Credit Unions' Acquisitions of Banks and Thrifts

Most credit unions know that the payments landscape is changing. Fewer have a strategy for what to do about it. The following post explores the insights Fellow Dr. Henry Kim shared at this year's Filene's Inner Circle Symposium. Read on to explore the four pillars that will define payments leadership in the years ahead, and what questions to ask your team now to prepare.

AI agents are already choosing financial products for consumers, and most credit unions don't know they're not included in consideration. The infrastructure isn't coming; it's live. And the trust advantage credit unions spent decades building? It doesn't translate automatically. Here's what that means, and what to do about it.

This benchmarking research provides a data-driven view of how credit unions approach member growth. Based on responses from 105 participants across 92 organizations—primarily larger, growth-oriented institutions—it identifies where momentum is building, where gaps remain, and where future innovation should focus. Findings cover four areas: current strategies and future direction, digital delivery and product innovation, social media, and employee experience as a driver of next-generation growth.

What does it actually look like when a credit union gets fraud management right? FiLab ran independent pilots of two fintech solutions with real credit unions and one institution walked away with $875,000 in first-year savings, a 95% improvement in chargeback win rate, and dispute processing that went from 20 minutes to near-instant.