To start at the end, the data and my reflections point to a simple truth: the future of the credit union movement depends on its ability to modernize with urgency and clarity.
The groundwork is there:
- Strong culture
- Strong purpose
- Deep community trust
- A desire to evolve
But desire must become operational discipline.
Credit unions are sitting on under-leveraged assets. Members are enthusiastic, leaders are open to change, and employees are connected to the mission. I do worry that leaders may be underestimating the speed at which modernization must occur. My optimism lies in the fact that late adopters can still leapfrog and the hunger for innovation within leadership is strong.
What this research ultimately reveals is not a lack of interest or intent, but a narrowing window. The technology, products, cultures, and strategies built for yesterday’s member will not fail all at once. They will quietly lose relevance, one disengaged member, or employee, at a time. Modernization is no longer a multiyear horizon; it is a near‑term imperative.
The institutions willing to make bold, accelerated changes now will define the next generation of member growth.
1. Current State & Future Strategies
This benchmarking survey captures a movement in transition. The data reveals momentum, aspiration, and pockets of real innovation. It also reveals hesitation, overconfidence, and a risk that the industry will mistake activity for progress. From my perspective, this survey shows a field that knows what the future requires but hasn’t yet aligned its strategic priorities, budgets, or internal structures to meet that future.
The average member age across respondents is 47 years old. This number has barely moved in a decade, and it continues to signal risk on two levels:
- Sustainability Risk: Without growth among under-40 consumers, long-term viability erodes.
- Reputational Risk: If a credit union becomes perceived as being “for older people,” it becomes harder to bring in younger audiences. (As an out-of-industry example, think about how difficult it would be to sell Estee Lauder makeup or Dockers pants to a 20-year-old).
Reputation is an ecosystem, not a campaign. If your technology feels outdated, your brand feels outdated. Brand perception and digital capability are inseparable now.
Nearly half of respondents report that their younger target markets are more racially and ethnically diverse than their older membership. Yet only a fraction believe their organizations understand how to serve these groups. The future member is not just younger; they are more diverse in culture, identity, and financial background. Product relevance, marketing messages, and staff training must all shift accordingly.
Survey respondents identify digital banking experience, customer service, and fees as the three most common complaints among younger members. This reflects what I hear in interviews:
- Younger consumers don’t compare credit unions to each other; they compare them to Delta, Airbnb, Venmo, and Amazon.
- They expect frictionless, fast, and intuitive experiences.
- Small perks like a travel reward or instant card issuance carry outsized value.
When asked whether they feel optimistic about attracting younger members, respondents overwhelmingly said yes. I say this as someone who has come to really admire the credit union industry: This confidence does not align with reality.
Too many young members “stay on the books” but silently disengage. They leave a dormant $5 or $10 in an account while conducting all meaningful financial activity elsewhere. That is not loyalty. It is quiet churn. I worry that strong reported confidence may mask underlying decay. If leaders believe awareness and engagement are fine, they are less likely to recognize the urgency of change.
Half of respondents say that attracting and retaining younger members is a core strategic priority. Those in the other half say the goal is merely tangential. This split doesn’t surprise me, but it does concern me.
Many credit unions assume that because their strategic plan references “growth”, younger members are implicitly included. In my view, that assumption can create complacency. When younger member growth is not explicitly named, organizations often take their foot off the gas. Modernization is postponed, technological investment is delayed, and demographic change is not met with the urgency it requires.
Crucially: When we talk about attracting younger members, we are also talking about AI, fraud protection, core modernization, digital literacy, operational speed, and relevance. These upgrades benefit everyone, not just Gen Z. The best organizations seek to understand the strengths of a new generation and then leverage those strengths to the benefit everyone.
If appealing to younger members is optional, modernization becomes optional. And modernization is not optional.
The survey shows a strong focus on Gen Z (53%) and Millennials (43%), with less attention paid to Gen Alpha—intentionally targeted by only 17% of credit unions.
This is the right balance. Teenagers are not independent financial decision-makers. The path to Gen Alpha right now typically runs through their Millennial parents. The survey results reassure me that credit unions generally understand where the real decision-making power sits today:
- Millennials and Gen Z are in peak life stages for financial decision-making.
- They are the most open to switching institutions.
- Increasing their product depth is still possible—and profitable.
This alignment suggests that credit unions do know their audiences. The challenge now is operationalizing that knowledge.
Awareness and acquisition rank highest as lifecycle priorities and I think it’s great that credit union leaders recognize this as the top priority. However, from my conversations, I would push this further: awareness is the bottleneck. Young people don’t avoid credit unions, many of them simply have never heard of credit unions.
