2022 is the year for credit unions to personalize or perish
It’s no secret that the financial industry is evolving. In order to stay relevant, credit unions need to focus on delivering a personalized experience for their members. Lee Allen, the Director of Strum Platform, and I spoke about the need for credit union to unfreeze their brands, using personalization as a cornerstone, in a recent webinar.
Why? Have you ever heard the term “Evolve or Die?”
Credit unions have fallen behind banks for three straight years in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) study. How consumers define “excellent service” has evolved from the long-time credit union strength – the in-person, friendly face – to preferences for those attributes plus a strong online presence and mobile app that offers a great experience…anytime, anywhere.
But traditional banks are not the biggest threat to credit unions on this front. According to MANTL 2021 Banking Impact Report, in the next 12 months 47% of consumers are likely to open an account at a neobank compared to 44% of consumers planning to an account at a community bank or credit union. In 2021, three of the top 10 mobile banking apps by most downloads weren’t traditional banks at all. The top was Chime, and the other two were Albert and Varo.