Apr 7
X Money Will Go Live to 600 Million Users
X Money is going live with 6% APY, a Visa debit card, and FDIC-insured deposits to 600 million users. What it means for banks and credit unions.
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Reporting, analysis, and contributed features on cooperative finance. Each article identifies its author and relevant affiliations.
Mar 31
Credit Union Fraud Detection: What Shopify Gets Right
Shopify trains its fraud model on 10 billion transactions across millions of stores. Credit unions run fraud detection in complete isolation.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min
Mar 30
Credit Union Branch Strategy: Target Just Bet $5B on Stores
Target is spending $5B on new stores while credit unions close branches. The retailer's strategy reveals what most credit union branch strategies get wrong.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min
Mar 30
Gen Alpha Credit Union Members Will Never Walk In
Gen Alpha credit union membership won't happen at a branch. With the average member age at 53, the window to reach the next generation is closing fast.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min
Mar 26
Sports Betting Members Are Showing Up in Delinquency Data
Sports betting members are driving rising delinquencies, falling credit scores, and a bankruptcy spike — and most credit unions aren't tracking it.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min
Mar 26
Credit Union Fraud Detection: What Casinos Already Know
Casinos and credit unions follow the same BSA rules. One spends billions on real-time surveillance. The other catches fraud after the money is gone.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min
Mar 26
Credit Union Podcasts to Watch... or Listen To
From leadership and lending to regulation and growth, here are the credit union podcasts worth adding to your listening stack in 2026.
By CU Wire StaffNews4 min
Mar 23
Credit Union Core Processor Lock-In: A Strategy Tax
Credit union core processor contracts run 5-7 years with seven-figure exit penalties. That's not a vendor relationship — it's a ceiling on everything else.
By CU Wire StaffTechnology4 min
Mar 21
Credit Union Cards: Beyond APR in a Rewards-Driven Market
Credit unions control just 6% of credit card outstandings despite 130M members. The gap reflects structural challenges competing on rewards when lower APRs don't matter to transactors.
By CU Wire StaffLending4 min
Mar 19
AI Wrappers in Credit Union Tech: How to Spot Them
Most AI products in financial services are AI wrappers — thin interfaces on third-party models. Here is how credit unions can tell the difference before signing a contract.
By CU Wire StaffTechnology4 min
Mar 16
Vibe Coding: What Credit Unions Need to Know
Vibe coding lets non-developers build software using AI — and it is already happening inside credit unions. Here is a tiered policy framework for managing the risk.
By CU Wire StaffTechnology4 min
Mar 16
Y Combinator Fintech Is Coming for Credit Unions
Y Combinator fintech companies are already inside credit unions — from AI voice agents to digital banking to compliance automation. Here is the startup pipeline CU leaders need to watch.
By CU Wire StaffTechnology4 min
Mar 16
Neobanks Are Becoming Banks Without a Charter
Cash App, Chime, and Klarna now offer checking, savings, lending, and payments to over 140 million users. These neobank platforms are direct credit union competitors.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min
Mar 16
The Loneliness Economy Makes the Case for Branches
Half of Americans report feeling lonely. Third places are disappearing. Banks are closing branches. The credit union branch may be the most undervalued strategic asset in the industry.
By CU Wire StaffGrowth4 min
Mar 16
Creator Economy Gives Credit Unions a Second Chance
The creator economy has 207 million creators globally and 45 million U.S. professionals earning irregular income — the exact population credit unions were built to serve.
By CU Wire StaffGrowth4 min
Mar 16
Agentic AI Is the Biggest Shift Since Mobile Banking
Gartner predicts 40% of enterprise apps will feature agentic AI by end of 2026 — up from 5%. But more than 40% of projects will fail. Here is what credit unions need to know.
By CU Wire StaffTechnology4 min
Mar 15
Credit Union Branch Transformation Gains Momentum
Credit union branch transformation accelerates as 58% of executives plan to repurpose locations into advisory hubs for deeper member relationships.
By CU Wire StaffGrowth4 min
Mar 15
Credit Union HELOC Lending Surges as Banks Lose Share
Credit union HELOC lending grows as homeowners hold $17.6T in equity. Banks lost 17 points of market share and CUs are positioned to gain.
By CU Wire StaffLending4 min
Mar 14
Credit Unions Are Losing Gen Z to TikTok Finfluencers
Gen Z members rate their checking accounts a lukewarm 7.59 out of 10, and 31% of members under 40 say they will leave over a single fee. Credit unions that fail to adapt risk ceding an entire generation to fintechs and neobanks.
By CU Wire StaffGrowth5 min
Mar 10
Credit Union Auto Lending Hits 3-Year Low
Credit union auto lending closed 2025 at its weakest point in nearly three years, even as the broader system posted record earnings.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min
Mar 9
NCUA Deregulation: Relief Without Strategy Is Wasted
NCUA deregulation gives credit unions breathing room, but without a strategic plan, regulatory relief alone will not drive growth.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min
Mar 5
Mixed Economic Signals for Credit Unions in Early 2026
The latest data paints a complex picture for the credit union industry. Deposit recovery and lending growth are encouraging, but ongoing competitive pressures and economic uncertainty demand careful navigation.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis5 min
Feb 11
Romance Scams Rise: Credit Unions' Role in Prevention
As Valentine's Day drives more people to dating apps and social media, fraudsters take advantage of heightened emotions and increased online activity.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min
Jan 19
Report: $2.4T Real Estate Wealth Transfer Ahead
Coldwell Banker projects a $2.4 trillion transfer of U.S. residential real estate wealth with lending implications.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis3 min
Jan 15
The Most Underrated CU Risk Is Not Financial
Ask most credit union leaders what keeps them up at night and the answers are familiar. Rates, liquidity, credit, and competition all show up quickly.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min
Jan 12
The Credit Union System Is Quietly Repricing Itself
For much of the last decade, credit unions operated in an environment where pricing decisions were relatively forgiving.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis3 min
Jan 5
New Year Priorities for Credit Unions: A system-level view of what matters most this year
Every new year brings a familiar rhythm across the credit union industry. Strategic plans get refreshed. Dashboards get updated. Priorities get restated.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min
Jan 5
Rising Delinquency Is Back in the Conversation
Credit unions are not in a crisis delinquency cycle, but they are no longer in the unusually clean credit environment that followed the pandemic.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min
Dec 22
NCUA Data Shows Unrealized AFS Losses Persist
NCUA quarterly Call Report data since March 31, 2020, shows how unrealized gains on available-for-sale (AFS) debt securities reversed as interest rates rose.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min
Dec 22
JPMorgan's Institutional Crypto Consideration Signals Structural Shifts
JPMorgan Chase is exploring the possibility of offering cryptocurrency trading services to its institutional clients, according to reporting from Bloomberg.
By CU Wire StaffAnalysis4 min