Digital Federal Credit Union is teaming up with debit card and money app Greenlight Financial Technology to boost the financial literacy of its 1.1 million members. 

Since launching the fintech’s financial education capabilities last month, the credit union has had 1,181 families, with more than 1,700 kids opt into the service, Sue Burton, senior vice president of experience at DCU, told Bank Automation News. 

The initial goal was to reach 599 onboardings by the end of the first quarter but “we essentially reached more than 90% of that in one week,” Burton said. 

Demand for financial literacy

Young consumers demand financial education; in fact, 91% of children and teens report they need financial knowledge and skills to achieve their goals, according to a Greenlight survey conducted by Researchscape in March 2024 of 2,310 U.S.-based kids and teens.  

The $12 billion, Marlborough, Mass.-based credit union’s clients expressed interest in ways to involve their kids in financial decisions, prompting the institution to begin working with Greenlight, Burton said. 

Along with the Greenlight implementation, the credit union offers its members access to the fintech’s finance app and DCU-branded Greenlight debit cards, Burton said. Through the app, members can: 

• Automate allowance distributions to their children; 

• Have direct deposit functionality; 

• Block spending categories; and 

• Track balances in real time. 

Greenlight works with more than 100 financial institutions, including $663 billion U.S. Bank, $1.6 billion Community Financial Credit Union, $3.8 billion Valley Strong Credit Union, $2.4 billion Capital Credit Union and $1.8 billion Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union.  

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