AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - March 17, 2010) - BancVue (www.bancvue.com), the leading provider of innovative products, dynamic marketing, and data-driven consulting solutions to community financial institutions nationwide, today announced results for Kasasa™ (www.kasasa.com), a new national brand of innovative free checking and savings accounts offered exclusively by BancVue clients.
According to the Austin-based firm, Kasasa has produced 71% lift in new account acquisition since its launch last May. Of these new accounts, 53% represented new customers to the financial institutions.
The overwhelmingly positive response from consumers to Kasasa comes as no surprise to BancVue or those community financial institutions included in the program.
"We knew from our research that most people would prefer the personal service of a community financial institution if these institutions could offer competitive products," said Susan Sierota, BancVue's Chief Marketing Officer. "The unprecedented response to Kasasa proves that community banks and credit unions really can attract accountholders from the megabanks."
Kasasa launched with four of the most innovative and compelling products on the market today. Each Kasasa product is a free account with no minimum balance or monthly fees and all come with free online banking and nationwide ATM fee refunds.
- Kasasa Cash - A checking account that pays high interest in cash every month.
- Kasasa Saver - A high interest saver account linked to a Kasasa Cash checking account. The high interest and ATM fee refunds earned in the Kasasa Cash account are automatically deposited into the Kasasa Saver account each month. The balance in the Kasasa Saver account also earns a high rate of interest.
- Kasasa Tunes - A checking account that gives account holders free iTunes downloads every month.
- Kasasa Giving - A checking account that directs the high interest earned each month to a cause chosen by the accountholder. Plus, every time the accountholder makes a debit card purchase over a certain amount, an additional contribution is made to that cause. Consumers can choose to direct their contributions to American Humane Association, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and Stand up to Cancer, or to local causes specific to each individual financial institution.
Kasasa will soon be available in 21 states across the country at over 60 community financial institutions, and the number is growing every day. Recent launches include locations in Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Indiana, and New Jersey.
Results show the collective scale of community banks and credit unions leveraging a single, national brand for their products are a powerful way for smaller financial institutions to fight the massive marketing muscle of megabanks. With the Kasasa brand, consumers are coming to know they are opening the best accounts in the country.
"Kasasa is the weapon we've been waiting for to compete with big banks for checking and savings products," said Coleman Clougherty, President and CEO of Ohio-based Farmers Citizens Bank. "It's the only way an institution of our size could gain access to these kinds of competitive products and achieve the kind of success we have. Persuading a customer to switch banks has never been easy, but Kasasa gives consumers a compelling reason to believe they can get what they want, where they want it."
Kasasa is customized for each financial institution, and can be tailored to meet a variety of strategic needs for a community bank or credit union, including new accountholder growth, deposit growth, driving non-interest income, or shifting the deposit portfolio. Kasasa is being offering on a limited exclusivity basis per market. For more information, contact Susan Sierota at 512-418-9590.
About BancVue
BancVue is the leading provider of innovative products, marketing, and consulting solutions to community financial institutions nationwide. Serving over 650 community banks and credit unions around the country, BancVue's solutions allow these institutions to compete and win in the war against the megabanks and direct banks. Community financial institutions benefit from the development and implementation of BancVue products like Kasasa™, a national brand of superior products that gives community financial institutions marketing scale, and REALChecking®, a system of groundbreaking products, superior marketing, and data-driven consulting. For more information on BancVue, visit www.bancvue.com.
Contact Information:
Contact: Dan Mahoney
www.csg-pr.com
970.405.8060