5 Ways Credit Unions Can Transform Member Experience

Why Member Experience Is a Strategic Priority?

Ask any credit union what their most valuable asset is, and the answer will always be the same — their members. Yet, as member expectations evolve, many credit unions are struggling to keep up with digital-first competitors and tech-savvy banks.

A Gallup study revealed that 73 percent of credit union members who feel cared for are highly engaged, displaying strong emotional and psychological attachment to their credit union. However, the same research shows a worrying trend: since 2014, the engagement advantage credit unions held over banks has halved.

To reclaim their leadership position, credit unions must go beyond good intentions. They need focused, technology-enabled strategies that deliver seamless, personalized, and emotionally resonant member experiences.

The Member Engagement Gap

Traditional metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) or Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) tell only part of the story. A more telling indicator is the share of wallet — how much a member transacts and invests with your institution.

Credit unions typically enjoy longer member relationships than banks, averaging 15.7 years versus 13.8 years. However, longevity alone isn’t enough. Credit unions must become their members’ primary financial partner, addressing their unique needs through personalized services and data-driven engagement.

Challenges in Delivering Modern Member Experiences

Despite their community focus and member-first philosophy, credit unions face key obstacles that hinder transformation:

1. Limited Technology Investment: The top four U.S. banks collectively spend five times more on technology than the entire credit union industry.
2. Digital Talent Shortage: Smaller budgets restrict hiring and upskilling for digital transformation.
3. Siloed IT Strategies: Disconnected initiatives and lack of end-to-end integration often result in fragmented member experiences.

An Everest Group study highlights that fewer than 5 percent of credit unions currently offer a mobile banking app, emphasizing the urgent need for modernization.

The Path Forward: 5 Ways to Transform Member Experience

1. Map and Shape Your Members’ Journeys

To truly enhance experience, credit unions must understand the member journey end to end — from account opening to loan servicing and payments.

Start small, automate fast, and scale continuously. Identify specific high-impact processes and automate them for speed, accuracy, and consistency.

Pro Tip:
Adopt a business process automation platform that overlays your core banking systems to unify experiences across products and touchpoints.

2. Deliver Omnichannel and Cross-Channel Banking

Members should be able to start an interaction on one channel (say, mobile) and seamlessly continue it on another (like web or branch). True omnichannel banking delivers consistent experiences regardless of device or channel.

How to achieve it:

• Integrate digital and physical touchpoints using a unified process platform.
• Focus on high-impact channels such as mobile, web, and call centers.
• Eliminate disjointed transitions between channels to improve satisfaction.

Pro Tip:
Use a multi-experience platform that integrates mobile and social channels with process automation to ensure transparency and continuity.

3. Engage with Members in Their Context

Experience suffers when members must start over every time they interact. To retain a personal touch in digital interactions, contextual engagement is key.

Focus areas:

• Equip employees with complete visibility into member data and documents.
• Use intelligent automation to deliver real-time, personalized recommendations.
• Ensure all relevant content is available securely across devices and departments.

Pro Tip:
Choose a platform with enterprise content management (ECM) capabilities to ensure accuracy, compliance, and contextual continuity across member interactions.

4. Innovate and Improve Continuously

Transformation isn’t a one-time project. It’s an iterative journey where credit unions refine processes, eliminate complexity, and continuously enhance value.

Strategies for ongoing innovation:

• Simplify operations by unifying processes that deliver similar outcomes.
• Modularize business processes to allow quick updates without disrupting operations.
• Use analytics to identify friction points and optimize workflows.

Pro Tip:
Leverage a BPM-based automation platform to build a flexible architecture that supports continuous innovation and real-time adaptability.

5. Empower and Enable Your People

Your employees are your greatest asset in creating member delight. They know your members best and are full of insights for improving experience.

How to empower them:

• Involve front-line employees in process design and journey mapping.
• Automate repetitive tasks to free up time for meaningful engagement.
• Provide AI-driven decision support and low-code tools to encourage innovation.

Pro Tip:
Combine Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and low-code development to enable employees to build and refine processes quickly while reducing IT dependency.

The Three Pillars of Member-Centric Transformation

To build a truly member-first credit union, you need a strategy that unites:

1. Process Automation: Streamline workflows and eliminate bottlenecks.
2. Content Management: Ensure accurate, compliant, and contextual information.
3. Communication Management: Deliver consistent, personalized member communication.

Together, these pillars enable agility, compliance, and long-term member trust.

How Newgen Helps Credit Unions Transform?

Newgen Software empowers credit unions to deliver faster, more connected, and engaging member experiences through its unified low-code digital automation platform.

Core capabilities include:

• End-to-end automation across account opening, lending, and payments.
• Contextual content management for seamless compliance and collaboration.
• Omnichannel communication tools for personalized engagement.
• Cloud-ready, low-code framework for faster deployment and scalability.

Transform Key Credit Union Operations

• Account Opening: Simplify and digitize onboarding.
• Lending and Loan Origination: Automate workflows for speed and compliance.
• Payments: Enable real-time, secure transactions.
• Compliance and Reporting: Maintain transparency and regulatory readiness.

Building the Future of Member Experience

Delivering exceptional member experience requires both technology and empathy. Credit unions that combine automation with a deep understanding of member needs will build lasting loyalty and growth.

Newgen’s member experience solutions help credit unions move from manual, fragmented operations to intelligent, member-driven ecosystems that continuously evolve with member expectations.

Begin Your Transformation Journey

Empower your credit union to deliver faster, personalized, and connected experiences with Newgen’s low-code digital automation platform.