This California CU Grew by Serving the Movie Market. Now It’s Taking Its Show on the Road
By Steve Cocheo, Senior Executive Editor at The Financial Brand
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When the closing credits for a film or TV show roll, hundreds of names scroll by, from the stars down to “second woman on line in deli.” Gaffers to grips, wardrobe supervisors to horse wranglers, editors and cutters, and many more have their own roles to play in making entertainment happen. Even the caterers get mentioned.
Market insight. Who handles the banking needs of all of those people, from studio regulars to freelancers and gig workers? In the Los Angeles area, classically home to the American film industry, a key player is First Entertainment Credit Union.
First Entertainment has long served movie and TV professionals both in front of the cameras and what the industry calls “below the line.” These are all the people who are never on screen, but without whom there’d be nothing to see.
Niche opportunity. “Many of these folks work gig jobs, from location to location, from production to production. As a result, it’s not the typical nine to five job, and they don’t always get a steady paycheck,” says Daniel Arita, SVP, digital innovation and transformation at First Entertainment. “Banks aren’t typically set up to support people in those roles.”
New opportunity. However, the film industry is no longer centered exclusively in California. In the last couple of decades, Georgia, especially the Atlanta area, has become known as the “Hollywood of the South.” Beyond that, there are many other creators there, including musicians, social media influencers and others, who don’t work ordinary jobs but have banking needs.
In January, First Entertainment launched CineFi, a fully digital credit union — a division of the parent institution — designed to serve people in TV, movies, music, gaming, content creation and more in Atlanta and surrounding counties.
“They have an incredible infrastructure — studios and supporting specialists — who live locally in Atlanta,” says Arita, who carries the same title with the digital fledgling. “So, in terms of who we serve as our primary audience, it made sense for us to position another brand there.”
Need to Know:
- First Entertainment Credit Union, founded in 1967, is a $2 billion-in-assets lender serving about 90,000 members.
- Arita couldn’t share numbers, but he says the Atlanta-area entertainment industry is “humungous,” especially when support jobs — even truck drivers to caterers — are added in. A perfect audience for CineFi.
- Productions run the gamut from Marvel blockbusters to cable shows like “The Walking Dead,” according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
- Nearly two dozen productions for networks, streamers and independents are currently filming.
What Entertainment Industry Members Need
Arita, a credit union industry veteran, says people in entertainment jobs often have unique challenges.
It’s either feast or famine. With much of the employment being gig work, he says, they have profiles that defy mainstream lenders’ experience. Their income may come from multiple sources, and with gaps, throughout a year. Beyond qualifying for loans, they may on occasion have trouble paying their bills. And there are special circumstances, such as strikes.
“Many of these folks, in their down time, will wait tables, drive Uber while awaiting their next job,” Arita explains.
As a nonprofit credit union, Arita says, First Entertainment has the flexibility and experience, to work with members.
Specialized lending. Members may have unique needs, as well. Many entertainment workers belong to unions, which typically assess union initiation dues, which can be costly. To join the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, for example, inductees must pay a $3,060 fee on top of annual dues.
This is a type of credit that First Entertainment has lots of experience with. The credit union will make union dues loans of up to $10,000.
Arita explains that sometimes a member’s latest gig will require joining a particular union involved in a particular production, in order to be able to work.
“For a new union member, those costs can be challenging,” says Arita.
CineFi, the parent’s Georgia foray, will in time begin offering the gamut of credit products that First Entertainment does, according to Arita. Initially, part of the new organization’s app is a credit tracker. But the first products to debut are on the deposit side.
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Building CineFi Membership with Deposits
One of CineFi’s angles is to promote deposits as a way to generate passive income through interest, while minimizing costs.
CineFi high-yield savings is paying 4.25% APY at present, and its checking account is paying 1.5% APY. The digital CU promises no account fees and availability of direct deposit funds up to three days early.
The credit union provides surcharge-free access to over 30,000 ATMs and also refunds ATM fees when the member must use a machine that’s no in the surcharge-free network.
“These people travel a lot, going to productions in different states,” says Arita. “We want to make sure that banking’s simple and accessible for them.”
Debit card purchases can be set to round up to the nearest dollar, with the excess being deposited into the member’s savings account.
The app permits members to categorize spending by category, including the ability to categorize work expenses.
Financial education is also available digitally. One element of the latter is a series of short videos called “Money Mentors,” in which established industry figures explain their own journey in the industry and render advice to the next generation.
While the parent credit union has seven branches, including three at major studios, Arita says CineFi plans no physical presence at this time. In part this helps makes its high deposit rates possible.
Read more: How BECU’s AI Financial Advisor is Moving Beyond Product Answers to Customer Handholding
How CineFi’s Unveiling is Being Marketed
CineFi’s digital presence leans heavily into entertainment industry words and phrases, to wit:
- “Your finances, in focus.”
- “Roll sound, financially sound.”
- “Saving that’s set-ready.”
- “Cut to smarter savings”
Arita says the credit union is working to establish connections with the Georgia entertainment community to promote membership in CineFi. He and other staffers travel to Atlanta regularly to establish contacts and to fly the flag, as do staffers who are based in Georgia. Some of the local hires have entertainment industry backgrounds.
“We’ve forged some relationships with a lot of the associations there. We’ve built business partnerships with some of the major studios out there that have welcomed us,” says Arita. “Many have commented that something like this has been needed in the industry for a while.”
Sponsorships are a big thrust for CineFi. It is one of the major sponsors of the Atlanta Film Festival, set for April. (In a related vein, one of the bases for CineFi membership is membership in the Filmmakers Alliance, an organization based in Los Angeles that supports independent filmmakers.)
CineFi is also working with multiple film-oriented educational institutions to begin cultivating potential members at the formative stage.
“Many of the major universities in Georgia offer film-specific programs,” says Arita. “There’s a lot of opportunity because every year they’re bringing in a new batch of people that are passionate and eager to work in the industry.”
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