Times of change

Credit unions have witnessed ever accelerating change in the last decade. New technologies, increasing numbers of competitors from every direction, and ever-rising consumer demand continue to challenge and reconfigure the financial services landscape. As difficult as change can be, it can also be exciting. It creates a dynamic environment of new opportunities, particularly for those credit unions endeavoring to advance their organization and member access through credit union service organizations, or CUSOs.

CUSOs offer vast and powerful advantages to credit unions everywhere, especially in communities known for their banking deserts. These are exciting times for members who have struggled with financial access and inclusion (or lack thereof) for decades, now having access to financially sound products and services that can reach them wherever they are. Here’s just a few examples of how CUSOs benefit credit unions and their members:

Increased revenue: One of the central advantages of CUSOs is helping credit unions gain more opportunities to serve members and even grow membership, both of which inspire income growth.
Cost savings: From outsourcing back-office operations to streamlining tedious tasks, CUSOs can help your credit union reduce costs and repurpose staff to higher-value functions.
Access to expertise: CUSOs deliver increased and specialized access to greater expertise and product focus.
Smoother operations: CUSOs help credit unions improve general operations, IT infrastructure and collections management.
Technology innovation: CUSOs allow credit unions to scale services quickly across geographical distances, without compromising the quality of service delivered to members or overburdening staff resources.

As a new CUSO chief executive officer myself, I believe the credit union movement is setting itself up for monumental achievements moving forward in this new era of digital transformation!