The rise of smartphones hasfundamentally changed the way consumers and businesses interact,and the banking industry is no exception. In a few short years,we've witnessed the rise of mobile banking apps. And if recentyears are any indication, mobile's prevalence will only continue togrow.

The rise is justified: mobile is the key to reaching, engagingand maintaining the coveted Millennial market. America's biggestgeneration – approximately 68 million people ages 18 to 34 – hasalso proven to be one of the most difficult to reach. Millennialstend to be skeptical of big business. They expect companies toengage in a dialogue. They consume information via digitalchannels. And they sleep with their mobile devices next to theirbeds.

However, a recent survey conducted by the FINRA FinancialInvestor Education Foundation found that more than half ofMillennials believe little to nothing sets their bank apart. Whilethese numbers may scare some credit unions, others will see this asan opportunity.

So how do credit unions seize the opportunity? How do youdifferentiate yourself from other credit unions? In short, byoffering new tools and services that speak to Millennials. Already,an overwhelming number of Millennials believe mobile wallets willreplace the way they access money and pay for things in the verynear future.

For the first time ever, financial services companies facecompetition from tech companies vying to provide banking solutions.In fact, three-quarters of Millennials surveyed by the FINRAFinancial Investor Education Foundation said they would be moreexcited to use financial services provided by the likes of Google,Amazon or Apple – instead of their own banks.

Appealing to the next-generation consumer requires credit unionsto reach and engage them on mobile devices. Company-specific appsare the default choice for many credit unions today. However, theseapps often fail to see the big picture and engage consumers in ameaningful right way.

Consider the number of apps on your own smartphone. According torecent calculations, the average ranges from 68 apps on Androiddevices to 88 on iPhones. Now consider how much time you spendusing each one of those apps. The odds aren't good – no matter howbeautiful or user friendly the app is.

A multi-tenant mobile wallet essentially streamlines multipleapps into a single place, delivering consumers a simple andeasy-to-use experience. It offers virtual versions of my creditcards, as well as special offers to various merchants. It's easy,and it's safer than a traditional wallet. It reflects mymulti-faceted and digital life.

Credit unions stand to benefit from mobile wallets in severalways. Not only can these help credit unions distinguish themselvesand attract new users, but mobile wallets also make it easy toextend marketing campaigns, advertise and engage users on the onedevice that's always with them.

Some credit unions and banks are even exploring more technicalintegrations within mobile wallets that allow users to accessaccount information.

However, mobilizing banking and payments should never come atthe expense of security. The current payments ecosystem andinfrastructure works, and there's no reason for a third party tointercept your customer relationships or data. What can improve issecurity at the point-of-sale, as evidenced by the recent highprofile data breaches. Your mobile wallet strategy should accountfor the EMVCo mandate that's quickly approaching in 2015. NFC-basedwallets are capable of supporting contactless EMV, aforward-looking solution.

Although mobile wallets represent a relatively small percentageof users today, growth is poised to surge – especially withMillennials at the helm. In fact, Juniper Research predicts thenumber of contactless transactions made with mobile wallets willreach 9.9 billion in 2018, up significantly from the 3 billionestimated this year. Mobile wallets are no longer a matter of ifbut a matter of when.

Chirag Patel is general manager of issuer relationshipmanagement with Isis. He can be reached at [email protected] or (646) 710-4038.