Navigating a credit union's loan application process can often feel like an arduous obstacle course. The mountains of paperwork and tedious data entry involved can lead to errors and delays. However, there is a tech-driven solution on the rise: automated loan decisioning. By leveraging specially designed algorithms, this trend aims to digitize and simplify the loan application process, reducing paperwork for credit union employees and members, saving time, and minimizing the chances of human error.

When it comes to cross-selling, many financial institutions face a common issue: their efforts become overly complicated, leading to decreased member engagement. In this context, the age-old saying "keep it simple" holds true. If your credit union (CU) wants to implement an effective cross-selling strategy, it should focus on the following core areas:

According to a recent study, credit unions have a 60% to 70% chance of conversion when they concentrate on cross-selling to current members. However, when dealing with non-members or people without a pre-existing relationship, the chances drop to only 5% to 20%.

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.