JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – VyStar Credit Union says its new study pairing regional survey results with TransUnion data shows Jacksonville residents are under significant financial stress and carry more debt than the national average. The credit union is pitching community-wide solutions that go beyond traditional banking.
“So we had really four big takeaways from this. The first thing is that finances is a top stressor for people in Jacksonville,” Dana Karzan, chief marketing officer of VyStar Credit Union, said during an interview on This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition.
VyStar reported about 48 percent of survey respondents said they could not pay their bills on time, and 42 percent said they worried more about finances than a year earlier. TransUnion data, the credit union said, showed higher average debt and 30-day delinquency rates in Jacksonville compared with national figures.
Karzan said VyStar is responding with tools and programs aimed at small, manageable steps that add up over time. “When in doubt, reach out,” she said, urging people to verify suspicious calls and use VyStar resources.
As part of that effort, VyStar launched a Debt Payoff Challenge open to community members and members, offering tips, online tools and a random drawing in which five participants will receive $5,000 to put toward debt. VyStar also is expanding fraud-awareness education with webinars and in-person seminars, and says its community investments include volunteer hours and donations to local nonprofits.
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