Introduction to New Banking Platform

Kelli Green 0:01

Well , thank you guys , so much for joining us for today's Live Better podcast . Today , we're actually going to be going over some really cool things that's happening . In the month of March , we have launched a new banking system as well as an online banking platform , which you , as our members , will be able to take advantage of all sorts of neat features and benefits that we're really excited to talk to you about today . So hop on in , join us for a really short overview of the things that you can expect as a member with our new online banking platform . Well , we are super excited to share . The time has finally arrived . Our new online banking platform is live , and we're really excited about all the new features and benefits that are offered

Managing Your Credit Score Feature

Kelli Green 0:45

through this mobile app . So anyone with App Store and also Google Play , you have the ability to download our new mobile app , and some of the things that we're really most excited about and we really want to share with you guys is that there's three cool things .

Kelli Green 1:00

One we have a really unique opportunity for you to manage your credit score . What this does is allows you to take a look a soft pull , if you will . This is not actually a hard inquiry into your credit report , but it will give you insights on what's being reported to the credit bureaus , how your payments are being applied . You can also manage your credit score in this regard . The neat thing about it is there's some kind of financial wellness tips , if you will . Those of you that have been listening along with us know that that is really our bread and butter . That's why we exist is to really help our members live better . With this managing of your credit score , you have the ability to see and learn more about ways in which you can increase your credit score , but also if there might be some habits that we've really gotten used to that are causing our credit score to be negatively impacted , meaning that our score is trending downward . This information within inside of our mobile online banking platform will give you guidance to help you say okay , here's some things I might need to do a little differently whether it's making payments on time , really maybe thinking about , are we overextended with our debt ? So it gives you some opportunities before you go in and maybe speak with a loan officer . You can talk through some different solutions there that might be beneficial to increasing , one , your credit score , but two , your overall future buying power .

Budget Creation and Transaction Tags

Kelli Green 2:24

The other side of that , too , is we have a really unique option for you to create your budget and within that is that you can create what we call tags on all of your transactions . So , for example , if you have your gasoline or fuel purchase that you may have at a convenience store , you can tag those purchases transportation or fuel so that you're able to see how that impacts your budget . Same way for things like grocery or expense personal expense for yourself , or personal expenses maybe for your children or other loved ones that might live within your home . So the really cool thing about that is you set your own personal budget you line out every single month . You can do this the very first time one time and leave it alone . That's great . Or if you want to apply this every single month , you can go in and make some tweaks , but the first time you set up your budget and then you create those tags on all of your transactions , from that day forward those tags will be set . That's really awesome . It's something that you can kind of set it and forget it .

Kelli Green 3:25

So what does that mean ? Every time you set up a budget so say , each month , you've got a thousand dollars set aside for groceries you have $500 set aside for fuel . If you have set up tags to say this is a grocery expense , this is a transportation or fuel expense , once you tag those transactions , those will forever be impacted on your budget . It will start from that day forward and you will be able to see where along the month in that time frame where your budget is really being impacted . So I really love that because it really helps me identify one where am I maybe falling short in savings goals ? Two , have I overspent with groceries ? But it gives you goals and progress within those budgets , set budgets along the way . So you really have an idea of knowing okay , I'm getting really close . I might want to kind of be careful or consider some different spending or maybe consider , wow , maybe I haven't allotted enough money during the month for certain expenses along the way , but it's a really , really awesome way for you to one budget every month . Two , you're hitting all of your savings goals . And three , it keeps everybody in the family accountable for what it is that we're doing . You're telling your money where to go instead of your money telling you where it's been .

Kelli Green 4:41

And the final thing there , too , that we want to share is the conversations

Secure Conversations and Skip-a-Pay

Kelli Green 4:45

piece . So what do I mean by that ? Once you've logged into the mobile bank , once you're inside that platform , it is a two-factor authenticator , meaning this is a secure connection . This is something that you set up that is secure , within that , if you have a charge on your account , something that you don't recognize , you can immediately click that transaction , and then you can pose a conversation to our back office team , and we will be able to answer that within if it's within the business hours . We usually answer those comments within 10 minutes .

