CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 384 Starlight Is Now a CUSO Backed by One Washington Financial

I fancy myself something of a minor expert on Medicare and often have advised friends who are approaching 65 about their best options.  Until a man I know approached me and asked for my advice.  He added he was dually qualified for Medicare and Medicaid and he thought he probably qualified for food benefits, too.

Huh?  I had no idea what he was talking about and had to admit to him I was useless in this case.

Today I advised him to find a credit union he could join that also is a customer of Starlight, a fintech with a focus on unlocking some $100 billion in government benefits that are potentially available to credit unions.

Starlight was on the show a year ago. It’s on again today because it comes with big news: it’s now a CUSO and has won funding from One Washington Financial, a CUSO that is wholly owned by Washington State Employees Credit Union, the same credit union that  birthed Q Cash.

Scott Daukas, a principal at One Washington Financial is on the show to talk about the CUSO and, specifically, why it funded Starlight. He also briefly talks about Silvur, a portfolio company that also has been on the show.  

And Starlight CEO Shreenath Regunathan s back to talk about how it is helping automate the often bewildering process of applying for government benefits - a process made all the more bewildering by massive changes that several big programs (such as SNAP, the food stamps program) are undergoing as the year ends.

Starlight is deployed at over a dozen credit unions and it is busy signing up more credit unions because frankly the need is there.

Along the way, there’s a discussion about Prizeout, an innovative ad tech company that also has been a podcast guest.  In another episode a Prizeout consumer user sings its praises.  

There’s rich content in this episode. Listen up.