A Million and One Reasons to Participate in Technology Pilots

Today’s pace of technology innovation calls on all credit unions to make a decision: Do we want to be early adopters or patient followers?

While it’s certainly possible to fall somewhere in the middle, committing to either end of the spectrum has strategic value. For one, it makes decision-making much simpler. Avoiding the distraction of tech squirrels, for instance, is easier for credit unions that have adopted a wait-and-see approach. Similarly, credit unions that have affirmed an early adopter approach can get to the integration phase much more quickly when they identify emerging solutions that fit their objectives.

If your credit union is considering a change to your strategic approach to technology, you’re in good company. Over the past decade, the movement has experienced something of a shift in the number of early-adopter cooperatives. Whereas the majority of the nation’s credit unions were once extremely conservative, insular and risk averse, fewer are sticking to that tradition today. There are just more advantages for credit unions to become early adopters today than there have been in the past. Much of this stems from a growing member demand for digital experiences that better mirror the ones they receive from companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple.

One of the best ways to more confidently move from patient follower to early adopter is to get involved in beta and pilot programs. Fintech providers are hungry for partners to help them test and iterate their solutions, not to mention deliver on their ambitions for growth. All credit unions, regardless of size, have scale that is attractive to startup and incumbent innovators alike.

Aside from helping your credit union deliver digital engagement solutions faster, participating in betas and pilots also helps you influence their development. As opposed to simply “taking what you get,” you have the opportunity to shape emerging technology in ways that may stick with the solution permanently.

Michigan First Credit Union Pilots CardNav by CO-OP

Let me give you an example. Michigan First Credit Union recently partnered with our payment processor CO-OP Financial Services to pilot the newest iteration of CardNav by CO-OP, the first-to-market card controls and alerts app that originally launched in 2014. CO-OP was making some enhancements to the ways in which credit unions can more seamlessly integrate the solution with their own online and mobile banking apps. In particular, CO-OP enabled members to manage credit cards – in addition to debit cards – from a single CardNav account.

Because we are highly focused on our mobile app and are continuously making improvements to it, we made an ideal partner for CO-OP. One of the things we discovered together is that an always-on API testing environment is essential to credit unions like ours. As a result, CO-OP built and now maintains such an infrastructure for credit union developers and their technology providers.

The influence you will have by playing a role in technology development goes far beyond features and integrations. It is a meaningful way to live out the people helping people mission, dedicated to helping our members be as financially healthy as possible. Who better to shape the future of technology than consumer-centric credit union leaders?

To be sure, there are betas, pilots and partners that won’t make sense for every credit union’s digital engagement strategy. It’s important to have clear and open communication at the outset of any partnership, and betas or pilots are no different. It helps to work alongside vendors with whom you already have a long-standing and trusted relationship – in our case, we found CO-OP collaborative, responsive and dedicated to completion of commitments. But, in all cases, make sure you understand a few things before proceeding:

What are the objectives? Two-way communication around expectations and high-level goals is key. Neither the vendor, nor the credit union, can go over and above for the other if they don’t understand one another’s ultimate vision. Identify shared (or divergent) values and areas of urgency as early as possible.

What is the timeline? Knowing your partner’s target date for widespread rollout is important. For the best working relationship, it’s critical both parties understand the milestones that need to be hit and the dates on which you can realistically hit them.

Who needs to be involved? Often, vendors will want feedback from more than the individuals who serve in an IT or developer capacity. In beta/pilot phases, tech people tend to think about bugs, not features. Getting frontline and other staff involved allows your credit union to contribute more to the vendor’s user experience testing.

How will your ideas be accepted? As mentioned above, a major part of the value of participating in these programs is your chance to influence development. Understand how well your constructive criticisms will be received and if there are any “off limits” areas where the company is unwilling or unable to make changes.

For more than 15 years, Michigan First has actively participated in beta and pilot programs with technology vendors. One of our proudest claims to technology fame is that Jwaala, now Alogent, wrote the original code to their online banking solution in our building. In addition to our work with CO-OP, we are also partnering with Best Innovation Group to more safely and seamlessly integrate voice assistants into the digital financial experience for consumers. Each of these experiences has been incredibly impactful, not only for our ability to get emerging financial tools in the hands of our members, but also for the professional development of our staff.

Based on our experience, there are a million and one reasons to participate in these programs, not the least of which is the member. With credit union people in the mix, fintech developers have even more reason to innovate for the financial betterment of their users.

Jerry Bettens is Chief Information Officer for Michigan First CU. He can be reached at jbettens@michiganfirst.com.