Due to the current macroeconomic challenges, many credit unions are being cautious about digital innovation.
PSCU President and CEO Chuck Fagan, NAFCU CEO Dan Berger, and Suncoast Credit Union SVP of Digital Strategy Jana Manley all told Karen Webster that the best strategy to enhancing technology — and hence member experiences — can be broken down to a single concept:
Don’t go for the gleaming squirrel.
According to research, 38% of CUs regard themselves as technological laggards, up from 29% last year. The increase is due in part to a reduction in technology funding, but it also reflects a rethinking of what innovation truly is.
But, as Berger pointed out, “it is up to each individual institution to choose if members desire these innovations or if it fits within the CU’s economic model.”
“There’s been a long, historic pattern in the business where innovation has come in the shape of new goods and new services,” Suncoast’s Manley explained, and in pursuing the shiny object (or squirrel, as Berger puts it) — the diversion that’s drawn attention, money, and time.
“You just bolt on a product — and if you build it, they will come,” she remarked, referring to a long-standing slogan. There had been little time spent investigating how the bolt-on affected the entire consumer experience.