In this episode of Members First Mindset, hosts Dan Daggett and Melanie Munsey welcome Mark Cox, President and CEO of Innovative Business Solutions (IBS), and Nicol Matthews, Chief Operating Officer of IBS. They discuss the mutual referral agreement between IBS and Credit Unions First, how IBS supports credit unions in commercial lending and business services, and the shared values behind the partnership.

Key Topics Discussed:

• How nine credit unions in the Carolinas formed IBS in 2008 as a collaborative CUSO

• Coopetition: why competing credit unions came together to solve a common problem

• How IBS has expanded from commercial underwriting into business deposits, training, and sales support

• The commercial lending school and compact training curriculum, including sessions for state regulators

• Why credit unions of any size, including microcredit unions, can pursue commercial lending

• Full service, shared lender, and overflow models for supporting credit unions

• Why IBS sees itself as part of a credit union's back office and not as a vendor

• How NCUA's review of vendor authority could affect CUSOs, credit union owned vendors, and privately held vendors

• How the IBS and Credit Unions First referral partnership came together

• Personal stories from the credit union industry

On This Episode:

• Dan Daggett -CSO, Credit Unions First

• Melanie Munsey - CEO, Credit Unions First

• Mark Cox - President and CEO, Innovative Business Solutions

• Nicol Matthews - Chief Operating Officer, Innovative Business Solutions

For more information about Credit Unions First, visit creditunionsfirst.org. To learn more about Innovative Business Solutions, visit https://ibscu.com/.

In this episode of Members First Mindset, Dan Daggett and Melanie Munsey sit down with Nate Anderson, President and CEO of Rekindle, and Tony Kitt, CEO of Plexcity, to talk through one of the harder decisions any organization faces: when to stop doing something yourself and trust a partner to handle it. Both guests have built businesses around that question, and Credit Unions First answers it from personal experience, having handed off HR, payroll, and fractional CFO functions to Plexcity. The conversation gets into how both organizations were built, where the shared services model works and where it breaks down, and why CUSOs are as much a fit for this model as credit unions and leagues.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The founding of Rekindle (formerly rkGoBig) by six Pennsylvania-area credit unions in 2014 and how shared services, shared contracting, and shared knowledge form a "rekindle cell"
• The three core services Rekindle delivers: compliance, cards back office, and ACH and share draft exceptions
• Why shared services tend to work best for credit unions under approximately $500 million in assets, and what shifts above that threshold
• The founding of Plexcity in 2015 out of the league system, and how the model grew from three leagues to approximately 60 organizations sharing pieces of their back office
• How Plexcity helped leagues reduce operational risk, lower costs, and access talent that would have been out of reach as standalone organizations
• Why shared services aren't just for credit unions and leagues; CUSOs need them too
• Credit Unions First's own experience transitioning HR/payroll and fractional CFO services to Plexcity
• What prompted Nate Anderson to join the Credit Unions First advisory board
• Other shared service organizations in the movement: Xtend, OTS, S3, MSS

On This Episode:

• Dan Daggett - Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Credit Unions First
• Melanie Munsey - CEO & Co-Founder, Credit Unions First
• Nate Anderson - President & CEO, Rekindle
• Tony Kitt - CEO, Plexcity

For more information about Credit Unions First, visit creditunionsfirst.org.

To learn more about Rekindle, visit rekindlecuso.org. To connect with Plexcity, visit plexcity.org or email tony.kitt@plexcity.org.

In this special episode of Members First Mindset, Joshua Barclay (host of Grow Your Credit Union) takes over hosting duties to dive deep into Credit Unions First — the CUSO behind the podcast. Joshua sits down with Dan Daggett, Melanie Munsey, and Emily Jorgensen to illuminate what Credit Unions First does, their mission, and the problems they're solving for credit unions.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The history of credit union insurance alternatives and how Credit Unions First is recreating that model

• Why 80-90% of credit unions use force-placed insurance without knowing blanket lender single interest products exist

• The hidden costs of force-placed policies: adding $6,000+ to struggling members' loans and driving 75-80% of repossessions

• AMOCO Federal Credit Union's results: receiving 78 cents back on every premium dollar vs. 51-52 cents with force-placed

• How the Navigator platform gives credit unions real-time visibility into their insurance programs

• The roadmap: collateral protection insurance, vehicle service contracts, accidental death & dismemberment, and GAP products

• Why Emily Jorgensen was sent to the Credit Union Museum as part of her onboarding

• Building an advisory board and surrounding yourself with people smarter than you

• The "easy button" trap and why credit unions need to do the hard work for members

On This Episode:

• Dan Daggett - Co-Founder, Credit Unions First

• Melanie Munsey - CEO & Co-Founder, Credit Unions First

• Emily Jorgensen - Director of Operations and Training, Credit Unions First

• Joshua Barclay - Host, Grow Your Credit Union

For more information about Credit Unions First, visit creditunionsfirst.org. Check out their interactive CPI calculator and vehicle service contract calculator to see how much money your credit union could be keeping.