The value of offering your credit union members credit cards has never and will never be in question. Credit cards have become a fundamental linchpin in consumer lending strategies for credit unions. However, not all credit card offerings and strategies are created equally. Specifically, the changing credit card industry makes selecting the best sourcing model more important than ever for credit unions.

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.

The financial sphere is a competitive space for attracting consumers and maintaining a steady influx of revenue. However, the process of cross-selling is a practical way to advance your credit union and offer the best, most personalized services to your members. Cross-selling is a sales technique that is truly one of the most profitable ways to retain credit union members and grow your credit union.

The current success of your credit union is directly related to your credit union's core technology. Few scenarios have made that clearer than the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, credit unions with the right core technology were able to quickly adjust, go digital, and deliver the solutions required to meet member needs.

Whether it's a credit union, community bank, or national bank, open banking has transformed how people perform financial transactions. Highlighted by innovative and integrated apps, open banking is made possible through application programming interfaces (APIs). In the most simple sense, an API is a software intermediary that allows two different applications—such as your credit union core processing system and a third-party app—to seamlessly communicate.

In the fast-paced world of banking, you can either change or get left behind. And far too often, credit unions have defaulted to the latter by failing to embrace the rapid pace of technological change. Instead, many credit unions have attempted to remain competitive by delivering world-class member service and valuable relationship-based banking.

In today's digital age, virtually all credit unions face one glaring concern: how to maintain the valuable face-to-face relationship-based banking that members have come to expect while offering the cutting-edge digital tools younger members demand. In addition to finding the right mix, the capital investment required to make this transition has often helped justify kicking the proverbial can down the road. That was until COVID-19 escalated digital transformation from a nice-to-have into a must-have. Fortunately, Eastern Utah Community Credit Union (EUCCU) already had the plans and groundwork in place to seamlessly make the transition. 

Digital transformation is no longer a buzzword that all the cool financial institutions are using. Instead, COVID-19 has escalated it from a nice-to-have, wishful thinking strategy into a must-have for credit unions to remain competitive. At the very heart of any effective digital transformation is a metamorphosis that transforms how your credit union interacts with members. In the act of doing so, it should modernize and simplify processes while generating efficiencies and improving KPIs, such as the credit union's efficiency ratio. While COVID-19 has escalated the importance of digital transformation, it has also highlighted key problems credit unions face.

The past 18 months have brought unexpected challenges to credit unions of all sizes. The severity of these challenges varies by credit union and some peer groups were more affected than others. Digital transformation became a real topic, instead of wishful thinking or “clickbait” for marketing companies. We quickly learned which credit unions were prepared for a digital transformation and those that were not.