Research by three organizations serving the community-based financial institution (FI) industry reveals Valentine's Day-related purchasing was way up in 2015. The Members Group (TMG) found credit spending increased 21 percent, and CO-OP Financial Services andSaylent Technologies, Inc. (Saylent) found debit spending increased 16 percent for the three days culminating in Valentine's Day compared to 2014.
The 21 percent increase in credit spending is based on transactions made from Thursday, Feb. 12 through Saturday, Feb. 14 by users carrying credit cards issued by TMG's FI clients. TMG's analysts attribute this to healthy growth in credit card portfolios of TMG's clients and the fact cardholders used their credit cards on average 3.5 percent more this year as compared to last year. The analysis is via the card processor's proprietary analysis tool, ClearTrend. The tool can provide similar data on a per-FI basis for the processing clients of TMG.
"When combined with sophisticated analytics, data allows us to actively listen-in on the consumer conversation," said Shazia Manus, CEO, TMG. "While our issuing partners want to understand overall transaction volume trends, they are also interested in how various demographic and psychographic data, such as age, interests and affinity to their FI, impact spending behaviors."
Additional data emerging from the TMG analysis includes:
CO-OP and Saylent Find Increase in Debit Card Spending
During the same Thursday through Saturday period, CO-OP and Saylent found a 16.45 percent increase in debit card spending. The results covered debit activity at all of the merchant types that Saylent tracks nationwide by members of credit unions that use CO-OP for transaction processing. The year-over-year comparison was performed through an advanced analytics solution, CO-OP Revelation, powered by Saylent, and was conducted by Saylent's FInsights360 consulting team.
"Last year we found debit card spending increased 19 percent compared to 2013, and this year's increase of 16 percent almost equaled that in Valentine's Day 2015," said Stan Hollen, President/CEO, CO-OP. "It seems Americans really are putting their hearts into the economic rebound."
Additional data emerging from the CO-OP and Saylent analysis includes:
"Consumers continued to spend on their loved ones this past Valentine's Day, with many of the categories we track experiencing a significant rise in debit card usage compared to last year," said Tyson Nargassans, President/CEO, Saylent. "Insights like these provided by our software are highly valuable for credit unions, as they gain timely knowledge of card usage to enable them to better understand what motivates their members."
For more information on TMG, visit: www.themembersgroup.com; for Saylent visit:www.saylent.com; and for CO-OP Financial Services, visit: www.co-opfs.org.
About CO-OP Financial Services
Based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and founded in 1981, CO-OP
Financial Services is the nation's largest credit union service
organization in terms of number of credit unions, assets and
members. The company helps credit unions thrive by providing
products and services that make it more convenient for members to
do business with them. With a motto of "Be There. Be More," CO-OP's
products fall into three business lines, including "Locations,"
(ATM, shared branching and call center services); "Card Payments"
(debit and credit processing) and "Mobile/Virtual" (mobile, online,
check imaging, bill pay services). To learn more visit www.co-opfs.org.
About Saylent
Franklin, Mass.-based Saylent, named to Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 list in 2014 and a three-time Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Private Company (2012, 2013 and 2014), provides financial institutions with data analytics software and services that improve profitability and product innovation by delivering smarter, deeper, actionable insights on the financial behaviors of consumers and businesses. With Saylent's solutions - Card360, which provides payments intelligence for card issuers; and Account360, a cloud-based relationship product and pricing platform - financial institutions are empowered to drive new revenue streams and increase loyalty by delivering programs and solutions that their customers and members desire. To learn more visit www.saylent.com.
About TMG
The Members Group (TMG) is dedicated to creating customized, technology-driven card processing and payment solutions for credit unions and community-based financial institutions across North America. Innovations in fraud management, loyalty programs, alternative payment systems and analytic reporting, and the competitive advantages they create, have helped TMG forge a new standard in offering cutting-edge credit, debit, ATM, prepaid card products and a P2P payment solution. For more information, visitwww.themembersgroup.com.