Some people don’t realize that credit unions aren’t made of money. It sure would help if they were, though, because little costs here and there add up to quite a lot. Sending financial statements to members is one area where credit unions spend a surprising amount of money.

Fortunately, credit union member statements don’t have to cost quite so much money. There are a few ways that credit unions can save money on their member statements.

Why Do Member Statements Cost So Much?

There are several factors that add to credit union statement costs. Then, depending on whether credit unions want to make their statements more member-friendly, they may see additional costs crop up.

The easiest way to save on statements would be to not send them. However, that would be ruinously illegal. That leads us to the list of why member statements cost so much.

1. You Can’t Escape Them (It’s the Law)

Financial statements are something that every credit union must deliver to its members. There are all sorts of rules about it and, if credit unions are used to one thing, it’s rules.

The NCUA certainly has everyone’s best interests at heart, and their oversight keeps the industry from making the same kinds of mistakes that banks all too frequently make. However, it also presents costly red-tape to the only kind of financial institution that runs on a not-for-profit model.

2. Staffing, Printing, Mailing, and More!

The basics are that statements must be sent, and they must include certain information.
Most of that information is produced in a pretty standard, readable output from credit union core software.

However, statements produced by core software aren’t efficiently formatted. For credit unions that means costs from:

• Payroll for necessary staff
• Paper printing
• Postage and mailing

Then, if a credit union wants to make their statements look better, they can expect further charges. Additional costs present in the forms of:

• Payroll for additional staff such as marketers and designers
• Experts to ensure that statements remain compliant
• Additional materials such as marketing inserts

The various charges, though relatively cheap individually, do add up. Several employees must coordinate to make sure that credit union member statements are properly formatted and sent.

How to Cut Costs

Statements produced by the core aren’t exactly easy to read, and some can make relatively simple information tough to find or understand. Many of the more effective ways to cut costs involve optimizing statement design. Other effective methods reduce reliance on internal credit union staff.

1. Redesign the Core Statement Output

Core statement outputs don’t efficiently utilize space. This increases the page count of statements, and it also requires more ink or toner.

Credit unions can capitalize on that freed space in numerous ways. For example, in addition to saving on paper, ink, and postage, credit unions can include targeted marketing messages, coupon codes, and other important or engaging information for their members.

2. Move Over, Paper Mail

Postage costs a lot of money. While some credit unions may be able to save on postage by buying it in bulk, the best way to save on it is to convert members to eStatements.Of course, that’s probably something every credit union has already started doing. Nevertheless, continuing to move your members to eStatements will help lessen the burden of printing and mailing statements.

Some credit unions have experienced success by providing incentives or hiring a third-party statement vendor to help convince members to make the switch.

3. Bring in the Experts

Third-party statement vendors can actually save credit unions a healthy portion of their statement costs.

Statement vendors have the ability to drastically reduce the amount of paper space statements use by optimizing layouts and including additional literature, offers, and notices. Vendors also pass bulk postage savings on to credit unions and push conversion to eStatements, which saves credit unions a lot of money.

Using a third party to take care of statements reduces a credit union’s reliance on internal staff involvement, postage, paper, and more.

Additional Resources for Credit Unions

Most people don’t particularly care for putting together statements or optimizing the design of financial notices. However, there are a few dedicated people who live and breathe in that arena. These companies can help with more than just statements. Sometimes, bundling services from these vendors can help a credit union save money in more than one area.

After all, statements aren’t the only area where credit unions can cut costs or increase efficiency. Follow the links below to see what other services credit unions can outsource—and why they might want to.