Stearns Bank Partners with Zogo Finance to Offer All-Age Financial Education & Fun Learning Tools through Zogo’s Mobile App

St. Cloud, Minn. (July 8, 2021) - Stearns Bank N.A., a Minnesota-based financial institution, teams up with Zogo Finance (“Zogo”), the financial technology company committed to empowering the next generation of financial decision makers, to announce Stearns Bank will be offering Zogo’s to further their shared mission to boost financial literacy and promote financial wellbeing by increasing access to all-ages with a wide range of financial education modules, including fun bite-sized “gamified” learning tools.

By teaming with Stearns Bank, Zogo continues to build strong momentum, underscoring the strong appetite for Zogo’s offering, particularly in the wake of an economic shock that has exposed the grave need for financial resilience and preparedness. Now a trusted partner to financial institutions in all 50 states, Zogo offers bite-size learning modules that seek to make financial literacy education fun, simple and social. Its app-based solution helps young adults to enhance their understanding of key financial concepts while simultaneously enabling banks and credit unions to better engage their fastest-growing customer segment.

As one of Zogo’s newest partners, Stearns Bank N.A. is uniquely positioned with its more than 35,000 business customers nationwide having mobile access to Stearns Bank’s mobile deposit services, equipment finance and small business loan programs. Stearns Bank will offer through its Stearns Bank app and mobile banking platform, also known as StearnsConnect, more than 300 co-branded financial literacy modules released by Zogo that explore key concepts such as saving for retirement, using credit responsibly, creating a budget, and more. This engaging educational content, approved by financial professionals, was developed by Zogo’s Gen Z and millennial team members to reflect younger generations’ predilection for technology-aided microlearning. As users progress through each module, designed to take around two minutes each, they also accrue points that can be redeemed for gift cards from major retailers such as Amazon or Starbucks.

“Stearns Bank is driven by a passion for helping others achieve their greatest ambitions, and we believe that financial education is foundational to this core mission,” said Kelly Skalicky, president and CEO of Stearns Bank N.A. “Through this partnership with Zogo, we look forward to helping our valued customers acquire the money management skills they need to reach their personal and financial goals. We’re confident that Zogo’s rewarding, gamified approach to financial literacy will prove appealing and valuable to individuals of all ages.”

Josh Hofer, Stearns Bank’s chief risk and information security officer, added: “We were particularly impressed by the maturity of Zogo’s solution and the ease with which it integrates into our electronic banking platform. As a forward-looking financial institution, we are always on the lookout for robust tools that will enable us to better serve our customers and help them thrive, and Zogo’s modern and accessible approach is particularly compelling.”

Bolun Li, founder and CEO of Zogo, commented: “We’re on a mission to promote financial wellbeing, and are thrilled that so many financial institutions have taken up the charge alongside us. Banks and credit unions are uniquely positioned to assume a leadership role when it comes to boosting financial literacy in their communities, deepening their relationships with customers in the process.”

For more information on StearnsConnect, visit StearnsBank.com.

About Stearns Bank

Minnesota-based Stearns Bank National Association is a $2.2 billion, independently-owned financial institution with locations in Minnesota, Florida and Arizona, and over 35,000 small business customers nationwide, in every state across the U.S. Recognized as having a bullet-proof balance sheet with 20% capital and earning top rankings as one of the nation’s highest-performing banks by American Banker, and most recently ranked ninth in the U.S. among banks having more than $1 billion in assets by Independent Banker’s May 2021 Best of the Best ranking of banks with the highest 3-year average Return on Assets, Stearns Bank specializes in nationwide commercial construction lending, USDA and SBA lending, and small business and equipment financing. Driven by a passion to help others achieve their greatest ambitions, Stearns Bank mission is to Get the Job Done! For more information, visit StearnsBank.com.

About Zogo

Based in Durham, N.C., and created by young adults for young adults, financial technology company Zogo is on a mission to promote financial wellbeing. Backed by scientific research, its award-winning app offers bite-size modules and tangible incentives to make financial literacy education accessible, fun, and rewarding. The company partners with financial institutions in all 50 U.S. states to help them educate, engage and empower the next generation of financial decision makers. Key Zogo investors and advisors include seed accelerator Techstars, a former Sageworks CEO, and various Duke University faculty. To learn more, visit zogofinance.com or follow us on Instagram @zogofinance.

Media Contact

Rory Bidinger
Roryb@stearnsbank.com