything is, and even then you may want to keep it open through the end of the year just because you'll need some tax forms for any interest earned in those accounts. There's no need to rush it, but I think you can, you know, kind of methodically start to first move over your deposits so you know that your income is coming into the new account. Things like your payroll deposits, any other automatic payments that you're receiving, do that first, then work on transferring any automatic payments that you may have coming out of the account. So yeah, just sort of slowly doing that, giving it time, not making it too stressful, I think is one key.
And maybe just starting by getting to know the institution, you know, just getting that account open and understanding, like you mentioned the technology, a lot of people are looking to do banking online, you know, they're looking for a good app, a good experience, kind of getting comfortable with that. I know for me, the app experience is critical. That's kind of a big feature. So do you think that most credit unions do have user-friendly apps and mobile experiences that people can count on?
Tansley Stearns
We do, and Laura, I love that question because credit unions have done so much work to partner with FinTech providers and really ensure that we can marry the commitment to community and membership that credit unions have with the technological advancements that often our friends at FinTechs have and bring that to life in concert. Again, it's such a great example of credit unions collaborating. Often credit unions do that together, which is another example of that cooperation and action. Creditors are super committed to making the member experience exceptional. And we know today that that includes the digital first approach. People are gonna expect that that mobile experience is going to be super easy, seamless, and something that they can rely upon.
Laura Adams
Tansley, let's say I'm looking for maybe a personal loan or I'm shopping for a new credit card. Is that something that I can shop for first and then become a member or do I need to become a member in order to view and understand the product offering?
Tansley Stearns
Almost every credit union across our country has a robust website where you can see all of the different products and services. And if you are really curious and want to speak with someone at a credit union, doing that via phone or coming into a branch location is another great option. And absolutely, we really do want to empower human beings to make the best choice for them doing research amongst credit unions. You know, might be looking at three different credit unions that are in your region, seeking to understand the very best fit. I always say, I don't care which credit union, just pick a credit union. And so doing that research is really important. And once you have made that choice, then joining a credit union is super easy and you can go through that process. As I said, you know, we've really worked hard at Community Financial to make using us in whatever way you choose as easy as possible. And I know that my peers across the country are doing just the same.
Laura Adams
So if somebody is in an area where maybe they don't see a local credit union, which I would find hard to believe. It seems like credit unions are everywhere. if they don't really see one that is applicable for them and they want to join maybe remotely, they want to do just a remote banking situation, is there any downside to that?
Tansley Stearns
I don’t think so. You know, again, I think it's really about individual choice. One of the things that we take very seriously as credit unions is walking with members as a financial best friend. We're not going to judge or make a determination about what's best for you. We want to hear what your needs are and then support you. And I can tell you that all credit union leaders have that same philosophy of people helping people. And we want to make sure that you pick the very best choice.
And if that's a digital first approach, there are lots of great credit unions that serve across the country and have exceptional digital experiences. And I know for my daughter, Mackenzie, she's going to choose a credit union that has a really strong digital experience. She's not likely to spend a lot of time in a branch location. And then we know that we have members who come to our branches regularly. And so we want to design the member experience based on individual needs.
And there's a credit union for everyone, whether that's digital first, or you really want to have that physical in-person experience.
Laura Adams
What do you think the trends are with credit unions? Do you see the industry growing? What's sort of been the evolution and where do you see the future going?
Tansley Stearns
Laura, I really believe the future is bright for credit unions. Unfortunately, we are in a time where, as I said, everyday Americans are feeling significant economic impacts. It's challenging to afford life today. Credit unions are an answer for that. When you think about our historical context, we started during the Great Depression, one of the more significant, challenging times, again, economically for human beings.
People were coming together to make sure that folks had a safe place that they could trust to take out a reasonably priced loan, a place where they could put their money. And they put that money together to ensure that they could loan it out to one another. Today, we are in a really challenging time. And I believe that we can grow and be even stronger because we are that financial best friend. And so I think the future for our credit unions is really bright.
And I also believe that these kinds of coalitions, these opportunities for us to come together are a path to an even brighter future. The unique perspectives that credit unions have and some of the ways that we do things differently are a shining light for a future that ensures that not only credit unions thrive, most importantly that our members thrive.
