Executive Summary
Credit union membership growth slowed from 3.3% to 2.2% between 2023 and 2024, with Gen Z representing the smallest share of members. As younger consumers migrate toward digital-first alternatives, credit unions risk losing an entire generation of relationships.
This report highlights testing the effectiveness of Debbie's rewards and gamification platform in driving new member acquisition, deposit growth, and financial behavior change by answering the following questions:
- How effective is Debbie in driving new member acquisition for credit unions, particularly among younger consumers?
- To what extent do members actively engage with the Debbie platform after signup, and how does that engagement correlate with deposit behavior?
- How do rewards and gamification influence positive financial behaviors—such as saving for emergencies—among new and existing members?
Across a six-month pilot with five credit unions, members reported meaningful early shifts: 56% said Debbie helped them make progress toward financial goals, 62% identified cash rewards as the most helpful feature, and deposit balances grew steadily through the pilot period.
Credit Union Implications
Sustaining younger member relationships requires more than a one-time account-opening incentive. Credit unions need tools that create ongoing reasons to engage and that connect financial education to real behavior change.
Testing results suggest that Debbie's approach may help credit unions:
- Attract younger members through a non-traditional lead generation channel
- Reinforce savings behavior by linking tangible cash rewards to consistent financial actions
- Build financial confidence among younger members in early stages of the relationship
- Deploy a low-lift solution with no core integration or frontline training required
For institutions evaluating strategies to grow younger membership, the pilot findings offer early promise.
Download the full report to see how using Debbie boosted financial management confidence among its users by 56%.
A special thank you to our participating credit unions for their contributions to this research.
