A session at CrossState’s annual Connect conference highlighted how smaller financial institutions are trying to keep younger members engaged long after the first savings account is opened.

At a conference in Atlantic City this week, executives from a Pennsylvania credit union described a challenge facing much of the financial industry: how to convince children and teenagers that a financial institution should remain part of their lives well into adulthood.

The answer, they argued, is not another youth savings account promotion or a mascot handing out stickers in a branch lobby. It is a longer, more deliberate effort to build relationships early and maintain them through major life stages, from a child’s first allowance to a first mortgage.

That was the focus of a breakout session titled “From Piggy Bank to Paycheck – Engaging Youth in Financial Wellness” at the CrossState Credit Union Association’s Connect Conference in Atlantic City. The session was led by Diana Voth, vice president of member engagement and impact at Everence Federal Credit Union, and David Broomell, the credit union’s marketing manager.

The $450 million-asset credit union, based in Lancaster, Pa., has spent several years redesigning its youth banking strategy around what executives described as “journey mapping,” an approach more commonly associated with consumer technology companies than community financial institutions.

“We stopped thinking in products and started thinking in journeys,” Voth told attendees.

For decades, many credit unions treated youth accounts as entry-level products — often low-balance savings accounts opened by parents or grandparents. But as competition for younger consumers has intensified, especially from fintech apps and digital-first banks, many institutions have struggled to keep those members engaged once they reach adulthood.

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Voth said Everence began studying where younger members tended to disengage from the institution and what life stages created the highest risk of attrition.

“The life transitions really expose risk,” she said. “Those are where members often move on without us.”

The strategy that emerged divided younger members into age-based categories tied less to demographics and more to financial behavior. Children ages 0 to 7 were labeled “Bright Builders.” Older children became “Emerging Earners.” Teenagers were categorized as “Smart Spenders,” while members ages 18 to 23 were called “Aspiring Achievers.”

Broomell said the institution wanted each stage to flow naturally into the next.

“A family with an eight-year-old and a sixteen-year-old shouldn’t be receiving the same youth financial wellness messaging, education incentives, or experience,” he said.

The effort reflects a broader shift inside the credit union industry, where institutions are increasingly trying to position themselves as long-term financial partners rather than providers of isolated banking products.

At Everence, that has translated into a mix of educational programming, branch events and digital engagement tools aimed at keeping younger members active.

The credit union created a points-based rewards system in which children can earn incentives for activities such as bringing report cards into a branch, volunteering in the community or depositing birthday money. Those points can later be redeemed for prizes during annual youth events.

Executives said the rewards themselves are relatively modest. The larger goal is repeated engagement.

“Youth accounts don’t stay active automatically,” Broomell said. “We needed more than just marketing for youth savings accounts or a yearly event.”

The institution also launched “financial reality fairs,” interactive exercises designed to simulate real-world financial decisions for children and teenagers. Some events were held in branches, while others took place in schools and community settings.

Everence partnered with Greenlight, a youth-focused debit card and financial education platform, to give families digital tools that introduce younger members to checking accounts and money management.

The push appears to be producing measurable growth, at least in membership.

Voth said the credit union had 3,812 youth savings accounts last year and opened 211 new youth savings accounts during the year. The institution also reported 319 Greenlight users, with 75% of participating families actively using the app each month.

More notably, executives said the average age of youth account holders has been getting younger, dropping from about 13½ years old to 11½.

Keeping those members after age 18 remains the larger challenge. Voth said roughly two-thirds of youth members have stayed with the credit union after reaching adulthood.

That retention effort has become increasingly important across the industry as credit unions confront demographic pressures. Many institutions historically relied on older, long-standing members for deposits and profitability. Younger consumers, while important for future growth, often bring smaller balances and different expectations shaped by mobile banking and digital experiences.

At Everence, executives acknowledged that imbalance directly.

“Younger generations drive membership, not dollars — yet,” Voth said.

The institution’s data showed that Gen Z, millennials and younger members accounted for roughly 75% of member growth but less than 30% of deposit growth. Older members continued to represent the majority of deposits despite slower membership growth.

That tension — balancing future growth with present profitability — is becoming a defining issue for community-based financial institutions trying to compete in an increasingly digital banking market.

For Everence, executives framed the youth strategy less as an immediate revenue driver and more as a long-term investment in relevance.

“This was not built overnight,” Broomell said.

The work, he added, has unfolded gradually over several years, evolving from a basic youth savings program into a broader financial wellness strategy designed to keep younger members connected long after childhood.

“Younger generations drive membership, not dollars — yet.”

– Diana Voth
VP of Member Engagement & Impact
Everence Federal Credit Union