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

Is the corner credit union next?

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

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

“The things we’re currently doing might not be right things for the future,” Cady said. He added that according to CUNA, 71% of millennials 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 be getting exasperated by technology going forward.”

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 Credit unions that differentiate themselves from banks with better service may find that strategy outdated as a result, he said.

Nontraditional financial providers are part of what Nicholas called the fast pace of slow change. Individual providers may not have 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 last year,” Nicholas said of Lending Club’s growth.

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

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

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