Women Leading The Finance Industry: Melanie Few of ‘Populus Financial Group’ On The 5 Things You Should Do To Increase Your Financial Literacy

Don’t try to do it alone and don’t ignore it. There are so many people who have had to figure these things out on their own, or people who are trained to help. Many of those people, like myself, have worked to create solutions that can be leveraged by others, so financial tools are a great option as well.

As a part of our series about “Women Leading The Finance Industry”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Melanie Few.

Melanie Few is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Populus Financial Group. She is responsible for marketing, customer experience, and growth product lines including Populus’ suite of bank account and prepaid debit cards. Most recently, she led the launch of Populus’ first all-digital brand, Porte, a mobile banking solution with the mission to help members on the path of financial freedom.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the finance field?

Thank you for having me. I really happened into the finance field out of college, it was more about needing to pay my bills than true intention. However, I have stayed in finance because it’s such a challenging and competitive industry, particularly with all the innovation on the technology and data sides over the past 10 years. Specific to my role in personal finance, hearing from customers about their needs and experiences and trying to solve those problems is particularly rewarding.

Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or take away you took out of that story?

At the time of my first promotion my boss asked about my five-year plan. After seeking clarification about what that meant, I quickly told him I didn’t see myself sticking around the corporate world for long, there were other things I wanted to do. Funny how things turn out as I’m still here 14 years later and really enjoy coming to work each day. This experience taught me that life doesn’t always go to plan and that’s not only okay, but it’s also sometimes much better than the alternative.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I am! At Populus Financial Group, we are investing pretty heavily in the digital banking space right now through our mobile banking experience, Porte. We have been offering financial services for decades, so we know the space well. When it came to serving a different market, the next generation of banking consumers, we spent a lot of time listening to their thoughts and opinions about how their bank either met their needs or didn’t. We also spent time surveying the market for best-in-class experiences. Across those two areas, we built a modern and sophisticated product that is helping members with some basic needs and wants, like saving more money, giving back to causes they care about, and ridding themselves of debt. Porte is off to a strong start and we’ve barely scratched the surface.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

What makes our company, Populus Financial Group, stand out, is all in our name. Populus is the Latin word for “people” and staying focused on serving people every day is what differentiates us. The best example of that is in our newest brand under Populus, Porte. We didn’t simply enter the burgeoning mobile banking space. But rather took our historical knowledge of financial services and philosophy of truly understanding the consumer mindset, their wants and needs, to bring to market a product that is delivering not only what today’s next generation of banking consumers want out of their mobile banking experience, but also the ability to evolve, expand and maybe even change the offering in the future based ongoing customer feedback.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. Wall Street and Finance used to be an “all-white boys club”. This has changed a lot recently. In your opinion, what caused this change?

With technology and social tools making financial services so easily accessible, I think Finance has become more about the people you are trying to serve. It’s more about the every-person and the organization needs to reflect that. Our customer base is not an “all-white boys club” and it would be a disservice to those customers and to our own business if we chose to be one-dimensional in trying to serve such bountiful diversity.

Of course, despite the progress, we still have a lot more work to do to achieve parity. According to this report in CNBC, less than 17 percent of senior positions in investment banks are held by women. In your opinion or experience, what 3 things can be done by a) individuals b) companies and/or c) society to support this movement going forward?

Women must continue supporting women. Yes, men in power play a huge part, but women who have “made it” have to be insistent and dedicated to keeping that door open for others. And it is not just giving opportunities to women, you have to be intentional about mentoring people who aren’t like you and ensuring those same doors are open to people of all races, ethnicities, sexual orientation, and gender. We have work to do.

Companies must create an environment for women that doesn’t make them feel like they have to sacrifice other parts of their lives to move up the ladder. Women should have options when it comes to driving their career and/or starting a family. The companies that will win, those that will compete for the opportunity to develop and promote the brightest talent, will provide excellent health benefits and flexible schedules that support a modern and diverse workforce.

This hasn’t fully matured yet, but younger consumers hold brands accountable with gusto. Banks might think that today’s consumers do not care how many women are on the executive team, but tomorrow’s do. And change happens slowly, it takes time to move the needle from 17 to 50 or 60 percent. The future of our society will hold brands to a fair standard regarding the makeup of their organization, so it’s important to make inroads now.

Let’s now turn to a slightly new topic. According to this report in Fortune, nearly two-thirds of Americans can’t pass a basic test of financial literacy. In your opinion or experience what is the cause of these unfortunate numbers? If you had the power to make a change, what 3 things would you recommend to improve these numbers?

