Last week, the Bankjoy team had the opportunity to attend Corelation's 14th Annual Client Conference in San Diego, where we chatted with clients, prospects, and fellow vendors about challenges and opportunities facing credit unions today. The conversations that happened between sessions and during networking reaffirmed the key challenges we’ve been hearing from the industry lately: growth is a main priority, fraud prevention is increasingly difficult but of utmost importance, and getting through to younger generations is a focus moving forward.

Beyond the main stage: What credit unions really care about

The Manchester Grand Hyatt was filled with credit union professionals exploring Corelation's core processing system and surrounding technologies, but what really captured our attention were the consistent themes that emerged during candid conversations with credit union leaders.

Three key priorities dominated almost every discussion:

1. Growth strategies for modern credit unions

Nearly every conversation eventually circled back to growth: new member acquisition and deposit growth. Credit union executives are keenly aware that dormant accounts don't drive their institutions forward, and ensuring that they’re growing both member count and member value is top of mind.

Many CUs expressed the need to eliminate friction during that critical first impression and make account opening as simple as possible, all while remaining secure and protecting them from liability. The demand for streamlined, mobile-first account opening experiences has never been stronger. Credit union leaders we spoke with report that, while some members definitely do still visit the branch regularly, many prefer to do their banking from home, so ensuring they are able to open accounts digitally is key for attracting new account holders. 

Those we spoke with also noted that initial deposits are often low, and growing account value through increased member engagement is a priority. Most CUs are seeking innovative approaches to attract deposits while maintaining their community focus and personalizing each member’s experience online the way they do in person. CUs are focused on growing account values by leveraging tactics like enabling members to easily add a share account, uncovering cross-sell opportunities, and empowering members with better financial health tools. 

2. Fighting an evolving fraud landscape

The urgency around fraud prevention was a priority in nearly every conversation we had. Credit union leaders shared stories of increasingly sophisticated scams targeting both their institutions and members. Keeping up with the fraudsters has never been more important and is becoming much more cumbersome, if not impossible, to manage manually.

Credit unions are actively seeking solutions that balance robust security with minimal member friction, which is a challenging but necessary balance. Ensuring members are protected without causing them a headache during every transaction is a difficult balance to strike and credit unions are taking on the challenge head on by looking for innovative solutions to this growing concern. 

The most innovative CUs we spoke to are now able to identify and stop fraud in real time, rather than having to rely on batch processing data, in order to better secure client accounts.

3. Bridging the generational divide

Possibly the most interesting point of conversation was the strategic focus on attracting younger generations. Credit union executives we spoke to have noted that their existing membership is aging, and connecting with Millennials and Gen Z members has become critical to continuing to thrive.

These conversations revealed that credit unions understand they need more than just digital tools, they need fundamentally different approaches to financial products and services that align with younger generations' values and financial behaviors. They have also noted the desire to personalize member experiences to help build financial literacy in younger generations, which they called out in multiple conversations. This aligns with a recent Accenture report that highlights that 40% of banking customers say they lack basic financial knowledge and 88% of Gen Z and Millennials are eager to expand their financial knowledge. The same study also notes that 72% of customers say “personalization” affects their banking choices.

The solution to this problem is simple, but not easy: ensuring that you’re gathering enough of the right data about each member that you can tailor offers and messaging to their needs and goals. Uncovering budgeting needs, savings goals, and major life milestones can help you personalize each account holder’s experience and help them reach their financial goals whatever they may be.

Looking forward

Credit unions' continued focus on members' financial well-being remains their greatest differentiator, and transferring this from the in-branch to online experience is important to many of the CUs we spoke to.

Our conversations at this year's Corelation conference revealed credit unions are actively seeking innovation, excited to evolve, and committed to their foundational mission of people helping people, even as technology and member expectations rapidly change.

What growth, fraud prevention, or next-generation engagement challenges is your credit union facing? We’d love to chat about how we can help!