Today, credit union members and consumers have more ways than ever to pay for goods and services, including Buy Now Pay Later, automated clearing houses, mobile wallets, and peer-to-peer payments. At the same time, payment methods are getting smarter.

There was a time when on-demand (also referred to as "instant issue") cards were one of those "nice to have" benefits for credit union members. They were fast, convenient, and efficient - but they weren't necessarily a "must have" feature like mobile banking.

According to one recent study, the annual inflation rate in the United States grew to 9.1% by June 2022 - the highest rate since 1981. As a result, how people shop for things like credit cards is changing. This is especially true as not just inflation rises, but the prices of fuel and other essential items do as well.

Credit cards play a critical role in credit unions' consumer lending strategies, but many credit unions have hesitated to switch to in-house cards. This has mostly been due to the unique characteristics of credit cards and inadequate core systems. However, today's credit unions must rise to the challenge and implement an efficient card management system, which will ultimately benefit both their CU and its members. Throughout this article, we'll show you the top six key advantages of a core-integrated card payment solution.

Did you know that, according to 2021 fourth-quarter data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Americans have over $856 billion worth of credit card debt? The amount rose tremendously from the third quarter of 2021, increasing by $52 billion. It is the most significant quarterly increase the U.S. has seen within the past 22 years and the third and only spike since the start of 2020.

As a credit union, it's imperative that you offer merchant card services to local small businesses. Why? Because credit card payment processing is at the very core of small-scale companies, and of course, one of your credit union's goals should be to help them prosper.

Today, consumers have access to more ways than ever to pay for goods and services. Whether it's convenient Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), Cash App, Venmo, PayPal, or embedded payments—they all represent easier, frictionless payment methods for consumers. But that's not all they share in common: they all pale in comparison to the popularity of credit and debit card solutions.

In a not-so-distant past, digital payments revolutionized commerce. Today, however, commerce is poised to revolutionize the way money is moved. From manual and paper-based, payments are speeding toward automation, paperless, cloud-based solutions to simplify the buying and selling process.

The financial world has already seen and will continue to see more competition in 2022, especially in regard to payments. Between the influx in buy now, pay later (BNPL) payments, and consumers' desire for faster, easier transactions, it's safe to say that rivalry is at an all-time high.

The world of payments is on a fast-paced roller coaster to an all-digital destination. The already speeding locomotive received a jolt of energy via COVID-19, which further increased the demand for digital, online, contactless, frictionless, and speedier payments. While most generations show an interest in digital payments, it comes as no surprise that the largest push is being generated from the rear.