Laura Adams
I love that. If somebody is thinking, OK, well, this sounds good. I probably have not been very happy with my bank and I probably should make a change. What is the first step that they should take? How would you recommend that they just go about finding the right fit? Is it just looking at signs in their community? Is it searching online or maybe a little bit of both? How do they start shopping around if they do have multiple choices.
Tansley Stearns
I want to invite everyone to go to Backbone.us. You'll find a way there to search for the right credit union for you. And of course you can use Google and search for a credit union and I'm confident you will find one locally as well. And just as we talked about earlier, I really believe owning that process is such a way to feel confident in the choice. There's a credit union for everyone. Picking the right one for you is super important.
Laura Adams
Yeah, and if you're not, let's say in an industry that is typically supported by a credit union, like, you know, maybe being an employee of a hospital or, you know, an educational institution, you know, I'm trying to think about other institutions maybe that we typically see, or you mentioned retail. If you're not in one of those jobs, should you still shop and look, are there gonna be options? Let's say if you're maybe a freelancer or you're self-employed, could you get membership in a credit union?
Tansley Stearns
Absolutely, Laura. Many, many credit unions, including Community Financial, are community chartered. So again, for us in our great state, many credit unions across the state, if you live and work and worship in the state of Michigan, you can join most credit unions. And so that's true of many, many credit unions. So there is a credit union for you, no matter what work you do, the way that you live your life.
Laura Adams
That’s terrific. So just your geographic location, the fact that you live in a particular community might qualify you for a credit union. Yeah, that's a great thing to remember. So yeah, so just doing a little bit of looking around and comparison should be pretty easy.
Tansley Stearns
You know, I think it's about finding the right fit. Just as if you were looking for any other partner in your life, thinking about what matters most to you, you know, is it really important that you have that digital first experience? You know, you might want to look at their website, see what their digital offerings are. You know, if it is really important that you have branch access, it might be important to visit a branch or see how close that is to your home or to your work. Really just thinking about the things that matter most to you.
That's a great starting point. And then as I mentioned earlier, most credit unions offer a full suite of financial products and tools. So you're going to find a really good fit in a credit union and just ensuring that you understand what matters most to you in that search, I think helps you to make that informed decision.
Laura Adams
Yeah, that's a good point. If having a local branch is important, maybe you're paying cash or you need cash, I'm trying to think of situations where that could be really helpful. Or you want that local relationship with somebody. Maybe you have a local business and you really like having somebody there that you know that you can talk through issues and problems as you said, challenges and coming up with solutions.
That might be really important for some people. So yeah, taking all of those into account. And if you're somebody like your daughter who maybe is young and just wants to be remote and do everything online, you know, that's fine too.
Tansley Stearns
Absolutely. Or the other thing that I would mention, and again, this demonstrates the difference of credit unions is we do something called shared branching that many credit unions participate in collaboratively to share branches across the country. So you might join a credit union. Let's say you live in the great state of Maine and you join in Maine and you know you might travel a couple of times a year and might want to know that you could go to a credit union location where you travel. Frequently, credit unions are part of that network and they have ATM networks that they share. So access is something that credit unions absolutely can provide.
Laura Adams
That's terrific. I did not realize that. That's a great feature. Tansley, is there anything else that, if somebody could just come away from this podcast remembering one thing about credit unions, what would you say they should remember?
Tansley Stearns
I would say that credit unions are your financial best friend and there is a credit union for every American.
Laura Adams
Tansley Stearns, that's a great place to end. Thank you so much for coming on the show. This is terrific information and I hope everyone will take it to heart and really think about joining a credit union if it's something that has been on your mind or maybe you're just looking for a better option.
Tansley Stearns
Awesome. Thanks Laura so much for sharing the Backbone story. We're thrilled for the conversation and really can't wait to continue talking about credit unions.
Laura Adams
Tansley, thanks again for coming on the show and for such a great conversation about the terrific benefits of becoming a member of a local or national credit union.
That's all for now. I'll talk to you soon. Until then, here's to living a richer life!
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