Embedded Lending and the New Credit Union Growth Playbook

Описание: Early in the conversation, Barry Kirby shares a statistic that quietly reframes everything credit unions think they know about growth. Younger consumers are not finding credit unions online and most are not looking for them at all. They are making financial decisions somewhere else entirely. The moment hangs there, not as a warning, but as an invitation to rethink where opportunity actually lives.

That idea sets the tone for Sarah Snell Cooke’s discussion with Barry, co-founder and chief revenue officer at Union Credit, on The Credit Union Connection. What follows is not a buzzword-heavy debate about embedded finance, but a grounded look at how credit unions already know how to win at point-of-need lending. The difference now is where those moments are happening and who controls the experience.

What makes the conversation compelling is how quickly it moves past theory. Barry talks about friction, the kind that shows up when digital convenience collides with legacy processes. Membership requirements, account openings, even familiar product assumptions become obstacles when consumers expect speed and simplicity. It is not that credit unions lack competitive offerings. It is that timing and placement matter more than ever.

The discussion also takes an unexpected turn around AI. Instead of using it to push products, Union Credit is using it to help credit unions better understand what younger members actually want. Sometimes that means questioning products that have been treated as universal for decades. The shift is subtle but important. Adaptation starts internally before it ever shows up in the market.

By the end, the takeaway is not a checklist or a prediction. It is a mindset shift. Credit unions do not need to abandon what makes them strong. They need to meet people where decisions are already being made and do it without adding friction. The rest of the story unfolds in the conversation itself.