MADISON, Wis. — Credit unions need to combine member surveys with account and product data to better understand financial well-being, according to a Filene Research Institute blog post examining the value and limitations of survey-based measurement.
Yessica Palacio, a research associate at Filene, wrote that surveys reveal financial confidence, stress, goals and perceived barriers that balances, credit scores and transaction records cannot fully capture. But low participation, response bias and operational challenges limit their usefulness as a stand-alone measure.
The post, the second in a series on Filene’s Financial Well-Being Measurement Working Group, summarized a 90-minute discussion among participating credit union leaders. The group is led by Filene Fellow Mat Despard through the institute’s Center for Member Well-Being.
What Participants Said
Participants said survey respondents tend to be more financially stable and engaged than members overall, potentially leaving out people most in need of assistance. Several credit unions reported single-digit participation rates, Palacio wrote.
Survey fatigue also complicates outreach. One participant observed that shorter questionnaires did not appear to attract meaningfully different respondents than longer versions.
Other challenges include members overstating intended behavior or reporting habits that do not reflect their financial circumstances. Participation also drops when institutions seek follow-up responses at three or six months, making it harder to assess whether programs produced lasting changes, according to the post.
Despard discussed using validated questions from established tools, including the National Financial Capability Survey, the Financial Health Score, the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Financial Well-Being Scale. Such questions can help institutions compare members’ experiences with broader populations and identify needs, Palacio wrote.
CUs Describe Approaches
Participating credit unions described several approaches. One uses the Gallup-Callahan methodology to classify members as thriving, struggling or suffering and is working to bring findings into internal dashboards so employees can respond sooner.
Another uses a common survey across education, counseling and wealth-building programs, but manual distribution and inconsistent responses pose problems. Anonymous answers protect confidentiality while preventing the institution from connecting responses with other member information.
Several participants use SavvyMoney’s wellness checkup within digital banking, combining self-reported information with credit and financial data. Completion remains limited, and institutions are still addressing how to export and share the results, Palacio wrote.
Others are incorporating questions into financial coaching intake, establishing a baseline when members have already sought help. That approach can inform individual coaching, while broad membership surveys address different questions about overall member experiences.
Additional Caution
Filene also cautioned that identifying a financial problem does not establish its cause or solution. A member without emergency savings, for example, may face constraints that budgeting information cannot resolve.
Participants called for guidance on choosing existing survey tools, improving survey timing and placement, and matching identified challenges with interventions supported by evidence, according to Palacio’s account.
The full blog post can be found here.
