CHICAGO—In keeping with today’s solar eclipse, which will leave portions of the U.S. in varying degrees of darkness for a brief period, CUToday.info asked credit union CEOs: What do you feel you are in the dark about? That is, areas of their business, or maybe an emerging technology that they sometimes feel they are not as informed about as they would like to be.
In Charleston, W.Va., Dan McGowan said he has no plans to watch the eclipse today, joking that it’s redundant.
“I'm not sure what the big deal is about the eclipse. I've been in the dark most of my life. And it's pretty evident politicians want to keep us all in the dark,” laughed the CEO of the $217-million Pioneer West Virginia FCU. “Currently, I'm completely in the dark about why I'm still waiting for NCUA's general counsel to approve our field of membership application after five-and-a-half months, when three other levels of approval have been completed.”
Dan McGowan
McGowan said he also scratches his head, “even in the dark, about what a 'second-chance' checking member who has never had more than a few hundred dollars in her account must have really expected when she brought in a $50,000 check for deposit and wanted immediate availability, because it was from an insurance company. Fortunately, my staff can put a hold on a check in the dark. As predicted, it was fraudulent.”
Tech To Attract Millennials
Becky Landis, CEO of $63-million State Highway Patrol FCU in Columbus, Ohio, just returned from the Federal Home Loan Bank Financial Management Conference in Cincinnati and admits emerging payments solutions can mean shades of gray when it comes to understanding the issues, but that CEOs must pay attention here.
“In a session on ‘Technology Strategies for 2017 and Beyond,’ I found myself totally in the dark about some of the emerging technologies in payments, such as Moneymailme and LoopPay,” said Landis. “Millennials are looking for digital solutions to manage their money and help build their finances. It is imperative that credit unions stay informed about new, cutting-edge technology to attract Millennials. Someone give me a flashlight!”
Phil Buell, CEO of $625-million Superior CU in Lima, Ohio, recognizes that with the complexity of overall operations on the rise, it becomes increasingly difficult for the CEO to understand every function that touches the credit union.
“If there is one area I would like to understand better, it is the full capabilities of all the software we have licensed. We have great partners in Jack Henry, Digital Insight, and FICS that provide tremendous value to our members,” said Buell. “However, are we using their software to their full potential?”
Buell said that it is easy for the credit union to use software to address a particular need.
“But, are there other capabilities the software can provide to improve our member service, increase efficiency and manage operations,” he said. “My guess is the additional capabilities are there. We just need to shed more light on them.”
It’s not surprising that at least one CEO said more light needs to be shed on blockchain.
“What am I in the dark about? Blockchain and Bitcoin and distributed ledger,” said Nick Meyer, CEO of the $150-million Minnesota Valley FCU in Mankato, Minn. “Could those payment and currency alternatives really be a game-changer for credit unions, banks and the Federal Reserve system? Could those systems be better and widely accepted across the globe?”
Meyer noted out that 30 years ago, then 20 years ago, and then 10 years ago, and even five years ago experts were predicting cash would be entirely replaced by plastic, yet cash is still used everywhere and ATM usage is still high, he noted.
“To be honest, I can think of many areas I’m maybe not entirely in the ‘black’ about, but rather in the ‘gray,’ for sure,” said Meyer. “Change is both fun and challenging.”
With NCUA increasing its focus on cyber security, more CEOs will likely be wanting additional explanation on new data security terminology.
Greg Smith
Data Security Terminology
Chris Wardrip, CEO of the $33-million Financial Health FCU in Indianapolis, said that at the conclusion of a recent data security audit the consultant recommended his credit union replace “our PPTP VPN with an IPSEC-based VPN or SSL VPN. Talk about being in the dark. What does that mean?”
Wardrip said he learned that the terminology is somewhat difficult to understand for someone who is not extremely well-versed in data security issues.
“But what I learned is that PPTP VPN is somewhat less secure than IPSEC VPN and can therefore leave the credit union somewhat more prone to a hacking attack,” he explained.
Finally, in Harrisburg, Penn., Greg Smith admits that sometimes CEO and staff perspectives differ.
“Most of the time I think I have a pretty clear view of things, but my staff would probably say that I’m constantly in the dark. My guess is that the two things go together,” said the CEO of the $5-billion Pennsylvania State Employees CU. “What I’m not in the dark about is that PSECU does a terrific job for its members and is a really great credit union.”