2 minutes
If payments were an athlete, he (or she) would be in hot pursuit of player of the year honors right now. On one hand, it’s almost impossible for financial institution teams to defend against payments’ slipping traditional revenue streams. On the other, it’s tough to strategize around payments’ ever-evolving role as disruptive market playmaker.
To help credit unions prepare for these payments challenges, CUES commissioned Decision Strategies International, Conshohocken, Pa., to identify the critical uncertainties on which success or failure will hinge and to lay out factors that will help CUs increase their odds of victory across a range of possible payments plays.
DSI began its work by interviewing a variety of experts. Then, based on these findings, researchers developed two scenarios, one a highly optimistic view for credit unions and the other a more challenging situation in which CUs face great adversity. The idea is not to predict which will occur but to help identify ways to succeed no matter what actually happens.
Thanks to the generous support from CUES Supplier members CO-OP Financial Services, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and MasterCard, Purchase, N.Y., CUES will release this first-ever payments scenarios report soon. In the meantime, we’ve included a preview as part of this magazine’s own special payments report.
Find the scenario preview; then read why normally cautious credit unions are making the leap into mobile payments.
There’s so much to say about payments that we’ve actually “double teamed” it this month. In addition to the special report, our cover story focuses on card rewards and how these debit and credit loyalty programs must increasingly integrate with mobile.
Developing or expanding your credit union’s mobile presence? According to Steven Levin, VP/marketing for $525 million NIH Federal Credit Union, Rockville, Md., “[mobile is] a technology that has to be embraced, or you’re going to fall behind.” For best results, NIH FCU and the article’s other sources recommend a team approach to development, with representatives from marketing and operations, as well as IT, driving this newest delivery channel. Learn other best practices.
Mary Auestad Arnold
Editor and Publisher
