Credit unions have the opportunity to attract customers who don’t necessarily feel at home with their bank provider (think small business owners, freelancers, or millennials who – according to reports such as the Forbes’ Consumer Technographics® data – are actively considering company values and social responsibility when making a purchase.)

We’ve kept this in mind as we created our new digital banking platform (called Forge), which will keep credit unions constantly on the cusp of innovation, ahead of competing banks. Also top-of-mind here at Central 1 are the findings of a recent poll undertaken by our People Solutions team which found that digital transformation is a top strategic priority for almost half the Canadian credit unions, affiliates and Centrals surveyed.

The findings are part of a Central 1 board governance report which shines a spotlight on how the industry disruptors are driving change in credit union governance. “Digital transformation, generally seen as one of the most significant disruptors – and opportunities – in financial services right now, is rated as a top three priority across all provinces. With 47 per cent of credit unions across Canada rating it in their top three strategic priorities, it represents the highest percentage priority of national credit unions,” said our lead on board governance research, Cindy Dopson.

We have 165 clients (almost 50 per cent of Canadian credit unions) committed to the Forge Digital Banking Platform to date and we’re excited to see the innovative user-focused platform helping them become faster and more responsive than ever before.

Central 1’s Vice-President of Digital Platforms, Henrique Godinho lives and breathes digital transformation. “We’re an integral partner in the digital transformation of credit unions. A core part of an organization’s strategy should be focused on digital transformation and a strong digital banking platform should be central to the digital transformation and customer experience,” he said.

So, what exactly is the Forge Digital Banking platform? It’s a collective and competitive solution that allows for a user experience that is seamless, intuitive and personalized. The platform was created in partnership with Amsterdam headquartered Backbase, a global leader in digital banking solutions which create a single user omni-channel experience (i.e. across public website, mobile app and online banking). Central 1 customized the platform for the Canadian market by developing unique-to-Canada features, such as Interac®, BillPay and money movement capabilities, along with the multi-tenanted infrastructure which will be integrated across more than 30 Canadian banking hosts and vendors from the Canadian and international landscape. It is a scalable platform solution that gives clients the flexibility to use standard features right out-of-the-box and/or launch custom features developed by internal teams or partners, or in collaboration with other financial institutions. Hosting, operational support and cyber security monitoring are all included.

Henrique describes Forge as “a partnership with Backbase that combines years of client feedback with our desire to create solutions to industry challenges while promoting growth

He adds: “We have deliberately taken a multi-tenanted platform approach so that every credit union and financial institution in Canada has access to Forge, making the platform a system-wide asset that benefits everyone
Check out C1.com for more information on the Forge Digital Banking platform, or to discover more insights from the Board Governance and Director Renumeration Report