A new definition of consumer trust is emerging in the financial services industry, and it could mean the difference between which credit unions will come out as winners and which as losers.

Here is an eye-opening and alarming takeaway from a new Co-op Solutions CU Growth Outlook White Paper: "Consumers don't trust their credit union to meet their digital payments needs. Consumers trust fintechs more than they trust credit unions, based on an emerging new definition of what trust means for today's financial consumers."

While traditional loan and savings products are critically important, they are passive products that don't open up opportunities for financial institutions to regularly engage with their members/customers and deepen relationships. However, 80% of consumers' interactions with their financial institutions are through payments, and fintechs are winning in this space because their payment solutions facilitate frequent interactions with consumers that can deepen relationships.