Today, credit union members have virtually unlimited choice in the financial services they use.
They can patch together solutions from any number of providers to meet their daily, personalized financial needs, and can access their money anytime, anywhere from their preferred devices. The pandemic accelerated this trend, enabling the explosive growth of digital financial services to meet consumers’ growing need for immediate, convenient, and remote access.
The result?
Primary Financial Relationships (PFRs) are splintering, with fintechs emerging as credit unions’ biggest threat. According to CO-OP’s recent consumer study in partnership with EY, 30% of respondents reported having their PFR with a Fintech firm, and 30% with a credit union.
CO-OP Financial Services has launched its solutions and technology roadmap for 2022, addressing the fast-changing consumer preferences for digital technologies that accelerated in the wake of the pandemic. The roadmap keys on the need for credit unions to develop active, primary financial relationships with members who are increasingly meeting their own needs with fragmented financial affiliations.
“Credit union members are more empowered than ever, curating their own suite of solutions from multiple providers to meet their everyday financial needs, directly from their devices,” said Bruce Dragt, Chief Product Officer for CO-OP. “The pandemic accelerated that comfort and scaled digital fintech usage across demographics and use cases at a speed we’ve never seen. Now is the time for credit unions to rethink their value proposition, leaning into the humanity of financial services while leveraging technology to meet members right where they are across the day-to-day moments that solidify primary financial relationships.”
CO-OP’s 2022 roadmap is based on the company’s comprehensive payments ecosystem for credit unions and their members. CO-OP has designed its roadmap around two pillars: 1) a modern, interoperable and efficient debit and credit payments experience; and 2) a full member lifestyle engagement experience.
“Payments – whether account transfers, bill pay, purchase transactions or person-to-person – offer critical daily touchpoints between members and credit unions,” said Dragt. “Payments experiences also figure prominently into members’ decisioning around the moment-to-moment financial needs that help them achieve lifelong financial ambitions.”
New Services in 2022 Include Fraud Management and Family Card Issuance Solutions
In 2022, the company will introduce services that include a new Fraud Management Solution, to help credit unions detect and mitigate fraud. This self-service solution will enable credit unions to view linked fraud cases and events; support the full lifecycle, from analysis to action, of compromised cards; and customize fraud risk tolerance levels based on pre-defined fraud strategies – all from a single solution.
Additional service introductions facilitating a modern payments experience will include enhancements to the CO-OP Developer Portal, featuring new software development kit (SDK) and drop-in user interface (UI) options; and an enhancement of CO-OP Insights Center to offer additional turnkey, centralized reporting capabilities.
Among the new products in 2022 to address members lifestyle needs include a Family Card Issuance Solution. This service allows credit or debit primary account holders to digitally issue cards on their existing account to family members. These cards feature controls and alerts that the account owner can put into place and manage – including spending limits, where to spend and when to spend – within the primary account holder’s online banking experience.
Additional member lifestyle services to be launched in 2022 include CO-OP Pay-Over-Time Transactions, expanded beyond credit to include debit; and Travel Alerts Enhancements, to intelligently detect travel and eliminate the need for credit unions to exempt cardholders from fraud rule sets, creating a seamless and safe cardholder experience.
Partnering with CO-OP
CO-OP is listening to what its credit union partners say they need to serve their members and grow in today’s new era of digital financial services. New threats like the pandemic, rapidly changing consumer expectations and rising competition means standing still is not an option. CO-OP believes that adopting the right technology can make a true difference in a credit union’s success—whether it’s the latest in digital and remote services, enhanced transparency and control, or personalized, behavioral-based rewards and payments options that are convenient, secure, and always accessible.
This is why CO-OP is committed to supporting credit unions with the integrated technology ecosystem that gives them the interconnection, convenience, and accessibility to grow overall membership, drive the Primary Financial Relationship and thrive in the payments landscape, both now and into the future.
Looking beyond 2022, Dragt says CO-OP will continue the development of the company’s integrated payments and fintech ecosystem for credit unions. “Alongside our credit union partners, we will continue to investigate the connection between human and digital engagement, all the while remaining focused on member financial wellness and the credit union mission of ‘people helping people,’ however it evolves.”
For a complete rundown on CO-OP’s 2022 roadmap visit Inside the Roadmap. You can also listen to a replay of our latest Quarterly Update where CO-OP’s Bruce Dragt and team walk through all of the latest products and enhancements.
The original article Making Member Connections That Matter With CO-OP’s 2022 Product Roadmap can be found on Insight Vault.
