Most members already know they should be saving more. The advice is everywhere, and it’s rarely the missing piece. What’s missing is a system that makes saving happen without requiring a decision every time.
The numbers show how wide that gap has become. Bankrate’s 2026 Emergency Savings Report found that 24% of Americans have no emergency savings at all, and only 46% have enough to cover three months of expenses. Sixty percent describe themselves as uncomfortable with their current savings level, with 31% very uncomfortable. A separate U.S. News survey conducted in January 2026 found that 43% of Americans couldn’t cover a $1,000 emergency from savings, and one-third said their savings wouldn’t cover even one month of living expenses.
Those figures describe a population that wants to save and struggles to start. For credit unions, that gap is both a member wellness issue and a deposit growth opportunity.
Why Manual Saving Breaks Down
Traditional savings behavior asks members to do something consistently that has no immediate reward. Move money to savings this week. Do it again next week. Keep doing it when the budget is tight and the transfer feels optional.
Consistency is where it falls apart. Automated savings tools address this directly by removing the need to think about it. Once the program is set up, there’s nothing left for the member to manage. The savings happen in the background, tied to activity the member is already generating.
That design difference matters more than the dollar amounts involved. A member who saves small amounts automatically over two years ends up in a better position than a member who intends to save larger amounts and does it three times.
What Save the Change Does
Save the Change is IMSI’s automatic savings solution, integrated with the Corelation KeyStone core and the credit union’s online banking platform.
The solution manages a Share Transfer Record in real time. When funds move, the record updates immediately on the core. There’s no batch process running overnight, no reconciliation window, and no gap between what the member sees in online banking and what the core reflects.
Members control their own participation. They can enroll in the program and unenroll from it directly, without submitting a request to staff or visiting a branch. They also choose which share subaccount activates the service and which destination share subaccount receives the funds, so the program fits how they’ve actually organized their accounts.
That last detail carries more weight than it might appear. Members structure their accounts differently. Some maintain a dedicated emergency fund. Others save toward a specific goal. Giving members the ability to direct funds to the subaccount that matches their intent makes the program useful across a range of savings behaviors.
Real-Time Management Builds Member Trust
Members check their accounts. When they enroll in a savings program and see nothing change for a day or more, confidence in the program drops.
Real-time Share Transfer Record management addresses that directly. The core reflects transfers as they happen, which means the member’s account view is accurate whenever they look at it. Staff answering a question about a member’s savings activity are working from the same current data the member sees.
That consistency also reduces support volume. A member who can see their savings accumulating doesn’t need to call and ask whether the program is working.
The Deposit and Engagement Case
Automatic savings programs serve members first. The credit union benefits are real and follow from that.
Deposits grow steadily and predictably. The amounts per transfer are small, and the aggregate across an enrolled member base accumulates consistently over time. Because the program runs automatically, participation doesn’t depend on members remembering to act.
Engagement improves as well. A member with an active savings program has an additional reason to log into online banking and an additional product tying them to the credit union. Members with more products tend to stay longer, and self-service enrollment means that relationship deepens without adding staff workload.
The positioning is worth noting too. A credit union that offers automatic savings is demonstrating something concrete about its priorities. It’s building a tool that helps members improve their financial position, which aligns with what credit unions have always claimed to do differently from larger institutions.
Self-Service Keeps the Operational Cost Low
Programs that require staff involvement to enroll members carry ongoing overhead. Every enrollment is a conversation, a form, and a manual entry. Every change to a member’s preferences is another one.
Save the Change moves that entirely to the member. Enrollment, unenrollment, and subaccount selection all happen through online banking, and the core updates in real time. Staff aren’t processing requests, and members aren’t waiting on them.
The result is a program that can scale across the membership without a corresponding increase in operational load.
Getting Members to Enroll
Self-service enrollment removes the operational barrier. It doesn’t remove the awareness barrier. A savings program members don’t know about produces no savings.
The channels that work best for this are the ones members already use. Statement messaging reaches the full membership on a predictable schedule and costs nothing additional if your document workflow already supports targeted marketing. Online banking placement puts the enrollment option in front of members at the moment they’re already looking at their balances. New member onboarding is another natural fit, since members setting up accounts are making decisions about how they want their money organized anyway.
The framing matters as much as the placement. Members respond to a specific, small commitment better than an abstract encouragement to save more. Explaining that the program moves funds automatically between accounts they choose, and that they can turn it off themselves at any time, addresses the two questions most members have before enrolling.
Let’s Talk About What This Could Look Like for Your Members
If your credit union is looking for a way to help members build savings without adding manual work for staff, Save the Change is built for that outcome. It integrates directly with KeyStone and your online banking platform, gives members control over their own participation, and keeps the core current in real time.
Reach out to the IMSI team and we’ll walk you through it.
