It goes without saying, the need for convenient and fast digital payments has never been greater. For credit unions, this means it’s time to get ahead of the curve. Despite the growing demand, the burning question remains: Where do we start?

On October 29th, Alacriti co-hosted a webinar with Aite Group to share some crucial insights on faster payments and what they mean for credit unions. If your credit union is looking to transition to a 24x7 faster payments network, here are three key insights:

1. Consumer expectations are only getting higher.

It’s been a new normal for years now: faster, easier, on-the-go. These themes apply to every market, but credit unions have unique obstacles to overcome before they can fully meet member expectations. . The rapid growth of P2P transfer services demonstrates that frictionless, instant payments have real market value. Members expect to see that same speed and convenience at their credit union. 

2. There are valid concerns for CUs to consider while bringing their payments up to speed.

Despite the need for faster payments, there are good reasons why adoption among Credit Unions has so far been slow. Zelle has seen considerable demand among members, but other faster payment methods, such as RTPⓇ from The Clearing House, are still in the early stages of consumer awareness. There are also serious technological and operational overhauls required in order to satisfy the demands of a 24x7 real-time network. The barriers to entry are weighed against consumer demand; for the past few years, many have decided to wait and see. Picking the right technology provider is key to making these necessary steps as painless as possible.

3. The best way to start is by reaching out to your members.

The information gap is closing, and 2021 will be the year that we see a rapid uptick in outreach to the general public. Many will see their payroll provider advertise instant disbursements, or seek easy P2P transactions directly from their account. It’s prudent to reach out in the early stages and see what’s important to your members.  With this knowledge, you can make an informed decision on how to move forward.

Watch the webinar, Faster Payments: What it Means for Credit Unions, with Erika Baumann CTP, Sr. Analyst at Aite Group, and Mark Ranta CTP, Payments Practice Lead at Alacriti for more on this topic.