Never has it been more important for credit unions to treat members as unique individuals. Credit union member profiles are increasingly diverse and dynamic. Communities today include a wide mix of ages, backgrounds, and financial needs, from students opening their first account, to families saving for a home, to retirees managing fixed incomes. Treating all
There once was a time when, if we wanted to open a new current or savings account, the first port of call would be a bank or building society.
How times have changed.
A bank account with Sainsbury’s supermarket, saving money for your utility bills in an e-wallet by Octopus Energy and depositing money in a savings account from the Post Office – these are all commonplace nowadays.
A major change in today’s financial services market is that consumer finance is now no longer the exclusive domain of “traditional” high street banks, with lines becoming blurred over the years. Indeed, consumers increasingly trust institutions they already interact with daily, especially those with a name that is instantly recognized.
This concept of “financial ecosystems” – bundles of services built on top of existing relationships – is fast becoming a major trend in the EU and UK financial services sectors. This is largely due to huge technological leaps forward, allowing these new entrants to invest in technology that not only rivals that of traditional financial providers, but also goes one step further by enabling them to reach out to customers with the right product at exactly the right point in their lives.
Postal Networks as Financial Anchors
Although the post office’s foray into financial services might seem to be a relatively modern trend, the fact is that postal systems have long offered savings or passbook accounts.
In the UK, these roots can be traced right back to the introduction of the Post Office Savings Bank under the Gladstone government in 1861. This became the National Savings Bank in 1969, before changing to NS&I (National Savings and Investments). Today, the UK Post Office still of course offers savings accounts.
Further afield, the Japan Post Bank was founded in 1875 and was once the largest deposit holder globally, with assets exceeding $2 trillion. Privatization began in 2007, but it still remains a major financial institution in Japan. And in France, the Caisse Nationale d’Épargne (CNE) was established in 1881. In 2006, banking services were consolidated into La Banque Postale, which is now a full-service bank.
The post office is an instantly recognized institution right across the world. People generally trust it. Looking at the UK, there are far more Post Office branches than traditional banks, especially as many banks are actively looking to reduce their branch network. Add to this the giant strides forward the Post Office is taking when it comes to modernization, such as offering digital current accounts, cards, and payments integrated with postal apps, and you begin to see why it is fast becoming a powerful financial brand.
Why does a banking personalization solution matter for credit union growth?
Behavioral insights matter for credit union growth because they turn raw member data into actionable understanding of why people make the financial choices they do. Without them, growth strategies risk being generic and missing the mark.
One of the main reasons that insights are so critical is because they help to provide stronger member acquisition rates. Insights reveal what motivates people to join, with reasons including community impact, better rates or digital convenience. Credit unions can therefore tailor their outreach to different segments – younger members might value low fees and mobile apps, while older members might give more importance to levels of personal service.
Behavioral finance insights also allow a credit union to encourage deeper relationships with their members. Behavioral analysis shows which products members are most likely to need next, allowing for cross-selling and upselling opportunities, such as offering first-time vehicle loans to young members and retirement planning to mid-life members.
Improved retention and loyalty rates are also a factor. By tracking churn signals, such as declining account activity, fee sensitivity, or increased competitor usage, credit unions can intervene early. A personalized retention effort, such as a waived fee, financial counseling, or digital support, strengthens loyalty.
Financial wellness and community impact is also an important consideration for many credit unions. Understanding behaviors around saving, borrowing, and financial stress allows them to design targeted education and support. This improves individual financial health, which in turn strengthens the community, fulfilling the credit union mission while fueling sustainable growth.
The important point to take away is that behavioral insights aren’t just about data. Rather, they are about understanding members as individuals. This understanding is the key to sustainable growth, stronger relationships, and a competitive edge in today’s financial landscape.
Telecoms Enter the Financial Arena
However, the post office is just one of many sectors that seem to be diversifying into financial services.
Another is the telecoms industry which increasingly offers mobile money services that function as basic bank accounts. For example, M-Pesa, launched by Vodafone and Safaricom in Kenya in 2007, revolutionized mobile money by turning basic mobile phones into powerful financial tools. It allowed millions of unbanked Kenyans to send, receive, and store money securely — without needing a traditional bank account.
Users could send and receive money by SMS with no need for a bank account — just a basic mobile phone and a national ID were sufficient. M-Pesa worked on any mobile phone, transactions took mere seconds and users could deposit or withdraw cash at local M-Pesa agents, such as small shops, kiosks, or petrol stations.
Another example is Orange Bank in France, the digital arm of Orange, the established telecom operator in France. It was launched in 2017, offering services such as current accounts, bank cards, overdraft, savings and mobile‑first features. It is now moving into full retail banking – a large part of its success is because of its huge brand recognition, customer trust, and a huge distribution channel through being part of Orange.
Customers already dealing with Orange for telecom services are generally far more likely to consider its banking services simply because it is such an instantly recognizable, well established consumer name. It also has an attractive digital edge – it can offer its mobile users fully integrated, sophisticated tools such as app‑based account opening, digital payments and virtual advisers.
Utilities as Emerging Financial Players
Also joining the financial services revolution are utility providers, which are increasingly experimenting with loyalty programs, payment wallets, micro-loans and instalment services.
Such companies often have millions of users, ideal for cross-selling. They have a presence in all of their customer households thanks to predictable billing relationships, and utility companies are never far from the news agenda, providing them with almost endless PR opportunities.
Furthermore, we are seeing energy companies offering products such as green finance, solar leasing, or credit facilities for energy-efficient products.
The Common Thread
These examples all have one common denominator.
They show how they are rivalling traditional financial services providers by leveraging key points such as trust, reach, and infrastructure, showing how these traits can be repurposed into offering financial services products that are trusted by consumers.
The fact is that institutions such as postal services, telecoms and utilities, already own huge reams of data, have established distribution networks, and can often boast high levels of consumer confidence. By adding financial products and investing in the technology that enables them to offer these exact products that their customers require, they have every opportunity to embed themselves even deeper into their customers’ everyday lives.
Opportunities and Challenges
There are many opportunities for these “new” financial services providers.
Their combined vast reach mean they can offer financial inclusion for those who are unbanked, or who, for whatever reason, may find it difficult to take out an account or product from a high-street banking name.
This huge reach also provides a solid cross-selling opportunity, which could theoretically be done at any one of the regular touch points they will have with customers.
However, it of course is not always plain sailing for these new entrants. Regulatory pressures have never been so intense, with banking licenses becoming ever more elusive, and compliance levels going ever higher.
Competition has also never been so intense. Digital-first fintechs continue taking significant market share, and even the traditional high street banks are upping the ante when it comes to a digital-first approach.
Conclusion: The Future of Financial Ecosystems
Until relatively recently, the natural home for a bank account would be a well-known high street bank. Nowadays, people might just as easily choose to bank with a utility provider, a fintech or a postal provider.
The fact is that the line between banks and non-banks is blurring. We are increasingly seeing how national service providers are reinventing themselves as financial ecosystem players.
With the right digital platforms, they can offer current accounts, savings and payment functionality which are sophisticated enough to take on so called “traditional” financial providers. Indeed, by investing in the right technology, they also have a major advantage – their sheer reach means they can offer the right product in their customers’ exact lifecycles millions of times over. Not only will this enable themselves to position themselves as a true customer champion when it comes to inclusion, accessibility and convenience, it also means their financial services offering is likely to expand – quickly.
One thing is for sure – the financial services landscape right across the world never sits still. Thanks to technology offering customer insights and sophisticated financial platforms on a level that it nowadays so deep that it would have seemed like science fiction just a generation ago, expect to see changes continuing even quicker in the years ahead.
