Corey Stone

Corey Stone

Entrepreneur-in-Residence Financial Health Network

More Related to Corey Stone

Dodging the Overdraft Bullet (So Far)

The economic shutdown and mandatory lockdowns forced many people to limit discretionary spending on retail, food, and entertainment, while stimulus checks and increased unemployment benefits improved financial health in the short term. This aided in a slow down of overdraft.

Financial Health Can Be So… Retro

Some of the most popular financial health tools introduced by fintechs actually replicate and automate habits and “life hacks” that many households used successfully before the era of electronic banking and payments. These digital “retronovations” bode well for banks and credit unions seeking to offer services that help their customers while also bringing subscription revenues that lessen institutions’ dependence on penalty fees.

Restoring Lost Tools, Reframing “Consumer Choice”

How do we open up our industry’s mindset and encourage banks to restore choice to consumers who want to retake control over their own financial behavior? I have two modest proposals for banks and credit unions to adopt the retronovations as part of their account offerings.

Something Old, Something New

The features of the financial services landscape that have brought today’s consumers convenience, reduced friction, and easily accessed revolving credit have now been with us for so long that we view them as fixed infrastructure. These gains have been accompanied by a loss of some of the tools and habits of mind that helped the grandparents and great-grandparents of today’s Millennials make it through two world wars and the Great Depression.

Technology is Making Parking Tickets Obsolete. Are Overdrafts Next?

Frequent debit card use makes it difficult to keep a diligent check register that accounts for pending payments. Behaviorally informed personal finance apps and smart checking account features have already begun to remove some of the uncertainties posed by recurring cash management challenges, just as smart meters have taken much of the gambling out of parking.

The Riddle of Overdrafting

Much about overdrafting behavior remains a mystery. Given the small amounts and short periods by which overdrafts occur, why aren’t many of them avoidable?