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The first meeting of the new Payment Systems Transformation Task Force, initiated through Synergent and your League, was held last week at the Credit Union Service Center, and covered a variety of topics including EMV, Apple Pay, Big Data and breaches. The task force, which consists of a dozen credit union representatives who have experience in payment services, or who are senior executives with a strong understanding of payments, will study trends and help Synergent develop a long-term, competitive and cost effective strategy for user credit unions.
"Today, credit unions have many competitive advantages; they have been recognized for their strong adoption of mobile services," said John Murphy, President of the Maine Credit Union League and Synergent. "Think about how mobile technology is changing the way members conduct their finances. This task force is one way that Synergent will continue to make sure credit unions are well positioned for the future."
As part of the process, Synergent engaged Aite, a prominent national consulting firm, to consult with its team on payment services offerings and to ensure they are proactively positioned to meet the future payment needs of credit unions it serves.
At the first meeting last week, Madeline Aufseeser, Senior Analyst for Aite, presented to the group. She explained payment systems is "now cool." The technology has evolved, and the Durbin Amendment has given credit unions new opportunities for their card programs. "Yes, we will have some regulatory challenges. However, the opportunities are being built around creating revenue for credit unions, competing in the marketplace, and bringing added value to members," explained Aufseeser.
Aufseeser said mining payments data to see how members are using their cards is key. "Credit unions will need to use data to analyze payment behaviors and segment members to drive different behavior. Your credit union will want to increase debit card usage and build relationships for more loyal members. Data is the asset to drive interchange income. Rewarding members for using your credit union's card is going to get bigger, and your card will need to be top in the mobile wallet," she said. "Keeping your card relevant to your members is important."
Bob Leger, CFO for Town & Country FCU, said this transformation of payments can be overwhelming. "It is important to have good partnerships during this time. Synergent has those partnerships; there's good collaboration with their vendor relationships. This due diligence and communication helps us sort through and execute on what is most important to be competitive."
Evergreen CU's Senior VP Tim Verreault added that the value of these discussions at the task force level will help credit unions determine the right product offerings to members, for it is challenging to devote resources, and at the same time, grow revenue and profitability.
Murphy explained that Synergent wants to help credit unions on multiple fronts. "It is a question of priorities and investments. Credit unions do not want to risk being left on the side of the road if they don't move forward on EMV and mobile wallet."
Rebekah Higgins, Vice President of Synergent's Payment Services, presented how Synergent is prepared to help credit unions with launching EMV and chip technology, along with tokenization and Apple Pay. Higgins said Synergent's role is to research and offer the new technologies and provide resources, such as support and staff and member education, to focus on emerging payment methods.
"Payments covers such a wide range of issues and services and is such a significant part of credit union operations. This Task Force will help to provide leadership in navigating all of the changes happening at a rapid pace," added Murphy.