WASHINGTON — Amidst a wave of change, credit unions need to concern themselves as much with remaining relevant as they do remaining solvent, a leading industry technology executive said.

“We're in a real digital transformation now, but I really believe we're also at a point in time in our industry where we should be worrying much less about the insolvency prospects of credit unions and worry much more about their relevance,” said Mark Sievewright, president of the Credit Union Division at Fiserv Inc.

“Whether it's the impact of regulations or the continued evolution of payments that seems to be going at lightning pace, it's all impacting our credit unions and we have to make certain they have the tools and products they need to remain relevant and competitive,” Sievewright told Credit Union Times in an interview Monday at the Governmental Affairs Conference.

Providing services that credit union members expect from their financial institutions is on the minds of credit unions of all sizes, Sievewright said. “I had the pleasure of meeting yesterday (Sunday) here with the board of Pelican State (Credit Union) from Louisiana. What they said resonated with me. Here's a $200 million or so credit union looking hard at how they're going to serve their members through electronic channels in the future, and they want to know how we're going to help.”

Sievewright said he also was concerned about the impact of regulatory pressures on his client credit unions. “I'm concerned that burdensome regulations will become the hallmark of our industry,” he said. “The complexity and scope of regulations now is just unprecedented.”

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