The power of plastic. It has advantages to both the members that swipe for purchases, and also for credit unions that issue and control processing in-house. Federal Reserve data released in 2014, found that 72 percent of consumers had at least one credit card.1  So, what’s the best option for your credit union when it comes time to deciding whether to outsource or process cards in-house?

There’s no doubt that Americans love credit cards. That same Federal Reserve data reports that the average credit card holder in 2012 had four: 2.4 general purpose cards, 0.2 charge cards and 1.5 branded cards (cards displaying a merchant’s logo).1 And when it comes to bank cards, Experian’s State of Credit 2013 report found that consumers had on average 2.19 bank credit cards (which do not include store cards). 2

For credit unions that do not have a strategic focus on card business, outsourcing may be the right option. However, there are certainly many benefits to running an in-house credit card program.

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