Credit Matters Survey

St. Louis Community Credit Union Credit Study – RAND Corporation & Innovations for Poverty Action
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Informed Consent – Surveyor Copy
My name is _____. We’d like to ask for your participation in a research study led by RAND Corporation
and IPA, non-profit research organizations, in partnership with St. Louis Community Credit Union, and
sponsored by The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
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The research study is about credit markets and products. Your participation is valuable and will
help researchers design financial tools that can assist families in building healthier financial lives.
Your participation in the study is completely voluntary. You can refuse to participate, or refuse
to answer any specific questions, and you can stop at any point. Refusal or answers you give will
not affect your possible future relationship with the Credit Union.
We’ll ask you to take a survey now. The time commitment on your part to complete this survey
is about 15 minutes, including my explanation of the study right now. As a thank you for
participating we will provide you with a $5 gift card to Schnuck’s grocery store.
The survey questions include basic questions about your financial knowledge, your financial
history, and your views on savings, among other things.
At the end of the survey, we will talk to you about whether you are interested in a credit
building product offered by SLCCU. If you are interested in the product, the credit union may
require you to complete additional steps before opening the product. If you choose not to
participate in the study, you will not be required to complete these steps.
Your participation in the study also involves granting the research team permission to conduct
“soft pulls” of your credit report for up to four years. These soft pulls of your credit report do
not hurt your credit score.
Additionally, your participation in the study would involve granting the credit union permission
to supply the research team with periodic updates on your accounts for up to four years (for
example, transaction history and average balance information) and information regarding
whether you use phone financial counseling affiliated with the credit union, though the content
of that counseling would not be shared.
Finally, we will reach out to you in about twelve months to take another short survey over the
phone. You will receive a token of appreciation for taking this survey.
Your answers to the initial survey questions and information collected as part of the study will
be used only for the purposes of conducting the study and then destroyed. No individual
participants will be named in the study, nor will any information which directly links your
answers or information be made publicly available. Any identifying information you provide as
part of the survey or study will be kept private to the extent permitted by law and destroyed
after the study
On the back of your handout is information about the legal authorities allowing the CFPB to
sponsor this study, as well as contact information.

Do you (the respondent) consent to participate?

_____ Yes

_____ No

St. Louis Community Credit Union Credit Study – RAND Corporation & Innovations for Poverty Action
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Informed Consent – Respondent Copy (to keep)
We’d like to ask for your participation in a research study led by RAND Corporation and IPA, non-profit
research organizations, in partnership with St. Louis Community Credit Union, and sponsored by The
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
•
•

•

•

•

•

•
•

•

The research study is about credit markets and products. Your participation is valuable and will
help researchers design financial tools that can assist families in building healthier financial lives.
Your participation in the study is completely voluntary. You can refuse to participate, or refuse
to answer any specific questions, and you can stop at any point. Refusal or answers you give will
not affect your possible future relationship with the Credit Union.
We’ll ask you to take a survey now. The time commitment on your part to complete this survey
is about 15 minutes, including my explanation of the study right now. As a thank you for
participating we will provide you with a $5 gift card to Schnuck’s grocery store. The survey
questions include basic questions about your financial knowledge, your financial history, and
your views on savings, among other things.
At the end of the survey, we will talk to you about whether you are interested in a credit
building product offered by SLCCU. If you are interested in the product, the credit union may
require you to complete additional steps before opening the product. If you choose not to
participate in the study, you will not be required to complete these steps.
Your participation in the study also involves granting the research team permission to conduct
“soft pulls” of your credit report for up to four years. These soft pulls of your credit report do
not hurt your credit score.
Additionally, your participation in the study would involve granting the credit union permission
to supply the research team with periodic updates on your accounts for up to four years (for
example, transaction history and average balance information) and information regarding
whether you use a phone credit counseling service affiliated with the credit union, though the
content of that counseling would not be shared.
Finally, we will reach out to you in about twelve months to take another short survey over the
phone. You will receive a token of appreciation for taking this survey.
Your answers to the initial survey questions and information collected as part of the study will
be used only for the purposes of conducting the study and then destroyed. No individual
participants will be named in the study, nor will any information which directly links your
answers or information be made publicly available. Any identifying information you provide as
part of the survey or study will be kept private to the extent permitted by law and destroyed
after the study.
Below there is information about the legal authorities allowing the CFPB to sponsor this study,
as well as contact information.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the CFPB may not conduct or sponsor and, a
consumer is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control

St. Louis Community Credit Union Credit Study – RAND Corporation & Innovations for Poverty Action
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number (unless another law requires them to). The OMB control number for this collection is 31700044. It expires on 07/31/2017. In accordance with the Privacy Act, the law that allows CFPB to sponsor
this study and the data collection related to it is: Public Law 111-203, Title X, Sections 1013 and 1022,
codified at 12 U.S.C. 5493 and 5512. Information collected for this study will be treated in accordance
with the System of Records Notice (“SORN”), CFPB.021 – CFPB Consumer Education and Engagement
Records, 77 F.R. 60382, however the information will not be disclosed as outlined in the Routine Uses
for the SORN. Comments regarding this collection of information, including the estimated response
time, suggestions for improving the usefulness of the information, or suggestions for reducing the
burden to respond to this collection should be submitted to Bureau at the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (Attention: PRA Office), 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20552, or by email to
[email protected].
You can request additional information about the study or notify the research team that you would like
to withdraw from the study by contacting Anna Cash:
Anna Cash
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)
202 256 2857
[email protected]
You can discuss any problems related to the study by contacting the Principal Investigator, Kata Mihaly:
Kata Mihaly
RAND Corporation
703 413 1100 x5393
[email protected]
Any questions about your rights as research participants can be directed to:
Marilyn Yokota
RAND Corporation
703 413 1100 x6369
[email protected]
Any questions related to the estimated amount of time required to participate in the study, suggestions
on how to reduce the time burden, questions related to how information collected as part of this study,
or your privacy related to this study is protected can be directed to:
Sarah Bainton Kahn
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
202 435 7030
[email protected]
For more information about St. Louis Community Credit Union’s Privacy Policy,
please see the credit union website:

St. Louis Community Credit Union Credit Study – RAND Corporation & Innovations for Poverty Action
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https://www.stlouiscommunity.com/privacy-policy