At the beginning of November, I attended VentureTech22 in Frisco, Texas. The show aims to drive digital transformation and innovation in the credit union industry, giving fintechs a platform to present their technologies to an audience of credit unions, credit union service organizations (CUSOs), credit union leagues and league service corporations, as well as fintech investors.

A few of weeks ago I attended VentureTech 21, advertised as a “fintech showcase for the entire credit union industry”. More than 200 people packed the room at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas to watch 14 fintechs give 15-minute demos, with the aim of securing funding from and/or partnerships with credit unions and CUSOs. The audience included representatives from 48 credit unions, 21 CUSOs, 17 credit union leagues and league service corporations, five venture capital firms and a few journalists. Some of the fintechs that demoed at the event were already operational and had a strong client portfolio, while others had just gone live or were about to in the coming months.

Consistently sharing the right content on the right platform will boost credit unions’ education and membership efforts.

Credit unions have lost a lot of ground with Gen Z and millennials. Why? Mainly because the majority of young adults are not familiar with credit unions. According to a survey of more than 500 college students done by Zogo, 76% of respondents did not know what a credit union was. Those that do know are likely to believe that credit unions are less accessible and more complicated to sign up for than banks.