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Underbanked Financial Services Forum--Filling Up Fast!
We are less than a month away from the 4th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum, and last week, we saw people register for our conference in RECORD BREAKING numbers!  For that reason, we have decided to extend the Early Bird rate for all of you who have not yet registered for this exciting event.  You have until May 8th to take advantage of one of our biggest discounts yet--an additional $200 OFF.  Use the PROMO CODE: CFSI200 to register and save today!

New Innovation Team to Spearhead CFSI's Key Focus Areas and Develop Market and Consumer Intelligence

CFSI announces today the creation of its Innovation Team and the hiring of two new team members: Rachel Schneider, Innovation Director, and Christina Hachikian, Innovation Manager.  The Innovation Team develops market and consumer intelligence, documents trends, and plays a leading role in advancing CFSI's key focus areas for innovation in financial services for the underbanked.   

As Innovation Director, Rachel Schneider will manage the research agenda, identify innovation focus areas, and collaborate with financial services companies and others regarding strategy development and product design related to the underbanked market. As Innovation Manager, Christina Hachikian will develop white papers, best practice studies, business economics analyses, and trend research on a variety of underbanked topics and will manage multi-method research projects with partner institutions and academics. Visit our website to read the full bios of Rachel Schneider and Christina Hachikian.  

Innovators Showcase: Ready Credit Corporation

Read this Innovators Showcase piece to learn how Ready Credit Corporation delivers its prepaid cards—ReadyCARDs—through convenient ReadySTATIONs to serve underbanked consumers in ways that encourage better money management skills and meet the financial needs of this valuable consumer segment. Click here to read more about this innovative company!

Prepaid Research Release You Might've Missed

If you haven’t had a chance to read our latest research report, “A Tool for Getting by or Getting Ahead? Consumers’ Views on Prepaid Cards,” download it today for FREE!

Webinar to Address Underbanked Consumer Behavior in Economic Downturn

Are you wondering how your business strategies will have to evolve in the face of economic challenges and changing behaviors and attitudes of underbanked consumers? Hear analysis and insight from CFSI Associate Director Kimberly Gartner and practitioners operating “on-the-ground” about how the current economic crisis is impacting consumers and altering their financial behaviors and decisions.  Register for this FREE webinar, “Underbanked Consumer Behavior in Economic Downturn: Observations from the Ground,”—1-2PM CST/2-3PM EST, May 12, 2009.

2^nd Joint Roundtable Meeting: New Participating Organizations and Industry Leaders Unite

Last week, CFSI’s Innovators and Responsible Credit Roundtables met in Chicago, joined by four new participating organizations: Green Dot Corporation, Meta Payment Systems, LexisNexis Risk & Information Analytics Group, and NetSpend.  The meeting focused on new insights into the impact the current economic environment has on consumers, emerging opportunities around savings products, alternative data used for account management and risk mitigation, and prepaid strategies among other underbanked efforts. The convening marks the second time these groups have met together to connect players from across the financial services industry to generate new information, ideas, products and strategies and develop innovative ways to serve underbanked consumers. Visit the CFSI website to learn more about CFSI’s roundtables. 

Innovators Showcase: Recent News Briefs

If you want to know how our showcased innovators are transforming the financial services landscape to better serve underbanked consumers, check out these recent and archived news articles and press releases…

• “Fidelity National Information Services to Offer Western Union Money Transfer Services to Banks in the United States”—Fidelity National Information Services is a participating company on CFSI’s Innovators Roundtable.

• “Save to Win Offers $100,000 Prize as Part of Effort to Boost Consumers' Savings”—This pilot program is supported by the Filene Research Institute and the Doorway to Dreams Fund (D2D), a grantee of CFSI.

• “Western Union, US Bank to Partner for Money Transfer Services”—US Bank is a participating company on CFSI’s Innovators and Responsible Credit Roundtables.

• “As Credit Cards Falter, the Cash Variety Gains Popularity”—Visa is a participating company on CFSI’s Responsible Credit Roundtable and both Wal-Mart and MasterCard are on CFSI's Innovators Roundtable.

• “Walmart Steps Up Efforts to Help Americans Manage Their Finances With $3 Rollback Price on Key Money Service”—Wal-Mart is a participating company on CFSI's Innovators Roundtable.

Viewpoint: Banks in Danger of Losing Gen Y to Competition

Corey Stone, CFSI Fellow, and Jennifer Tescher, CFSI Director, co-authored this article, which discusses the many non-bank financial services options geared towards Gen Y users and offers advice for banks looking to reach this up and coming market segment. View the full American Banker column.

CFSI Speaking Engagements 

• May 7, 2009 | The Center for Future Banking Lecture Series | Cambridge, MA.  Arjan Schütte will give the presentation, ""Outcast and Overcharged: Inside the Underbanked."

• May 28, 2009 | Microfinance California 2009 | Stanford University | Palo Alto, CA. Sarah Gordon will be presenting.

• June 8-10, 2009 | AARP Diversity and Aging Conference | Chicago, IL. Jennifer Tescher will speak on the panel, “The Impact of the Current Economic Crisis on Older Americans and Innovative Solutions” and Christina Hachikian will speak on the panel, “Successful Financial Innovation Solutions.”

• June 10, 2009 | Financial Service Centers Cooperative, Inc. 2009 Credit Union Retail Delivery Convention | Las Vegas, NV. Sarah Gordon will be speaking on “Seizing the Opportunity: The Who, Why and How of Reaching Underserved Consumers.”

• July 16-19, 2009 | 2009 PIMA Summer Conference | San Diego, CA. Rachel Schneider will present in the session, "What's Working in Top Line Revenue Now! The Mass Affluent Markets and the Underserved."

CFSI Produced Events

• June 1-3, 2009 | The 4^th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum | Dallas, TX.