Understanding the effectiveness of your digital marketing efforts is critical for credit union marketers. Recently, Origence, one of the leading providers of online loan and account application platforms, introduced a new way to track applications through Google Analytics 4 (GA4). 

This change impacts how you measure member engagement, application completions, and campaign success. From what we have gathered, this impacts applications from Origence's arcDX platform. Here’s what you need to know.

Why the Change?

In the past, Origence allowed the use of Google Tag Manager (GTM) to track loan application funnels in detail. However, for security reasons, Origence and many other providers have moved away from GTM access. Instead, Origence now directly integrates with GA4. This ensures a secure environment for both the platform and the credit union, while still providing the analytics you need—just delivered in a different way.

How it works

1. Provide your GA4 Measurement ID to Origence Support:
Origence will input your GA4 Measurement ID directly into their platform. Once that’s done, data from application events will start flowing into your GA4 property within 24-48 hours.

2. Events Origence Sends:
Origence currently sends three main event types to GA4:

• Submit OAO Application (Accounts): Indicates a new or existing member has submitted an account application.
• Submit OLA Application (Loans): Indicates a loan application has been submitted.
• Application.IDCreated: Indicates that a new or existing member has started an application

3. Drilling Down on Product-Level Insights:
While you no longer have GTM-level customization, Origence’s GA4 integration now provides useful event parameters. For loan applications, you may see:

• Loan Product Group: Broad categories such as Auto, Personal, or Credit Card.
• Loan Product Name: Specific product details (e.g., “Auto Loan Purchase,” “Personal Loan Debt Consolidation”).
• Loan Purpose (when applicable): More granular reasons for the loan (e.g., Home Improvement, Major Purchase).
  
  

4. For account applications, the data currently shows basic information (e.g., New Membership or Additional Account for Existing Member). Over time, this may expand to include more product details, such as checking, savings, money market, or certificates.This is still an improvement from what was available previously.

What This Means for Your Marketing

• Enhanced Accuracy: By eliminating the complexities of a GTM setup, the data you get from GA4 is more reliable.
• Deeper Insights: With product-level granularity for loans, you can understand which loan types drive the most applications.
• Data-Driven Campaign Optimization: Use these insights to refine your Google Ads and other marketing campaigns. By knowing which products are popular, you can target your messaging more effectively and allocate your budget more strategically.

Next Steps

If your credit union is using Origence and you want to tap into these new insights:

1. Confirm Your GA4 Integration: Make sure your GA4 Measurement ID is correctly implemented in the Origence admin settings.
2. Collaborate With Your Marketing Team or Agency: Submit a support ticket (if working with an agency or platform support team) to ensure they’re capturing, reporting, and interpreting these new data points correctly.
3. Refine Your Campaign Strategies: Leverage the richer data to tailor your marketing messages, improve targeting, and measure performance against your credit union’s goals.

Conclusion

The shift from GTM to direct GA4 integration with Origence may seem like a technical hurdle at first, but it ultimately provides a more secure and streamlined way to track applications.

By taking advantage of the new event parameters—especially on the loan side—you can gain sharper insights into your audience, improve your marketing effectiveness, and make data-driven decisions that benefit your credit union and its members.

If you need assistance setting up or interpreting these new metrics, don’t hesitate to reach out to your marketing support team.