Kelli Green 5:18

So you're looking at that to say , hey , this is a charge on my account I'm not familiar with . You can dispute that charge right there . That's all you have to do . Talk about a relief . If you don't want to pick up the phone and call someone or shoot a text . It's very simple for you to start a conversation within the online banking platform . I think you'll find that this will be really awesome . Even , too , you can actually initiate a skip a pay If you have a loan here with us at Centric . You simply initiate the skip a pay and you're rolling . There's not a whole lot to it . There's not a whole lot of documents . You're literally operating this just from your mobile app .

Kelli Green 5:56

So those are just a few of the highlights that I really wanted to share with you today , because we're super excited A lot of work and time that's gone into this . So you take a look . If you run into any issues or something that you'd like to see on our mobile app , please let us know , and you can visit us online at mycentricorg to learn more or even to share more information with us . This mobile app was created with you in mind , and so it's really important to us that you share if there's any opportunities that we might have to make this a better experience for you

Spring Cleaning Your Finances

Kelli Green 6:26

. So , as we get to rolling in in the month of March , we know and we hope to see some warmer temperatures and some things in bloom , so that might mean that spring is here and we want to freshen up a few things . So why not ? If you're spring cleaning , let's spring clean our finances . Like we've mentioned today , with the update of our mobile app , there's lots of ways for you to stay accountable with your budgets and really setting goals throughout the rest of the year for you .

Kelli Green 6:53

So there's a few things I really want to share with you as you're looking through to set these budgets . I would also consider a few things . Go through your account , scan a few things here . Notice what are some unnecessary expenses that you might be able to reduce . Two , do you have some subscriptions that you need to cut out because maybe you're not using them or perhaps they're just not what they're cracked up to be ? So really consider those things .

Kelli Green 7:18

Another thing I will share with you is , if you're making online payments , be aware if there are any fees that maybe that this is a convenience fee for you to pay . It could be your child's dance tuition , it could be baseball tuition , anything that . You take a look that you're paying online , ask if there is a convenience fee that's associated with that . If you're paying those convenience fees every single month , you take that total , you multiply that by 12 and that's what's costing you just for a convenience payment . I would encourage you to take a look into that .

Kelli Green 7:54

I will tell you a personal story for me . So both of my girls actually dance , and so I pay monthly tuition for to their dance studio . I was able to see that the total amount that I was spending was astronomical . So now I pay in a different form of payment , so that , one , I know that it's timely , but , two , I'm not spending extra , any extra money , because there's no need for that . So that extra money that I was spending is really just going to to pay for that , whomever it is . It's providing that convenient service to the dance studio to make those payments , whereas those funds can go right back into my actual budget . That's beneficial to us . That's an overall savings of money that sometimes flies out of our window and we have no idea about .

Kelli Green 8:37

The other thing I really want to talk to you about is , as you're thinking about freshening up your finances , it's critical to speak with a financial counselor . We have the ability to take a look at your credit report and , just like you , alongside your mobile app , you can take a look at your credit report and , just like you , alongside your mobile app , you can take a look at this and see what is actually reporting and what are some things that you might be able to do . Is a debt consolidation something that might be beneficial

Episode Closing and Contact Information

Kelli Green 9:00

for you ? Is it time for you maybe to sell a few things ? Do you have some things at home that you're not using and you might be able to sell ? I know these things seem like it's a little radical , but you really want to think through it . If you're in a situation where you're ready to become debt-free , you want to live in financial freedom , there's a possibility that you can do that , and the steps are not too hard and the opportunity is not too far away when you just create a plan and we're here to help you do that .

Kelli Green 9:26

If you're interested in freshening up your finances with a member of our team , contact us online at mycentricorg . You can even call us or text us at 318-340-9656 . I hope you've enjoyed this podcast today and we look forward to chatting with you next month . Thanks for tuning in to the Live Better Podcast with Centric . Be sure to subscribe and follow us on social media at MyCentric . We look forward to seeing you next month . Centric is federally insured by the NCUA .