I wrote an article about two new digital services provided by the most widely used bank in Finland, the OP coop. I also present an idea on how the bank could build lateral relationships through a pet insurance scheme described as the following:
“There are insurance plans in the US that ensure that if people get hospitalised, there is someone to take care of their pet. Could OP bank offer a similar insurance to its members, and have an online platform where other members could volunteer to look after the pets in exchange for compensation? For example, one member might take such an insurance, and when they are hospitalised for a week, another member would take care of their cat. Perhaps the member taking care of the cat could receive their compensation in a form of discounted insurance for themselves - making the system reciprocal, somewhat similar to time banking.”
I am looking for other examples of cool online services and platforms offered by big coops around the world and ideas for new services they could offer - especially ones that would build mutually beneficial member-to-member relationships.
Also, I will be standing in board elections of HOK Elanto coop (the largest retailer in Finland) in 2020 and OP coop elections in 2021. Would love to campaign pushing for ideas proposed by other people in the platform coop movement. I’m especially interested in ideas for building lateral, member-to-member relationships.
I quote an article by Nathan Schneider titled “Co-ops, from Lateral to Vertical and Back Again” I recommend everyone to read. In it Nathan writes "Co-ops of the near future could find themselves asking less what they can do for their members and more what their members—and potential members—can do for each other.” I would add that perhaps us in the platform & tech coop movement in the future should ask less what the big coops do to help us, and more what the we can do to help big coops.