Mobile wallet poses seismic threat to credit union industry: Heed warnings or risk failure
by. Paul Fiore
Bill Gates said, “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction.” Technology tends to impact industry in ways we don’t expect, creating seismic events that often take down incumbent companies, while offering opportunity to others.
The Internet was unquestionably one of the most significant industrial seismic events we’ve witnessed in our lifetime. Despite the warning signs, millions of small business owners, recording artists, authors, reporters, and yes, even credit unions were completely ill prepared for how disruptive and even dismantling the Internet would be to day to day operations. Today its hard to imagine life before the Internet, but in 1995 I spent many hours trying to convince credit union executives that this new technology, the Internet, was going to not only gain popularity among consumers, but it would eventually cause a complete shift in the way credit unions and their members engaged.
As one of the earliest pioneers of digital banking, I witnessed firsthand how quickly the Internet redefined the entire banking landscape, challenging the fundamental methods in which credit unions developed and delivered services. Credit unions were forced to adapt and evolve in order to survive.
The credit union industry is once again on the cusp of a seismic event, driven by the inevitable adoption of mobile wallets. The advent of mobile payments/mobile wallets will once again shift and change the way your credit union conducts business and presents services to members. We live in an increasingly mobile society, and I believe the mobile wallet is the most important emerging technology facing credit unions today. The warning signs are evident, mobile isn’t a passing phase. Recent data demonstrates more consumers are accepting and adopting mobile wallets as a payment method.
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