Everyone in banking agrees that digital transformation is a strategic imperative for financial institutions that plan to remain relevant and grow in the future. 84% of leaders see digital transformation as critical to the survival of their business, and 94% call it a key business goal. But the right path to get there is a subject of much debate. While it's important to understand how other industries transformed and to keep up with competitors, you must tailor your digital transformation journey to your strategy and your needs. In collaboration with the Mercator Advisory Group, CO-OP developed an essential White Paper identifying seven core strategies for credit unions to digitally transform. The 7 Strategies of Digital Transformation:

• Be Member First. Being member first in the digital age means going beyond meeting expectations to surpassing them.
• Utilize Data to Improve the Member Experience. Data analytics generates distinctive member profiles that inform hyper-personalized services.
• Be Digitally Accessible. Open API strategy and a strong click-and-mortar mix help you reach members through digital-first channels.
• Drive Excellence through AI. Artificial intelligence and machine learning drive experiences and new data in real time.
• Use Improved Security as a Growth Strategy. Design the security experience to be frictionless and anticipatory through a mix of cybersecurity and machine learning.
• Integrate Channel Experiences. A seamless consumer experience at every touchpoint is a crucial retention tool and the primary reason people stay with their financial institution.
• Embrace Platform Thinking: Behave as an Ecosystem. Innovate across channels and think at the platform level – embracing partnerships and delivering new services unique to the credit union movement.

According to the World Economic Forum, “Organizations that are leveraging digital technologies to reinvent their business models and processes to establish closer customer connection and drive innovation will be the winners. Digital technologies enable businesses to engage more deeply with customers in the context of who they are, what they prefer and what they need. Companies can use these insights to implement enterprise-wide changes that enable them to quickly and cost-effectively deliver more useful, meaningful experiences.” 'How Credit Unions are Mapping their Digital Transformation" is your first step in implementing your own strategy. Free Download.