This AI-Driven Travel Rewards App Might Save Small Banks

Millennials and Gen Z deposit $57,000 monthly into Venti to earn travel rewards that let them fly for free. Venti plans to expand nationwide to more banks and credit unions.

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Venti, a fintech company from Washington, D.C., believes many small banks and credit unions (SBCUs) face severe membership declines as their value proposition no longer resonates with young customers. According to a 2022 survey conducted by GoBankingRates, the average age of a credit union member is 53, which far exceeds the median age in the United States of 38.5. To combat this problem, Venti launched a travel savings app with a rewards APY of 9%. The app requires customers to deposit their funds at Veridian Credit Union to receive points. Since their November 2023 launch, Gen Z and Millennial travelers have been depositing $57,000 monthly to accrue enough points to book flights and hotels at discounts of up to 100% off retail.

"With our rewards app, we've diverted nearly half a million in deposits from Chase, Ally, PNC, Capital One, and other large banks to Veridian Credit Union with no marketing budget or outside funding. It's a drop in the bucket, but we plan to replicate this model across the industry to help re-establish community banks and credit unions as viable financial partners for younger customers," says Markus Proctor, Founder and CEO of Venti Financial, Inc.

Over 90% of customers have not withdrawn a single dollar since their initial deposit. The team at Venti remains confident that people will go where the rewards are valuable and easy to earn, even to SBCUs.

Rewards Make a Difference

Research conducted by Oracle revealed that Gen Z and Millennials are highly motivated by reward programs, with nearly 60 percent actively participating in one. Venti focuses on younger customers who place travel at the top of their priority list. "Most small institutions do not have the resources to launch and manage a full-scale travel rewards program that can compete with Capital One or Chase. At Venti, we're using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to fix that," said Proctor. Credit unions with over $2.5 billion in assets under management have contacted Venti to explore a partnership. "We're in active discussions to launch pilot programs scheduled to begin as early as 2025," continued Proctor.

A Virtual Agent for Every Customer

Venti believes a one-size-fits-all rewards approach is no longer sufficient to attract or retain younger customers due to AI's inevitable transformation in how people interact with institutions and brands. "AI will quickly make obsolete any strategy focused on providing all end users an identical rewards experience," said Proctor. Venti is developing a virtual agent to empower end users to reach their financial goals faster by providing a gamified experience tailored to their preferences and motivations. Venti's AI will transform every activity into a rewardable one, such as opening a checking account, depositing into savings, making on-time payments, shopping with a debit/credit card, refinancing their student loans, improving their credit scores, talking with a financial advisor, and more. With this holistic rewards approach, Venti aims to help SBCUs lower customer acquisition and retention costs by up to 75 percent.

Create a free Venti account at www.venti.co to be among the first to try out Venti's AI virtual agent later this summer. For partnership inquiries and investor relations, please contact:

Media Contact

Markus Proctor, Founder, CEO, Venti Financial, Inc., 1 8885154209, markus@venti.co , https://venti.co

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