In large part, I think it ties back to your prior question about the “all-white boys club”; that system has a downflow impact on society overall. Since Finance has historically been an area dominated by white men, it follows that people who are not white men might not have strong interest or confidence when it comes to the topic. And it has important consequences when it comes to the distribution of wealth in our country.

To improve these numbers, there are a few things financial institutions can do,

The banking world has to work harder to meet consumers where they are. What we’ve heard from our customers is they don’t have a lack of a desire to be smarter with money, they just haven’t found a solution that gives them really easy-to-use tools that can help with overall financial management.

Additionally, if you are a person who is not very financially savvy, you’re probably going to be lacking some confidence when it comes to taking action. Financial partners need to help consumers become more confident, through easy to understand and digestible insights and resources, to make changes and take risks that will help them in the long run. This is one of the foundational aspects of Porte, trying to help members learn more about the small daily decisions they make that impact their long-term financial health.

Lastly, it’s about building the relationship and establishing trust. There is a perception amongst consumers we have spoken to that they feel like a number, not an individual with goals, when it comes to many of the financial relationships they have experienced. Financial institutions have to bridge that gap to earn trust in order to deepen these relationships.

You are a “finance insider”. If you had to advise your adult child about 5 non intuitive things one should do to become more financially literate, what would you say? Can you please give a story or example for each.

These first two are pretty basic, but absolutely fundamental. First, cash is still king and you need to have liquidity. If you are not net positive every month, you can get yourself into trouble when unexpected things happen. When I was getting my financial life together, I paid for everything with my debit card directly from my bank account or cash. Once you get a good handle on only spending cash and you can maintain being net positive, you can start thinking about saving, investing and building your credit.

Building off the last, stay away from credit cards until you can really manage them. I was amazed when I started getting credit card offers in college. I had zero income and these companies were willing to give me credit. I held off for a while, but when I started waiting tables I thought I could handle it. It quickly got out of hand and looking back, it was a very small amount of debt, a few thousand dollars, but it took me years to rebuild my credit and forced my hand in certain decisions for years as well.

Find the process or tool that works for you and stick with it. Just like we learn differently, we make good habits differently. In speaking with customers, it always amazes me how many different practices people have to manage their money. If your basic budget is not broken, move on to the next opportunity like saving more or paying down debt.

Every little bit of effort helps. Any time you dedicate to staying on top of your finances and learning more to create a plan is time well spent. And the little wins count! A couple times a year I sit down and evaluate all my bills and accounts to see if I can get a better deal elsewhere. Just going through the process forces you to prioritize your needs and I always feel more confident when I get a better deal or eliminate unnecessary expenses. That confidence fuels my desire to keep doing more.

Don’t try to do it alone and don’t ignore it. There are so many people who have had to figure these things out on their own, or people who are trained to help. Many of those people, like myself, have worked to create solutions that can be leveraged by others, so financial tools are a great option as well.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

First, I have been fortunate to work with many supportive and transparent people. It’s a cycle that has repeated over the years; I’ve had leaders put me in positions to stretch me, I have done well, and I have been recognized. This cycle endures within our organization and my team.

As for a specific person, that for me was my grandfather, whom I think of as the original feminist in my life. When I was about nine years old, he told me that by the time I was grown the country would be ready to elect a female president. I remember the exact moment and the way it rocked my world. I completely internalized that one statement over the course of my life and career. He planted the seed and continued to water it by paying me for good report cards, lending me money to go to college, and sending me articles about women earning high ranking positions at major companies. The day I graduated with my MBA from SMU, he told me he wanted me to go to law school; always pushing. He had a zest for life, culture, and education that was unrivaled, and I don’t know who I would be without his influence.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Oprah said, “You can have it all. Just not all at once.” For me, it’s about prioritizing what’s important over the long haul and giving yourself some grace. I haven’t mastered this lesson, but it’s helped me think more about my health, both mental and physical, and take time to do things I love, like traveling, without feeling guilty for not checking my email.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I wish our world was more intellectually curious and open to celebrating our differences. If I could inspire a movement, it would be a massive foreign exchange program. The world is such an exciting and diverse place and to really understand others and be able to show empathy and kindness, one often has to experience that for themselves. When you stay inside your bubble and only challenge yourself to the confines of the internet and social media, the world can seem a much more threatening place. Instead of choosing fear, I would like to see people choose experiences that lead to greater education, empathy, and kindness.

Thank you for the time you spent on this interview. We wish you only continued success.