Building a Profitable Member-Centric Credit Union With Margarete Mucker of Star One
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“We’re trying to really make it so every channel has the same ability, so there are no restrictions to a member. They’re free to choose which ones they want. It’s their personal preference. It’s not because there are different limits and different channels.”
Episode Summary
Chances are, you’ve heard of Star One Credit Union. It’s one of Silicon Valley’s largest member-owned financial institutions.
And because it’s surrounded by the Facebooks, Googles and Apples of this world, it has more than $10 billion in assets with less than 115,000 members. (Psstt… That’s pretty impressive.) It also has a 90% retention rate, thanks to its efforts to serve its members. (Psstt… Also pretty impressive.)
One of the leading forces behind this customer-centric culture is Margarete Mucker. She’s been with Star One Credit Union for more than 28 years. As the Executive Vice President of Operations, Margarete is constantly exploring new ways to meet member needs through remote services and digital banking channels.
Because Star One understands its clients have large amounts of money with multiple institutions — sometimes around the world — the credit union has focused its efforts on optimizing money movement. In fact, Star One was one of the first financial institutions to partner with Zelle, the digital payments network.
In this episode of the Digital Banking podcast, Margarete explains the importance of Star One’s member-centric approach and how it balances that with profitability. She also dives deep into the money-movement ecosystem and even gives us a glimpse at what initiatives she and the Star One team plan to focus on next.
Key Insights
⚡ Don’t try to be everything to everyone — focus on your core competencies. At Star One Credit Union, Margarete focuses on giving members strong core products — like mortgage refinancing options and a variety of options for money transfers. She’s fully aware they’ll go elsewhere for investing or advising, but that’s OK as long as Star One excels at what it does offer.
⚡ Being totally realistic, Margarete and her team recognized Star One members keep their money elsewhere — sometimes in accounts around the world. That’s why they strive to provide members with the most inexpensive and efficient money transfer options. For instance, they were one of the first financial institutions to bring on Zelle, the P2P payment service.
⚡ Because COVID-19 has forced Americans to operate remotely, Margarete recognizes, for many, that’ll become a new way of life. Looking forward, she wants to focus on offering members the best possible remote experience — one that’s as good as walking into a branch.
About The Guest
As the EVP of Operations at Star One Credit Union, one of Silicon Valley’s largest member-owned financial institutions, Margarete spends the majority of her days focused on how to better serve the credit union’s members.
Margarete has worked at Star One Credit Union for more than 28 years. She’s spent the majority of her time in operations, particularly focusing on remote services and digital banking channels.
