Credit unions that treat lower-income members with dignity and offer them financial services for a profitable but still better deal than the high-cost alternative down the street can both improve their bottom line and help those members onto the path which will lead them to other and even more profitable credit union profits.

But the path forward to working with lower income members in 2013 cannot be taken lightly. Competition from products like the Bluebird card, the joint debit product being offered by Walmart and American Express, means that credit unions cannot merely count on lower fees and better service to draw lower income members.

Instead they will need to learn what is important to the lower income members, such as refinancing an existing expensive auto loan might be a better and more valuable approach than offering a new one and having the ability to deposit money easily via a mobile phone and not in a branch or at an ATM might mean gaining a family's business that the credit union didn't have before.

Next year is liable to see credit unions both shine and stumble working with lower income members but, fortunately, the industry has also shown itself capable of learning from its mistakes.