MONTREAL – The corner hardware store is gone. The cornerbookstore is gone.

Is the corner credit union next?

Credit unions have no choice but to embrace technology to maintain relevance, according to JosephCady of the San Diego-based CS Consulting Group. Cady and J.P.Nichols, president of the Seattle-based Innosect, spoke about howcredit unions can survive in a world of digital disruptions duringa breakout session at NAFCU’s Annual Conference.

According to an Accenture survey, Cady said, banking customersaged 54 and younger are open to considering nontraditionalfinancial providers. For example, 46% of consumers aged 18 to 34would consider using financial services from PayPal, and 34% ofconsumers aged 35 to 54 said they would, too.

“The things we’re currently doing might not be right things forthe future,” Cady said. He added that according to CUNA, 71% ofmillennials have little or no knowledge of credit unions.

“I know we’ve been battling this for 15 to 20 years,” he said.“We’ve been talking about this for a long time and it seems to begetting exasperated by technology going forward.”

Nichols added that new payments services like Apple Pay may have financialinstitutions behind them, but the branding is lost. Credit unionsthat differentiate themselves from banks with better service mayfind that strategy outdated as a result, he said.

Nontraditional financial providers are part of what Nicholascalled the fast pace of slow change. Individual providers may nothave a big impact on credit unions, but they do as a trend.

For example, Lending Club issued nearly $10 billion in loans,with $1.6 billion coming in the last quarter.

“Who else’s loans are up 109% from the same period of lastyear,” Nicholas said of Lending Club’s growth.

Amazon’s same day delivery has also affected consumerexpectations for service.

“Why would I leave my office to go buy something when I canorder it in the morning and have it delivered by afternoon,”Nichols said.