• About
        • About
          • Overview
          • What to Expect
          • Careers
          • Team
          • CANDO Culture
          • FAQ
        • Praxent Pricing Guide

          To give you an idea of what investment looks like we've created a guide with estimates by product type as well as set-priced starter engagements.

          Download Now
  • Industries
        • Industries
          • Fintech
          • Insurance
          • Lending
          • Wealth Management
          • Real Estate
          • Other
        • Praxent Pricing Guide

          To give you an idea of what investment looks like we've created a guide with estimates by product type as well as set-priced starter engagements.

          Download Now
  • Services
    • Design
      • User Experience Design
      • Customer Journey Mapping
      • Design Sprints
      • UX Audit
      • User Testing
      • User Research
    • Development
      • Custom Software Development
      • Application Modernization
      • Mobile App Development
      • Web App Development
      • Web Portal Development
      • Front End Development
      • Backend Development
      • Cloud Deployment
      • Implementations
      • Staff Augmentation
  • Case Studies
  • Insights
  • Schedule a Call
  • About
    • About
    • Overview
    • Careers
    • CANDO Culture
    • What to Expect
    • Team
    • FAQ
    • #
  • Industries
    • Industries
    • Fintech
    • Insurance
    • Lending
    • Wealth Management
    • Real Estate
    • Other
    • #
  • Services
    • Services
    • Design
      • User Experience Design
      • Customer Journey Mapping
      • Design Sprints
      • UX Audit
      • User Research
      • User Testing
    • Development
      • Custom Software Development
      • Application Modernization
      • Mobile App Development
      • Web App Development
      • Web Portal Development
      • Frontend Development
      • Backend Development
      • Cloud Deployment
      • Implementations
      • Staff Augmentation
    • #
  • Case Studies
  • Insights
  • Contact

Speak with an expert

(512) 553-6830
Close menu

Topics

  • Uncategorized
  • Development
  • Life at Praxent
  • Project Management
  • Strategy
  • UX & Design
  • Tech & Business News
  • Mobile
  • Product Management
  • Featured
  • Financial Services Innovators
  • Awards
  • UX Insights

Types

  • article Article
  • podcastpodcast
  • presspress
  • webinarwebinar
  • whitepaperwhitepaper

FSI Member Spotlight Episode #11: Carpe Diem for Credit Unions 

In a recent FSI Member Spotlight, Praxent Senior Director of Innovation, Lance Vaughn, sat down with author and fintech board advisor Mark Sievewright.  Mark brings a wealth of experience to the table, having served as President of Credit Union Solutions at Fiserv for over twelve years before founding Sievewright & Associates, which focuses on providing strategic support to credit unions.

Mark began his professional journey as a banker with HSBC over three decades ago, and fondly recounts being part of the world’s first debit card launch in the 1980’s before settling in with MasterCard for several years. Mark emigrated to the United States from Wales and took on progressive leadership roles where he found his passion for all things tech-related in the financial services world. Mark also recently penned Digital Life, a book that addresses the imperative for financial institutions to digitally transform. The author notes that, like for so many in the industry, COVID-19 rapidly accelerated the focus on innovation.

Looking ahead, Mark came to recognize that now is the time to seize the day for credit unions and is driven to support these financial institutions through this time of change. Mark notes several key challenges that hit credit unions over the course of the pandemic, including slow return on assets with loan loss provisions driving that lag on profitability, as well as interchange revenue on card transactions facing a downward trend.

All this together points to a clear strategy that effective leaders are doubling down on for the long term — deep focus on digital and electronic payments. Most customers prefer digital over in-person transactions, and it’s no coincidence that in terms of consumer satisfaction, banks are beating credit unions in satisfaction levels. Why? Mark is of the opinion that this is almost exclusively the result of the banking industry’s more enthusiastic embrace of digital solutions. Now is the time for credit unions to make bolder moves.

Lance takes the opportunity to ask Mark what his thoughts are on emerging technology’s impact on credit unions and the broader financial services landscape. Mark posits a big four, including artificial intelligence, analytics, biometrics, and somewhat linked to biometrics is the fourth — video banking. Here, Mark envisions ATMs becoming ITMs, or interactive video banking machines. This makes security ever more critical, of course, and Mark is excited about the initiatives around security currently under development in the credit union world, noting CULedger’s MemberPass as one example in identity services he’s keeping an eye on.

