When the coronavirus (COVID-19) struck, CO-OP Financial Services had to act quickly and deploy its workforce in a remote environment. But it knew it also had to continue to assist credit unions as they worked to meet the needs of their members during the pandemic.

“Our vision is to be an indispensable financial technology partner for credit unions,” says Todd Clark, CEO of CO-OP Financial Services. “We’ve made great strides for our clients. Within a couple of weeks, we shifted our focus for a short window of time to put some proactive COVID-19 response solutions in place and a lot more self-service integration of digital tools through our developer portal.”

Developing primary financial institution relationships is key for credit unions, especially during the pandemic, Clark says. Credit unions have done this and continue to put members’ needs ahead of profits during this challenging time.

“Credit unions continued to be compassionate banking alternatives,” Clark says. “And we’re reminding our credit unions right now that their members need them more than ever. Being there for their members, gaining their trust, and being their ally will increase loyalty in the long term.”

In this episode of the CUNA News Podcast, sponsored by CO-OP Financial Services, a CUNA associate business member at the elite level, Clark discusses the importance of payments as an avenue for growth, how COVID-19 has impacted digital transformation, how to leverage data to support financially fragile members, and more.

You can listen to the CUNA News Podcast in Apple’s iTunes Store, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher Radio.

In this episode:

1:31: CO-OP and COVID-19

2:59: Being “an indispensable financial technology partner” for credit unions

5:47: Putting the focus on life stages versus lifestyles

6:23: An accelerated need for digital transformation

9:01: The path to an integrated payments and technology platform

12:51: Gaining insight through data