In the United States alone, there are over 41 million native Spanish speakers, making the US the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. However, despite how abundant this group is, statistically, it is also one of the most underserved and underbanked populations, in no small part due to a lack of accessible financial institutions and products.

As community financial institutions, credit unions should be leading the charge to meet these underbanked groups where they are—not just with the products and services they need, but in the language they speak. One such credit union, the Credit Union of Texas (CUTX), saw this deficit of inclusive financial institutions in its community, heard their needs, and rose to the occasion, with the launch of its Spanish-language brand, Todos Unidos.

To learn more about CUTX’s journey, CUSO Magazine’s Emily Claus sat down with Loren Nevius, brand manager for Todos Unidos.

Emily Claus: Hi, Loren, thanks for chatting with me today! Starting off, can you provide some background on CUTX, its community, and your demographic?

Loren Nevuis: CUTX is a credit union founded by a group of Dallas teachers nearly 100 years ago in 1931. One of CUTX’s core beliefs is that community engagement is essential to understanding the needs and challenges of our members and the communities we serve. By actively listening to them, we can develop products and services that meet their needs and positively impact their lives.

Community engagement also allows us to build trust and loyalty among our members to create a stronger, more connected community that benefits everyone, which is exactly what we’ve been doing throughout North and East Texas for the last nearly 100 years.

Since January 2016, our team has recorded nearly 8,000 volunteer hours, partnered with almost 140 different schools, supported 40 nonprofits and donated almost $20,000,000 to local communities, all in support of CUTX’s five key pillars—suburban homelessness, education, women and children in crisis, food insecurity, and the special needs community.

As far as our demographic goes and as it relates to the question below about what inspired our team to launch Todos Unidos, in 2024, we averaged about 650 calls each month in Spanish and an additional 505 in-person requests in Spanish at our branches. So, in total, we averaged over 1,000 Spanish requests a month, ultimately leading us to create and launch an entire Spanish-language brand.

Yes, congratulations on the launch of Todos Unidos! What inspired the CUTX team to begin developing the product? What did the journey to creating it look like?

Todos Unidos was inspired by CUTX’s commitment to the communities we serve and conversations we had with our community members. It became clear that the Hispanic/Latino community, despite being Texas’s largest demographic group, is, and has historically been, underbanked and underserved.

So, to ensure we’re supporting our communities today and well into the future, we met with local Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and our members and determined their biggest concerns when it comes to banking, which include a lack of trust in financial institutions, privacy concerns, and accessibility for cross-border payments to send money to friends and families.

Todos Unidos is our response to these challenges. As the first credit union in Dallas-Fort Worth to create a dedicated Spanish-language banking service, we’re working to bridge that gap and provide accessible, personalized financial services across different cultures and generations.

That includes a bilingual staff in every branch, a fully Spanish-language website, financial education tools in Spanish, and an app that offers all of our products and services, the most notable of which is a Spanish version of our credit improvement tool, Credit Climber. This tool helps applicants who don’t have an established credit history by offering step-by-step lessons on how to improve a low credit score and build a strong history over time.

So, does Todos Unidos operate through CUTX’s services, or does it require its own? How linked are the two brands?

While Todos Unidos is an extension of CUTX, it has its own unique website and app, which provide members with access to a variety of financial education tools centered on supporting them in learning about critical topics, including loans, credit cards, and investing.

That said, the Todos Unidos website can also be easily accessed through the CUTX website. In addition, CUTX also provides bilingual employees onsite at all its branches, so members can access our services in person if they’d like. In fact, Todos Unidos is headquartered at CUTX’s North Garland branch in Dallas-Fort Worth, where we hosted a grand opening just last month.

Regarding the member journey, would it be possible for a new member to discover the credit union, open an account, get a credit card, etc., all in Spanish? Is there any step of the process that would require English? 

One of our goals with Todos Unidos is to meet members where they are and give them a clear, transparent banking experience where they feel in control.

So yes, as it relates to the member experience, Todos Unidos customers can conduct all of their banking activities, including opening an account, the receipt of documentation, fraud alerts, and account notices, in Spanish and in the manner that’s most comfortable to them—on the Todos Unidos website, in person or in the mobile app.

Like everything else with Todos Unidos, our decision on what services to include in Spanish was based on the conversations we had with members and our commitment to addressing two of their greatest needs—confidence and autonomy.

As Hispanic/Latino communities are historically the most underserved in Texas, what role does this new service play in hopefully closing that gap? Why is it so critical for credit unions to go above and beyond in meeting these members’ needs and going where traditional financial institutions won’t?

The Hispanic/Latino community makes up Texas’s largest demographic, and we know they deserve equal and convenient access to the services we offer all our members. Todos Unidos will, and in many ways, already has, play a significant role in building trust among members of the Hispanic/Latino community and empowering them throughout every step of their banking experience. We believe doing this will make a significant stride in closing the gap that currently exists between members of this community and their financial wisdom and freedom.

Still, this is only the beginning. As the Hispanic/Latino community continues to grow, it’s important that we, and hopefully other credit unions and financial institutions, grow and evolve with them. Whether that means expanding services, adding more educational resources, or strengthening community partnerships, we as credit unions and financial institutions have a responsibility to support our members on their financial journeys and make sure everyone has access to the tools and services they need to build financial security.

Looking forward, what are your goals for the new brand?

One of the biggest goals for Todos Unidos is to empower members of the Hispanic/Latino community throughout their financial journey by providing culturally relevant financial education tools. That’s why we partnered with AVANCE, a national nonprofit organization committed to connecting children and their families to the resources, support, and opportunities needed to thrive.

As part of the partnership, we launched a two-week financial literacy course designed specifically for parents, primarily moms, who often face barriers, like a lack of childcare, for example, to traditional financial education opportunities. As a result, AVANCE facilitators, many of whom are former AVANCE parents, deliver material to parents on topics such as budgeting, building credit, and saving while their children engage in their own financial literacy education activities with another group of AVANCE facilitators.

To date, we’ve served almost 200 Hispanic/Latino children and families throughout the metroplex.

That’s fantastic! How has your community and your members responded to the launch of Todos Unidos so far?

Since launching Todos Unidos earlier this year, we’ve received a lot of positive feedback from members and members of the community who are enthusiastic about the opportunity to learn and teach their children healthy financial habits.

Last month’s grand opening ceremony was the most successful grand opening event CUTX has ever had, with more than 400 people in attendance. Since then, we’ve continued to host internal focus groups with our frontline staff to gauge our members’ responses to Todos Unidos, and the feedback remains positive throughout the community. We are thrilled with the response and excited to serve our Hispanic/Latino members even more effectively.

Thank you so much for chatting with us today, Loren! Do you have any final thoughts you’d like to leave our readers with?

We’re proud to be the first credit union in Dallas-Fort Worth to create a dedicated Spanish-language banking service, but we certainly hope we aren’t the last. We hope other banks and credit unions see the positive impact of meeting their communities where they are, because when members feel confident and empowered, it’s not just good for them—it’s good for the growth and strength of our industry as a whole.