The following is an excerpt of a guest opinion originally published by the Credit Union Times.
Here in America, we experience the challenges of keeping up with new technology and the consumer demand for new products. Mobile banking and payments, data analytics and the migration of cards to EMV are three areas on which many stateside credit unions are focused today. Globally, and in Asian countries specifically, some credit unions are working simply to digitize. Still others are working to get online. These credit unions struggle even more as they confront a multitude of challenges ranging from a lack of governance to high delinquency. Assisting these cooperatives in their journey is a call many of us in the U.S. movement have begun to feel.
As in the U.S., collaboration will be instrumental to meeting the growing consumer demand for the kinds of technological advancements that will make the financial lives of global credit union members easier. Partnership opportunities to leverage existing tools and capacity are abundant and must be explored – even across borders. Study-abroad opportunities, travel and education grants and strategic product planning assistance can go a long way to further the global movement.
Of course, network connectivity will be hugely important as credit unions in other parts of the world look to join forces. Without it, great ideas like those that emerged during my recent meeting with leaders of the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions in Bangkok, such as Gen Y-focused social media engagement or licensed data processing solutions, can’t get off the ground. In the U.S., with our mature financial system, it can be hard to envision what it’s like to build a credit union from scratch in parts of the world where the movement is newborn or hasn’t yet even started. That’s why it’s so important to make the proactive decision to expose ourselves to these emerging markets, intentionally and with purpose.