Many Baby Boomers are transitioning into retirement where their portfolio is shifting from wealth-building to waning assets. About 50% of credit union members are now 53 or older, and even though they will continue to rely on credit unions for their wealth management, CUs are in need of new members who are in their prime growth stages. Millennials and even some Generation Z-ers are now the target audience for credit unions as they are beginning to buy houses, cars, and paying for (or paying off) college. Millennial’s older sibling, Generation X, comprise 31% of the CU demographic largely due to the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. They joined after becoming frustrated with big bank bailouts and stayed for personalized financial services. 10 years ago, Gen X fled to CUs, thus fulfilling their need for new, young members. However, Millennials and Gen Z will not be so easy to capture. Big banks have 10% more Millennial members than credit unions, and there’s one key way that CUs can win their business: digital self-service.

In addition to digital lending, another scalable technology has grown in popularity, especially in recent years. While credit unions both large and small were initially skeptical of automated decisioning, it is now being implemented at higher rates. The alternative to auto-decisioning, human review, was long-considered a more reliable form of decisioning by many credit unions. However, with increasing loan growth, credit unions have grown more comfortable with the idea of automation. The U.S lending portfolio has increased by 61.8% over the past five years, and last year, credit unions saw loan growth of 9.7%. Consumer loans are the fastest growing category, increasing 20.2% over the past year and 93.7% over the past five years. Due to this rapid growth in the consumer loan space, credit unions have been forced to reassess the efficiency of their lending process and many have taken the leap to adopt automated decisioning. For credit unions who are still on the fence, here are three factors to consider.

Providing exceptional member service is at the heart of every credit union’s values. However, with increasing competition in the banking world, good service alone will not be enough to keep members truly satisfied. So what is it that members are seeking now? Surprisingly enough, it’s not always lower rates. Savvy members are still interested in competitive pricing, but a member’s loyalty doesn’t lie with bargain banks either. What members want is customization. Taking an example from another industry, one of the first organizations to provide a unique and customized experience is a fast-casual restaurant many know and love: Chipotle.

After a year of triumphs and accomplishments, credit unions might be in for some new obstacles in 2019. Success often bodes controversy and that is expected to hold true for credit unions this year. While many institutions were able to grow their membership, loans, quality of assets and earnings, these successful steps forward might push lawmakers to enact limiting policies and regulations. Here are some hurdles credit unions can expect in 2019.

Last Summer, the reputation of banks fell for the first time in 5 years. After a series of data breaches in the banking industry, customers began to distrust larger financial institutions. As a result, people began to turn to credit unions, which they viewed more positively. The big point of differentiation between credit unions and other financial institutions is the culture of trust and member service. Credit unions tend to be more involved in their community, and are able to connect with members on a personal level. These are qualities that members have begun to value a lot more and credit unions anticipate more members in 2019 to join for these very reasons.

2018 was a prosperous year for credit unions across the United States, and FLEX credit unions were no exception. Over the course over the year, our clients have made tremendous efforts to implement resources and services that provide more value and improve member experience. Three credit unions really stood out, and we are excited to share their achievements and successes from the past year. Here are our “Credit Union All-Stars” from 2018.

For the past several years, the financial industry has claimed the P2P market was finally going to take off. While P2P payments have certainly continued to grow in popularity, they have not reached the heights that FIs anticipated. However, in the past year, P2P platforms have experienced immense growth, especially among big banks. Zelle launched back in September of 2017 and in 2018 they have made tremendous strides with larger FIs. Zelle is already working with 51 big banks and 200 more are under contract to launch in the coming months. However, with larger FIs under their belt, Zelle is also looking to win the hearts small and mid-sized credit unions.

In a recent “Winging It” podcast, Steph Curry doubted that NASA ever landed on the moon. This comment made in passing spread quickly, and the country was shocked by Curry’s disbelief. NASA spokesman, Allard Beutel, responded in a statement to the Golden State Warriors All-Star saying, “There’s lots of evidence NASA landed 12 American astronauts on the Moon from 1969 – 1972. We’d love for Mr. Curry to tour the lunar lab at our Johnson Space Center in Houston, perhaps the next time the Warriors are in town to play the Rockets." Since then, Curry has made a response of his own to clarify his original statement. It turns out he was joking on the episode of “Winging It” and didn’t expect his comment to cause so much controversy, although, he now has every intention of following through on NASA’s offer for a tour of the Johnson Space Center.

For the first time in seven months, the demand for homes is stabilizing. In October the sale of previously owned homes increased, which indicates that existing properties are becoming less scarce. While this bodes well for those in the buyer’s market, mortgage rates have yet to budge. More properties are available, yet the prices continue to rise. The mortgage rate is the highest it has been in eight years, and the Federal Reserve is expected to increase interest rates again in 2018 and into 2019. Although NAR Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, has urged the Fed to pause interest rates to avoid stunting growth in the housing market.