Episode 134: Busting Credit Union Myths

This week, our hosts, Igor and Dumitru, are taking a different approach to expanding their knowledge when it comes to finance. As we’ve had the pleasure of hosting global experts in the world of finance and fintech, it felt like the right time to look at how things work for funnel-end users.

Amber Harsin, Vice President of Credit Unions at Mambu, sheds a light at how credit unions in the United States operate, who their main customers are, and what challenges they face on the regular. As an eye-opening experience, Harsin shows how while credit unions lag behind modern-day fintechs, they are bound to duplicate many of their strategies and technologies.

Credit unions are important but stuck in their old ways

Credit unions have proven themselves time and again to be vital, especially for underserved communities. While they provide financial lifelines to many, they’re hampered by the challenge of dealing with technologies now considered archaic.

API-first approaches might solve credit unions’ problems

Composable architectures allow credit unions to decouple systems, launch digital products in parallel, migrate members gradually, and regain control over product design, speed to market, and innovation.

Modernization shifts credit unions from operational survival to scalable growth

It’s becoming clearer every day that the sure-fire way to avoid tech debt, duplicated systems, and delayed innovation is (at least) similar to scalable products like BNPL. The goal must be better Gen Z engagement, and long term cost efficiency, allowing credit unions to evolve into fully digital, mission driven financial institutions.