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By Ben Malena Founder & CMO AlgoPear
Credit unions have a legacy rooted in community trust, member-first values, and financial empowerment. But today, that legacy faces a defining moment.
Fintech innovation is outpacing traditional finance. Three rapidly growing segments — embedded investing, modern payments (both cross-border and real-time domestic), and cryptocurrency infrastructure — are transforming how people move, grow, and manage money. Combined, these sectors account for over $3 trillion in volume, market cap, and transaction flow.
And yet, most credit unions remain observers, not participants.
The reasons vary: concerns over compliance, limited internal expertise, and complex integrations with outdated core systems. But the impact is the same — members are increasingly going outside the credit union ecosystem for solutions they could be receiving in-house.
Embedded investing isn’t just a trend — it’s a shift in how consumers expect to build wealth.
Rather than opening separate brokerage accounts, users now want to invest directly through the apps and platforms where they already bank, shop, and pay. From buying fractional shares in a favorite company via Cash App, to contributing to automated ETFs inside Google Pay — the investing experience is being woven into everyday digital life.
Research from Juniper and Plaid projects that embedded wealth platforms will account for over $230 billion in AUM by 2026. What's driving this surge? Two major forces:
Credit unions, however, are lagging behind. Most offer no integrated investing option at all — or rely on clunky third-party portals that take members off-platform, removing both visibility and loyalty. This is not just a missed product opportunity; it’s a missed relationship opportunity.
When a member trusts your institution to manage their paycheck, savings, and loan products, not offering a path to grow wealth inside your ecosystem gives that relationship away to someone else.
Embedded investing doesn’t have to mean building a platform from scratch. Today’s white-label solutions, like those from AlgoPear DriveWealth, or Atomic, allow credit unions to offer compliant, branded investing options that feel native to their existing digital experience.
This is more than a new service — it’s a competitive necessity.
Payments — both domestic and international — are the foundation of daily financial life. But what was once considered a basic utility is now a battleground for innovation.
On the domestic front, the rise of real-time payments (RTP) and the FedNow system has reset consumer expectations. People no longer accept waiting 2–3 business days for transfers to clear. They’ve experienced instant settlements on platforms like Venmo, Zelle, and Square. Anything slower feels broken.
Yet many credit unions still rely on batch-based ACH processing or slow middleware that creates member frustration and operational drag. While some early adopters have integrated FedNow or RTP network capabilities, adoption across the industry remains slow and uneven.
The implications go beyond convenience. Delayed transactions mean reduced visibility into member behavior, missed engagement opportunities, and increased operational cost to support manual inquiries and disputes.
On the cross-border side, the change is even more pronounced. Global remittances, freelance payments, and digital commerce are booming. The cross-border payment market is forecasted to surpass $290 trillion by 2030, according to EY and Deloitte. This includes both consumer and B2B flows — and much of it is happening on fintech rails.
Apps like Wise, Moov, and Remitly allow users to send money abroad in minutes with full transparency, low fees, and favorable exchange rates. Traditional wire services — which many credit unions still depend on — can feel archaic by comparison, with unclear costs, days-long delays, and limited tracking.
When credit unions don’t offer modern payment experiences, members vote with their thumbs. They adopt fintech apps to move money — and those fintechs slowly replace the credit union in other parts of the financial relationship.
The fix is not to compete head-on with Wise or Square. It’s to partner smartly. There are modern payment fintechs that specialize in API-ready, compliant, and white-labeled solutions built for regional banks and credit unions. They integrate with legacy cores and offer a bridge into the new financial reality.
Cryptocurrency has matured far beyond speculative headlines.
While volatility will always be a consideration, the underlying infrastructure of blockchain and digital assets has been embraced by some of the world’s largest financial institutions — including Fidelity, BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Visa. The global crypto market cap recently passed $2.8 trillion, and with increasing regulatory clarity (such as the SEC’s approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs), this ecosystem is moving from fringe to mainstream.
What does this mean for credit unions?
It means your members are likely already engaging with crypto — whether you offer access or not. Surveys show that over 40% of Millennials and nearly 30% of Gen Z hold or have held digital assets. Many use crypto as part of a long-term savings plan or simply to explore financial innovation.
Unfortunately, when members leave the credit union ecosystem to access these services, you lose valuable data, engagement, and relevance. Worse, you send them to platforms that may not share your values or standards for security.
But this doesn't mean credit unions need to become crypto exchanges.
Instead, there are credible, secure infrastructure partners — like NYDIG, Anchorage, and Bakkt — who offer credit-union-friendly ways to integrate digital assets. These include custody solutions, educational tools, reward systems (crypto cash back), and even retirement investment options.
Digital assets are here to stay. Whether your institution chooses to engage now or later will determine your role in your members’ financial future.
Despite the clear market signals, many credit unions are cautious — and understandably so.
Surveys from Callahan & Associates and CUNA Mutual reveal common barriers:
But there’s also encouraging data.
Institutions that have partnered with fintechs report meaningful gains: 25%–40% increases in member digital engagement, improvements in net promoter scores, and new non-interest income streams through services like investing or foreign exchange.
In short, the hesitation is rooted in perceived risk. But the actual risk — of member attrition, brand irrelevance, and operational inefficiency — is often greater.
The good news: You don’t need to go it alone. The fintech landscape is maturing, and there are more CU-aligned vendors than ever before.
Here’s how to begin:
Credit unions were built to serve underserved communities, promote financial empowerment, and build trust across generations. That mission hasn’t changed — but the tools available to deliver on it have evolved.
Embedded investing, modern payments, and crypto aren’t distractions from your mission. They’re accelerants of it.
The trillion-dollar gap between where fintech is headed and where many credit unions stand is closing — and those who act now will define the next era of cooperative finance.
At AlgoPear, we work with credit unions to implement embedded investing solutions that fit naturally into your existing platforms and compliance frameworks. But this conversation is bigger than us — it’s about the future of your members.
Don’t wait to be disrupted. Be the one who leads.
Ready to see how it works? 👉 Schedule a demo with AlgoPear today — and discover how easy it is to unlock the next generation of financial services for your members.
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