"Mobile access to multiple functions creates the illusion of a unified payment system. However, in a recent report from Accenture, 67% of millennials said they feel the traditional and digital experience they receive from financial institutions or credit unions is somewhat or not at all seamless," Lois Hansen, vice president, product development for the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based CO-OP Financial Services, stated.

Providing multiple products does not guarantee revenue either.

"We look at revenue generation as not an end to itself. Nobody has a product out there called revenue generation. Revenue generation is a side effect of relevance," Ungerland said.

The DaLand co-founder said revenue generation stems from two kinds of products: Direct and indirect. Indirect products, such as traditional payment channels, debit/credit interchange income, indirect lending programs and indirect pipelines tend to dominate the marketplace. As a result, the margins are much more difficult to control.

Direct revenue generation is tied to the ability to control those conduits in the community, Ungerland noted.

"If you lean more to indirect products you are more susceptible to market dynamics," he said.

That's where Secured Transaction Image comes into play. DaLand Solutions built STI, a centralized, encrypted, token-based, mobile transaction platform that allows credit unions to offer multiple mobile solutions through a single system.

"When credit unions control the pipeline, they control the flow to their community. Rather than being a spoke, they become the hub in terms of exchanging and storing value, processing transactions, and being a mediator in the financial transaction world in the community economy by providing direct services," Ungerland said.

Credit unions need to offer products and services that connect them to their communities and let them experience a manageable revenue stream, Ungerland explained.

Some DaLand customers are building those direct pipelines to their communities by using the STI small business toolset and P2P pipeline to generate fee income and add value to their local economies.

"They are not generating revenue as a strategy, they are generating revenue as a result of a pipeline that makes them relevant to the community," Ungerland said. "You are better off cultivating your own relevance and relationships rather than depending on indirect relevance and indirect revenue generation."

The proprietary STI token enables any type of value exchange. Through the platform, the credit union can provide a local establishment with a connection to a portal and app that customers use to conduct business with the establishment through a tablet, mobile phone, kiosk or cash register that's connected to the internet.

"It can begin with the member or with the merchant," Ungerland explained.

In a typical scenario, the customer makes a purchase, pulls out their mobile phone and shows a token to the retailer. Alternatively, they can take a picture of the token that the retailer presents them with on a cash register, iPad or other device.

"Then at that point, the exchange of funds between the patron and the business takes place behind the scenes through our servers talking through the host processors and moving the money over the appropriate payment rail," Ungerland said.

DaLand's architecture also allows credit unions to offer custom-branded mobile apps, which provide members with local business incentives, coupons and rewards programs.

"We wanted to build something sustainable for our credit union clients," Ungerland added.

Ungerland sees the program as a win-win situation for credit unions.

"You know your local businesses," he said. "Would they rather get a merchant app from some website in India or from a trusted community resource like your credit union? Can the independent tech firm provide a retailer app for local businesses that packages modern transaction tools with much needed, broader financial products and services?"

Through STI, businesses can enjoy the benefits of direct payments, prepaid balances with an auto reload function, loyalty points/rewards, electronic coupons, Bluetooth beacons, inventory management tools and data mining. DaLand kept the architecture open with a full API so credit unions can easily plug other applications into it.

This concept works for P2P as well. Ungerland maintained disruptors can't bring the value to P2P programs that credit unions can, as they can't merge P2P into a unified financial experience for members or think of P2P as just one type of mobile transaction that benefits the local economy.

"This allows credit unions to function as a hub in a marketplace that is changing," Ungerland noted.

Knowing what the must-haves are in regard to payments is another key to providing members with better service. Achieving this requires acknowledging three technology trends, Hansen said.

"First, security and fraud mitigation needs to be a top of mind concern on every payment or withdrawal," she said. "Second, payments are starting to evolve to a pay-anyone (business or consumer) model. Third, credit union cards in several wallets are required to offer payment alternatives and relevant opportunities."

Hansen explained credit unions must ensure their payment process provider values members as much as each organization does.

"You know how much time and effort is spent on member acquisition," she said. "In today's world, competition for members is fierce. You can't afford to spend time and money to bring on a new member only to have them disappointed with poor communication or a complete lack of support."

For credit unions to create a truly unified payment platform, the cloud must first become a tool, not a mystery technology, Hansen said, noting CO-OP is more interested in providing the function and giving the credit union permission to promote the user experience that is most relevant to the member.

"It is very important for the credit union to guard the member experience, primarily by avoiding clunky processes," she said.

Hansen suggested credit unions ask themselves, "Do we have a strategy to help members interact in every way the member wants to?"

That's because millennials aren't willing to wait, she pointed out.

"They will simply work around the system and go to the point of least friction for what they want to do at that time and place."