At the core of any effort to increase efficiency for your credit union is an inherently straightforward idea: you need to empower both your employees and your members to do more with less.

The past two years have seen strong credit union industry growth, which has been attributed to pent-up demand, in what has been called a rebounding economy. NCUA reported loan growth of 14.7 percent, membership growth of 8.1 percent, and net worth increasing at 13.9 percent in Q1 2021. This was met by digital transformation initiatives across many credit unions in an effort to meet member expectations in a transitioning consumer economy. Changes in card technologies, enhancements to digital wallet capabilities, and an evolving payments landscape have driven focus and investment over this time and heading into 2023.

A credit union core processor refers to all the back-end IT systems that help to not only allow a credit union to function but also continuously process all the financial activity within that environment as well. To put it another way, it is the heart of the entire credit union and is an asset of fundamental importance.

A recent study indicated that in the first half of 2022, total income for federally insured credit unions reached an enormous $18 billion. While the sector has certainly experienced its ups and downs as a result of major shifts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it can also be said that credit unions are becoming a top choice for consumers over traditional financial institutions with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

One of the biggest factors that can affect a credit union’s bottom line is how they use their core system technologies. An efficient core data processing system can help expand member services and attract new members while keeping the underlying costs of running the CU low. Credit unions that use a large number of vendors and third-party technologies often pay too much for technology and have less user-friendly platforms.

The new year is a good time to reflect, and 2020 certainly gave us a lot to think about. The pandemic brought unforeseen changes to the world, especially in regards to consumer habits. As people sought to avoid most in-person transactions, many industries were forced to make major adjustments to how they operate. The financial world was no exception.

You did it. With hard work and determination, you narrowed down your list of potential new credit union core providers to just two, and you made your final decision. But now what? How do you take the final steps necessary to finish the process and make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible?

Choosing to switch your credit union core software provider is a huge decision. After all, credit union core technology is one of the most critical components to any successful credit union and making the wrong decision could hurt your business for years to come. Another big decision comes when you’ve narrowed down your list to just two core providers, and you must choose which vendor to partner with.

Because your credit union core system is vital to the functionality of your credit union as a whole, it's important to partner with the right core solution provider who can deliver the technology and services that best suit the needs of your credit union. Of course, finding the perfect credit union core system involves time and effort, but if you follow the right steps, you’ll be on your way towards a better partnership in no time.

Having the right core processing system is one of the most important components of running an efficient credit union. However, sometimes it feels like technology is evolving at such a rapid pace that it’s hard to keep up. Also, the task of changing core processing systems can be complicated and time-consuming. These are just a few reasons many credit unions continue to use outdated core systems.