Consumer technology is quickly evolving the needs and expectations of business members. To stay competitive, credit unions need to shift their perspective around who their greatest competition is. By benchmarking against the most digitally mature business banking solutions and other operations, credit unions can identify functionality gaps and evolve from basic offerings to sophisticated, always-available services that are intuitive and cohesive across mobile or desktop. This journey towards business banking digital maturity is not just about upgrading technology—it's about transforming how credit unions engage with their business members, empower their workforce, and scale their operations. Organizations that prioritize these investments are experiencing 10x greater revenue performance than their least mature peers¹.
Understanding business banking digital maturity
Alkami surveyed 150 digital decision-makers from banks and credit unions across the United States and found that business banking digital maturity is defined by how financial institutions leverage culture, strategy, and technology to drive results. Research revealed an institution’s ability to achieve the next level of digital maturity means focusing on user experience, investing in solutions for greater employee productivity, and leading with a strategic mindset.
According to Alkami's Business Banking Digital Maturity Model, there are four key cohorts that describe the levels of digital maturity among financial institutions: cautiously modernizing, optimistic believers, emerging pioneers, and tech titans. Understanding where your credit union falls among these cohorts can help your institution develop a strategy to advance your digital maturity with business banking.
Four cohorts of business banking digital maturity
- Cautiously modernizing: These institutions are often small banks or credit unions competing locally. They view technology as a challenge rather than an advantage and tend to invest less in digital solutions.
- Optimistic believers: Primarily composed of credit unions that believe they have competitive business banking solutions compared to other regional institutions. They excel in enhancing their business owners’ user experience. However, they should benchmark against larger institutions’ capabilities rather than their peers to inform their product roadmap and close competitive gaps.
- Emerging pioneers: This cohort includes larger banks focused on using digital banking solutions as a channel for account sales as well as enabling businesses with modern payment options and strong accounting integrations. They are on the path to maturity but could go further by unlocking their data.
- Tech titans: These are typically larger institutions that lead in digital experience by trusting data over intuition. They have mastered integrating digital and branch sales and are at the forefront of innovation.
The keys to achieving business banking digital maturity
Market research revealed three defining pillars of business banking digital maturity:
User experience
Top-performing financial institutions go beyond providing essential functionality such as digital account opening, sub user management, account integrations, and money movement tools. An effective digital banking platform masters the basics and eliminates points of friction for business members by making their experiences faster, easier, and more personal. The most digitally mature organizations prioritize seamless experiences that are tailored based on account holder data. Delivering intuitive navigation and eliminating process delays allows these financial institutions to attract and retain high-value business members by positioning themselves as a partner who understands their needs and offers competitive business banking solutions.
Employee productivity
The most digitally mature financial institutions recognize that an engaged, technologically empowered workforce is central to their success. Streamlining workflows through automation, third-party integrations, democratized data, and self-service tools enables employees to focus on higher-value tasks. This alignment fosters faster decision-making, reduces manual error, and boosts overall productivity. Moreover, with Generation Z entering the workforce en masse², institutions investing in market-leading tools that appeal to the tech-savvy nature of younger employees stand to benefit from enhanced performance and retention. Furthermore, these investments not only improve internal efficiency but also lead to better member-facing interactions, creating a virtuous cycle of productivity and satisfaction.
Mindset
Achieving business banking digital maturity isn’t simply about technology. It requires a culture shift. Financial institution leaders who encourage data-driven decision-making and an innovation-first mentality empower teams to act decisively on new opportunities, implementing change swiftly and effectively. Moreover, cultivating cross-departmental collaboration and promoting accountability ensures buy-in at all levels of the institution. Those who act with urgency, leveraging real-time insights and focusing on member needs emerge as market leaders, while those who hesitate risk being outpaced by their peers.
Leading with confidence to achieve business banking digital maturity
The journey to business banking digital maturity is not an overnight transformation. It’s about consistently enhancing the user experience and innovating for members and employees. Credit union leaders must foster an environment that embraces change, supports continuous innovation, and values data-driven decisions. Digital maturity is a long-term journey that requires commitment at every level—from frontline employees to executive leadership. How can credit unions take action and establish a growth strategy that positions themselves as the leading financial partner for business members?
Taking action: a strategic approach to business banking digital maturity
- Assess digital readiness: Begin by evaluating the current digital capabilities of your credit union. What services do you provide that meet the criteria for digital maturity? Where are the gaps?
- Set a vision for digital engagement: Define what digital success looks like for your business members. What level of service do they expect, and how can you exceed those expectations?
- Innovate at scale: When approaching new vendor relationships, find technology partners who understand your credit union’s goals and can help bring advanced capabilities into your digital offering; accelerating the pace of transformation and providing members with access to leading-edge technologies faster than developing solutions in-house.
Dive deeper into each cohort of business banking digital maturity by downloading the full report here.
¹Alkami, Business Banking Digital Maturity Model, 2024, https://www.alkami.com/resources/research/reports/business-banking-digital-maturity-model/.
²"What happens when Gen Zers outnumber boomers at work?" McKinsey & Company, February 13, 2024, https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/email/genz/2024/02/2024-02-13d.html.