As credit union owned and controlled service organizations (or, CUSO), these types of organizations exist in different spaces ranging from member identification to loan origination to credit processing. CUSOs bring together pools of credit union members and technology budgets to scale up in ways that individual organizations would be incapable of doing alone. The biggest benefit to this collaborative effort, in Mark’s view, is that they are much more enabled to stay up to date with innovations in their industry. Fintechs can approach these CUSOs and offer embedded solutions within their ecosystem, or even go individually to member credit unions of that CUSO.

Mark recounts several successful fintech – credit union partnerships, as well as acknowledging the challenges that may stand in the way of credit unions adopting fintech solutions.  Limited resources and outdated legacy environments combined can pose significant challenges to digital transformation, and Mark is careful to point out that simply ‘buying’ technology is not enough to transform.

Only by aligning people, tech solutions, business processes, and data can a credit union truly succeed at innovation. When credit unions begin to look at fintechs not as the competition, but as collaborators — that’s when exciting advances occur in the industry Mark is so passionate about.

Key Takeaways

  • – Covid’s impact on credit unions re: slow return on assets, loan loss provisions driving that lag on profitability, as well as interchange revenue on card transactions facing a downward trend together point Mark to a clear strategy that effective CU leaders are doubling down on  — the long term focus on digital and electronic payments.
  • – Mark posits a big four in tech advancements making the most waves in the credit union ecosystem now and in the near future, including artificial intelligence, analytics, biometrics, and somewhat linked to biometrics is the fourth — video banking.
  • – Mark warns credit unions to get rid of ‘mullet banking’ — or, technological haircuts that make the front end look great while the back end remains in legacy mode. Instead, a full on digital transformation may be necessary. To do so effectively, begin with a strategic, data-driven analysis of your current systems and culture before moving forward to find a partner and accelerate your digital transformation.

Additional Resources

  • -Mark Sievewright, LinkedIn
  • -Sievewright & Associates | Strategic Insights, Trusted Advice | Business Management Consulting for Credit Unions

About FSI

FSI is an exclusive community for financial services executives and digital product leaders who are looking to deepen their understanding of relevant innovation and emerging trends. What you can expect to get as a member of FSI:

  • – Access to conversations and discussions with your peers.
  • – Exclusive content focused on helping grow your business.
  • – A forum to ask questions, share experiences, and learn from some of the top leaders in this field.

This group is not for promotion, and content of an overtly promotional nature will not be allowed. The community is professionally moderated.

Share your experience and find solutions for the greater good. Invite your friends & colleagues!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Featured

Praxent Introduces Accelerator App, Helping WealthTechs Speed Time to Market 

Praxent Introduces Accelerator App, Helping WealthTechs Speed Time to Market 

Fintech product agency launches starter app to help wealthtechs accelerate innovation. Praxent Introduces Accelerator … Read More

What the Kardashians can teach your FI about fintech partners to identify niche markets.

What the Kardashians can teach your FI about fintech partners to identify niche markets.

Read more

The 4 Reasons Software Modernizations Fail (and 12 Strategies for Success)

The 4 Reasons Software Modernizations Fail (and 12 Strategies for Success)

We share the strategies you’ll need to modernize your online customer experience so you can outperform your competitor...Read more

Many companies have built software applications that no longer meet customer expectations. We help financial services companies modernize those applications so they can remain relevant against born-digital competitors.

4330 Gaines Ranch Loop, Suite 230
Austin, TX 78735

(512) 553-6830

hello@praxent.com

DESIGN
  • UX Design
  • Design Sprints
  • User Research
  • User Testing
DEVELOP
  • Custom Software
  • Web Portals
  • App Modernization
  • Web Apps
  • Mobile Apps
ABOUT
  • Case Studies
  • Team
  • Culture
  • Careers
  • Insights
  • Contact

© 2023 Praxent
Privacy Terms Site Map