Before a credit union can retain young members, it must become visible to them. Before it can become visible, it must become relevant. Therefore, the shift must be twofold. Provide an experience that is relevant for your consumers and make them aware of what you have to offer.
2. Digital Delivery & Differentiated Products
If reputation is built through experience, then products and digital delivery are where that reputation is tested. Younger consumers rarely separate technology from brand and therefore outdated systems feel like outdated thinking.
Most respondents cite major investments in mobile and online banking, yet far fewer are modernizing the core. Many are instead “modernizing around the core,” a strategy that may work in the near term but creates long-term constraints. This doesn’t just impact the ability to attract Gen Z; this can create hurdles for generations to come because the incremental steps inhibit the ability to create technology that can easily adapt to the ever-changing landscape of AI.
In the era of generative AI, technology implemented even last year may already be outdated. The pace of change is moving so quickly that late adopters may actually benefit by skipping the expensive, incremental steps early adopters had to take.
This is one of my most optimistic conclusions:
Slow adopters may now be positioned to leapfrog. While core processes are one area, web design, app design, and chatbots are all areas ripe for leapfrogging potential. But only if credit unions act boldly, not cautiously.
On the products side, most credit unions believe they are meeting the product and service needs of people under 40 “moderately well.” Checking accounts, digital banking, and auto loans emerge as the most effective entry points for younger members, while more traditional offerings struggle to feel as relevant at earlier life stages. In other words, younger consumers are entering the relationship, but many credit unions struggle to deepen it in ways that feel truly differentiated or indispensable.
What stands out most to me is not a lack of products, but a lack of product meaning. Nearly every credit union offers the same foundational accounts, but lack the intuitive, seamless digital experiences that the Amazons of the world have trained people to expect. The survey reinforces this gap, pointing to growing pressure for more integrated digital tools, youth‑ and family‑oriented features, and partnerships that extend relevance beyond basic transactions.
The risk is not that credit unions don’t have enough products; it’s that their products fail to signal modernity, momentum, and personal relevance to a generation that equates ease with trust.
3. The Critical Role of Social Media
Social media is where relevance is continuously renegotiated. For younger consumers, these platforms are cultural filters. What shows up on social media, who an organization is for, what it understands, and whether it belongs in the conversation at all. This makes social media one of the most visible and unforgiving tests of brand relevance for credit unions.
Credit unions are active across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and increasingly TikTok, but most content is informational and only half of respondents tailor content by platform. The biggest challenges reported are:
- Reaching the right audience
- Keeping up with algorithms
- Measuring ROI
To me, the deeper issue is creative confidence. Credit unions must learn to tell culturally fluent, emotionally resonant stories in short, compelling formats.
This gap has been one of the early focuses of our Next Generation of Member Growth, and we have resources to help you shape high-level social media strategy, understand what financial content is resonating best, explore the impacts of credit union influencer marketing campaigns, and even guide your own influencer campaign with our playbook.
Your mission is inherently meaningful. But meaning must be communicated in the language of the platform.
4. Employee Experience
Younger employees are often the clearest mirror of whether an organization is built for the future. They are not just part of the workforce. Younger employees are interpreters of culture. They shape brand relevance and digital fluency. They experience systems, culture, and leadership decisions firsthand and they are quick to notice misalignment. And yet, only 23% of credit unions say that attracting and retaining younger employees is a strategic priority, despite the advantages they provide.
This is a missed opportunity.
For credit unions aiming to serve the next generation of members, how they attract, support, and retain younger talent matters more than many realize.
The survey suggests that while culture and purpose are major strengths, credit unions must invest in career pathing, flexibility, and modern tools to remain competitive. This aligns with what the data shows: younger employees stay for purpose, community, and feeling valued, but leave for flexibility, advancement, and compensation.
Member strategy and employee strategy are deeply intertwined. Forward-looking institutions will address both.
Survey Methods and Respondents
This research is based on a September 2025 survey of credit union professionals sent to all U.S. credit unions. Respondents represent a seasoned and engaged segment of the movement. Nearly half hold executive or C-suite roles, and the average respondent has spent two decades in the credit union industry. Most respondents come from marketing, leadership, or HR roles, reinforcing that growth and culture remain top of mind.
In total, the survey included 33 questions focused on Next Generation strategies and captured responses from 105 participants across 88 credit unions and four industry organizations, with an average of 19.6 years of industry experience. Respondents included executive leadership (53%), vice presidents or directors (38%), and managers or associates (9%), spanning a wide range of age groups and perspectives.
The dataset skews toward larger institutions, with 63% of participating credit unions reporting more than $1 billion in assets, while 37% represent institutions under $1 billion. The majority of respondents (73%) report positive year-over-year asset growth from 2024 to 2025, reflecting a group of organizations that are actively growing and evolving.
