Youth Banking, Payments, and Knowing Your Market: A Conversation with CU*Answers CEO Geoff Johnson

Bankjoy and CU*Answers are investing together in Sequoia's Circle, a new entity building a youth banking app for credit unions. Bankjoy CEO and co-founder Mike Duncan sat down with Geoff Johnson, CEO of CU*Answers, to talk about the partnership, the innovations credit unions should be watching, and how to compete without chasing every trend.

Mike: Why is youth banking a priority for CU*Answers right now?

Geoff: It grew naturally out of our relationship as we got to know the Bankjoy team and saw the heart and passion they bring as builders. Youth banking is huge on the radar screen. When we look across the credit union ecosystem, we don't see it existing today unless it's bank-owned or owned by another entity. Bringing a deliverable like this into our network is huge, not only for our 400 credit unions but, through the partnership, for the rest of the marketplace.

Mike: We're excited to get it launched and bring it to more families, starting with CU*Answers clients and going beyond. The more families we reach, the more we uplift our communities.

Mike: Beyond youth banking, what innovations should credit unions have on their radar?

Geoff: Payments are evolving as fast as anything in the market today. RTP, FedNow, P2P, ACH, and even agentic purchases on cards and EFTs are all taking off.

APIs and AI have changed the landscape too. Everybody can be a builder or a doer now, which looks very different from five years ago. But you have to keep a balance with policy, procedure, and process. Find the experts when you need them, do it yourself when it makes sense, and learn and grow together.

Mike: With neobanks and fintechs competing hard, how can credit unions not just survive but thrive?

Geoff: Know your marketplace and know where you're going to invest. There are a thousand fintech things you could invest in today. What makes the most sense for your membership, your field of membership, or the business you're going after?

I like to tease that you don't have to keep up with the Joneses on everything. Be spot on in your own market, then understand how to double down and keep reinvesting. Do your due diligence, stay curious, and talk to expert providers about what they can bring to the table.

Mike: Too often credit unions are playing catch-up, checking boxes to look competitive, instead of digging into their mission, how they differentiate, and what unique value they bring to the community they serve.

Mike: What's new at CU*Answers?

Geoff: People sometimes think of a core as closed. Today we have more than 800 third-party integrations, and our API catalog is growing fast. That's what made connecting Bankjoy's online banking to the core so simple.

We also have 18 AI projects underway. A big part of that work is understanding how to build, contain, and manage AI within NCUA rules and the state-level regulations that are emerging.

The initiative I'm most excited about is moving into the EFT marketplace as a servicing platform. We now have debit and credit card processing relationships with Visa and Mastercard, and starting next year we'll begin boarding credit unions in our network so they can work directly with Visa and Mastercard. When our board weighs new initiatives, we ask whether they're access-disruptive, price-disruptive, or both. This one checks every box.

Mike: CU*Answers has to be one of the most progressive cores out there. Many legacy cores aren't building the way you are. Our teams have loved how collaborative the API integration work has been, and we're looking forward to what's next.

Learn more

See how Bankjoy integrates with CBX, contact our team to talk about digital and youth banking for your credit union.

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