It’s all about the members for Alabama credit unions.
“Credit unions take care of their members and give them the best loan pricing, make sure they’re in the right products and services,” says Steve Willis, president of Leverage, the service corporation for the League of Southeastern Credit Unions & Affiliates.
The League is a trade association representing more than 300 credit unions across Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
Alabama is home to more than 90 credit unions that have some 2.7 million members. Credit unions control just 18.5% of the market share in Alabama compared to the banks that have 81.5% of all deposits, according to data by America’s Credit Unions.
A recent report from the National Credit Union Administration found that federally insured credit unions added 3.2 million members over the year. But NCUA Chairman Todd Harper urged credit unions to remain vigilant, to be proactive and to focus on five priorities for 2025 to help the industry to stay competitive.
Technology Implementation
A study by the BAI Executive Report forecast that by 2026, more than 60% of banking transactions will be digital.
Therefore, Harper says credit unions should strive to offer the banking apps and other tech solutions that will help credit union members today and in the future enjoy a seamless and convenient banking experience.
Willis echoes Harper’s belief and says Leverage maintains a product development team that researches companies that can bring the latest digital banking solutions to credit unions.
“Texting, for example, has become popular. So, we’ve partnered with Neural Payments, which is like a Zelle, where you can go on there and pay your friends and family through texting,” Willis says.
At Avadian Credit Union, headquartered in Birmingham, Vice President of Marketing Ashley Wilbanks says the credit union has invested heavily in digital advancements.
Avadian Credit Union serves more than 90,000 members, manages assets of $1.35 billion through 18 branches across Alabama.
“Today’s consumer is very technologically focused. Everyone has a smartphone, and being able to conduct any type of business via that smartphone has become expected,” Wilbanks says.
“We have invested in enhancing our mobile and online banking platform to allow our members to do more than transfer funds and check balances. We have credit scoring and reporting functionality, the ability to apply or open new deposit or loan products, switch their direct deposit and also allow for members to file their taxes through online banking. We also have ATMPlus+ machines at every single one of our branches,” she says.
“ATMPlus+ allows members to make deposits — whether by check or cash — to make loan payments, to conduct transfers, all through an advanced ATM machine,” Wilbanks says. “That means that they have the convenience of being able to use one of these outside of branch hours, even though that they are on branch property.”
Meanwhile, Vice President of Marketing Drew Edwards at Listerhill Credit Union, which is based in Muscle Shoals, says his organization constantly reviews its online and mobile banking and software systems, and in 2024, it implemented Zest AI, a technology that automates functions such as lending and credit underwriting.
Listerhill also offers its members use of Smart ATMs and SMS messaging with AI management chatbots.
“Smart ATMs have been a game changer for us because our members can do just about any transaction on a Smart ATM outside of applying for a loan,” Edwards says. “Our ATMs are tied to our core, so when you make a deposit, it’s in real time. When you make a loan payment, it’s in real time. So, you don’t have to wait for someone to clear out the ATM and then deposit it to their account. They can make a loan payment at 10 o’clock at night if they want.”
Cybersecurity
Willis says Leverage connects credit unions with solutions to help them protect their organizations and their members’ data and money against hackers, cyber thieves and other bad actors.
“We try to help our credit union members partner with companies that have the skills and expertise in cyber security, or any type of fraud, and bring those products and services to our credit unions to try to help protect them.”
In Alabama, credit unions also receive notifications and warnings from the Alabama Credit Union Administration about cyber threats and crime.
At Avadian, Wilbanks says, “We’ve heavily invested in making sure that we have backups for all of our systems, that all of our data is protected, and that our employees are fully educated on all the ins and outs of cyber security protocols for company device use.”
Edwards says that in 2024, Listerhill created an enterprise risk management team, charged with identifying, assessing, managing and mitigating risks.
“They also remain connected with both credit union networks and cyber security networks to make sure they’re aware of the latest trends, and keep their eye on the dark web,” Edwards says.
Regulatory Changes
The NCUA is a federal agency that regulates credit unions and sets rules for federal credit unions, while in Alabama, the Alabama Credit Union Administration regulates and charters credit unions in the state.
Willis says that as a service corporation for the LSCU, Leverage helps credit unions keep up with applicable rules and regulations.
“We have a compliance consulting group that our credit unions can use and reach out to to make sure they’re staying compliant and have the support they need,” Willis says.
To stay on top of regulatory changes, Wilbanks says Avadian’s Compliance and Risk Management Department effectively manages the communication of all regulatory changes and making sure all regulatory practices are enforced.
“We have personnel dedicated to managing regulations and making sure that we’re following all of the regulatory requirements and communicating that throughout the credit union,” Wilbanks says.
Additionally, Avadian’s legal department helps executives at the credit union to understand and apply the regulations.
At Listerhill, Edwards says that besides its compliance team, the credit union’s education team handles all regulatory required learning or testing.
“The education team will target department staff who are affected by the new regulations,” he says.
Competition
No doubt about it, credit unions have a lot of competition these days, from the big banks and online lenders to fintech startups. So, attracting new credit union members is an imperative, according to the NCUA report.
“Communicating who we are, what we stand for, what our brand represents, first and foremost, is one of the key things that we do,” says Wilbanks. “Being a member of a credit union is different than being a customer of a financial institution. Membership means that you have selected to have a stake in the credit union and have a voice with the credit union.”
Edwards says Listerhill is working to attract young people. One way is by hosting financial wellness seminars through partnerships with college and university campuses.
“And we’ve had a branch on the campus of the University of North Alabama for many years,” he says.
Liquidity
In an NCUA press release on the credit union system performance data for Q2 of 2024, the chairman, Todd Harper, said, “While interest rate and liquidity risks have ebbed recently, we are seeing growing signs of concern in loan performance, capital, and earnings as deposit levels have dropped.”
Harper then urged credit unions to closely monitor their balance sheets, “and act expeditiously to prevent small anomalies from growing into big problems.”
Wilbanks says Avadian strives to ensure its rate-driven products are competitive to help the credit union remain in the “consideration set,” of prospective members.
“We rolled out a high-yield savings account at the end of 2023, just to have another alternative depository instrument for our members,” she says.
In addition, Avadian aims to attract members with offerings such as a free checking account that comes with perks such as ATM refunds, loan discounts and a CD rate bump.
Edwards says his credit union’s strategy team proactively monitors the interest rate environment.
“In 2024 we introduced relationship pricing, which allows our members to save up to 1% off their loan if they have relationships with us, like a checking account, direct deposit, a credit card or existing loan.”
Gail Allyn Short is a Birmingham-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.
This article appears in the March 2025 issue of Business Alabama.
