Published By CUEvangelist – August 26, 2024

The survival of credit unions will depend on the movement’s ability to adapt and become their members’ primary financial institution or PFI.  This means that credit unions cannot just offer members a place to park their savings and checking accounts.  Instead, credit unions must adopt a holistic strategy by offering non-traditional services such as wealth management, mobile banking, and other digital solutions.

PFI status will not be achieved by only creating a one-stop shop, banking center for initial members and spouses who join, but technology based financial product offerings must be provided that appeal to their children, grandchildren, and future generations to come. This often means that credit unions must think out of the box!

Credit unions must partner with trusted fintech companies that have a vision of the future that meets the needs and wants of younger generations.  They must also leverage social media platforms to compete for the attention of young people in the financial services marketplace.  Gen Xs, Gen Zs, and Alphas are consistently on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to name a few. Therefore, the use of traditional media and forms of advertising are costly and are becoming outdated.

Young people want to bank via their smartphone devices.  They also consume visual content via reels and shorts as their attention span lasts for seconds only.  PFI status is not only based on the credit union’s horizontal reach, but it’s vertical reach as well.

Is it PFI or die?  Well, credit unions must answer that question. With future generations in mind, they can be poised to become primary financial institutions through the implementation of forward-thinking wealth management, digital transformation, and social media leveraged strategies.