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Adapting Your Processes to Serve Hispanics |
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The most fundamental process your credit union will have to look at differently when serving the Hispanic market is your Customer Identification Program (CIP). The need for a CIP arises from Section 326 of the U.S.A. Patriot Act which states that all financial institutions have an obligation to verify and record each customer's identity. Thus, at a minimum, your credit union must obtain the following from a potential member:
Credit unions are allowed to open accounts for non-U.S. persons as long as this is stated in the CIP, which must be approved by the credit union's board of directors. Non-U.S. persons are individuals that are not U.S. citizens. Permanent residents (sometimes referred to as resident aliens) and non-residents are non-U.S. persons. Your CIP should outline the alternative forms of identification you will accept to verify the identity and open accounts for U.S. and non-U.S. persons.
Non-U.S. persons may or may not have a driver's license or a SSN, which are the typical forms of identification your staff may be used to seeing. Alternative forms of identification used by non-U.S. persons could include consulate identification cards or Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs). Consulate cards are issued by various foreign government consulate offices including Mexico, which issues the Matricula Consular for Mexican nationals living abroad. The ITIN is a taxpayer number issued by the IRS to individuals who do not qualify for a SSN and have taxpaying responsibilities.
It is important for staff to have a base understanding of what these alternative forms of identification are and why your potential members have these identifications to avoid confusion and awkwardness when opening member accounts. If your credit union is willing to accept alternative forms of identification, you will stand a better chance at recruiting new Hispanic members.
Additional regulatory and compliance expertise is provided by Coopera's sister company PolicyWorks.
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| CIP Review |
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In order to remain compliant, many credit unions have adopted compliance-related policies by utilizing templates provided by peers or other industry partners. While credit unions can serve immigrants and remain compliant, many policies pose unnecessary barriers that prevent immigrants from obtaining these services. Adaptations to your policies coupled with adequate training are key step in serving the Hispanic market. In order to allow your credit union the ability to navigate issues of compliance with ease, we offer following CIP Review package which includes:
- An audit of your Customer Identification Program (CIP) or Member Identification Program (MIP)
- An identification guide helpful for training staff
- Recommendations of adaptations to your CIP
- A phone call to explain rationale behind recommendations
Your investment for this is $450.
Email or call us at 866.518.0214 to purchase Coopera's CIP Review Package today. |
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"After deciding to pursue a Hispanic outreach initiative at Village Credit Union, we quickly found out that it was necessary to review our Customer Identification Program (CIP) and eliminate any unnecessary restrictions for Hispanics to join our credit union. With Coopera's assistance, we adapted our CIP to the needs of our Hispanic members and now accept identifications such as the matricula consular and the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number."
Debbie Whittie
CEO of Village Credit Union
Des Moines, IA |
Coopera is a subsidiary of the Iowa Credit Union League and is a strategic partner of the Credit Union National Association. We help credit unions grow through the Hispanic market and are committed to bringing you relevant information that will aid your Hispanic outreach efforts. Growing by reaching the Hispanic market is not easy or quick. With so much information available on this topic, we wanted to compile the most relevant information in bite-sized pieces to guide your Hispanic outreach initiative. Whether you are the community outreach coordinator, marketing director or CEO of your credit union, Coopera is here to help answer your questions about the Hispanic opportunity. |
