Welcome to Part 2 of our Complete Guide to Innovative Digital Payment Options. In Part 1, we provided a brief overview of the advanced technology that underpins digital payments and explained why they are increasingly crucial for credit unions. As we mentioned earlier, comprehending the fundamental aspects of this technology and its workings is essential to seamlessly integrate it into your credit union, thus benefiting both members and the institution.

The recent explosion in popularity of digital payments can be attributed to many things--from a younger and more tech-savvy generation of consumers becoming more financially stable to the rise of eCommerce and beyond. Regardless, 2/3rds of adults worldwide now make or receive digital payments regularly--a trend that shows no signs of slowing.

Each year, our lives become more and more digitally focused--to the point where most people spend the majority of their days interacting with some form of technology. Often, this happens in ways that would have seemed odd or even unthinkable in the past.

If you've ever opened the built-in "Wallet" app on your iPhone, you're no doubt at least passingly familiar with how convenient digital wallets can be. With a few taps of your finger, digital representations of all of your credit and debit cards are available and can be instantly used to make contactless purchases and other digital payments.

The credit union industry has always been committed to innovation. This idea is especially important in the fast-paced, tech-driven modern world that we're living in. In an effort to not only maintain growth but to accelerate it as much as possible, credit unions need to embrace new solutions like digital payments wherever possible.

As recently as a decade ago, the idea that we were headed towards a "cashless society" seemed laughable. Now, with more and more people making purchases online and with options such as contactless payments becoming the "new norm" for in-person experiences, we may be a lot closer to a cashless society than we think.

In the 16 years since the iPhone was introduced, the world has changed immeasurably. Not only has nearly every facet of our lives become highly digitized, but it's also all hyper-connected as well.

A critical thing to understand about modern-day credit union members is that they want more options, not fewer. If they want to be pigeonholed into a cold, personal experience with a narrow focus that technically meets their needs but not in any particularly satisfying way, they'll do business with one of the larger, national banks. Instead, they want more flexibility and versatility than ever and credit unions (CUs) need to rise to that challenge.

In many ways, credit unions in particular are faced with an invaluable opportunity to reassess their core processor needs and their larger digital efforts, doubling down on those areas and initiatives that will have the biggest positive impact on not only members but on the communities that they have become an invaluable part of.

These days, members are flocking to credit unions for a myriad of different reasons. Some want the convenience that credit unions are known for - they want to be able to utilize services where they want, when they want, no matter what. Others strive for the personal level of care and attention to detail that larger financial institutions just aren't capable of offering. Others still strive for both at the same time.