By Ray Birch
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—Credit unions are grappling with a systemic issue that threatens to hinder their growth and the effective execution of fintech solutions, says Cornerstone Advisors, which adds the problem lies in outdated manual processes that persist despite investments in automation tools and technology.
According to Chris Miller, senior director at Cornerstone Advisors, many CUs have implemented advanced technology solutions for online deposit account opening, but retained outdated manual processes.
“It’s like buying a Ferrari but keeping a Pinto engine,” Miller said, adding he believes at least 40% of credit unions face this problem. “It's a systemic issue that, if gone unchecked, will continue to grow and hinder the growth of credit unions. That's my biggest concern.”
Systemic Issues Emerge Amid Rapid Deployment
The pandemic years of 2020-2021 brought an urgent need for online deposit account opening capabilities. Credit unions responded swiftly, deploying solutions at record speed to meet the demand for remote banking services. However, this rushed implementation came at a cost. Instead of addressing systemic inefficiencies in workflows, many organizations integrated new technology with existing processes, effectively limiting the potential of their investments, Miller said.
"Leadership teams are now saying, 'We made that investment in technology.' However, they’re not realizing the credit union’s dated processes, put into place with the new technology, are the enemy," Miller noted.
The clash of modern tools with legacy practices has created bottlenecks that not only hinder productivity but also impede overall organizational growth, Miller explained.
“Credit unions putting manual stops in the online process hinders that new account from getting opened right away, and capturing that new member, simply because the credit union process states that somebody in the back office must manually review the account,” Miller said. “Unfortunately, they want somebody to look at all of those applications and related scores because you’re not trusting the technology to do what it needs to do.”
Deposit Account Opening Productivity: The Top Priority
Improving deposit account opening productivity has become the main objective of credit union fintech partnerships. But what does that mean in practice?
A survey conducted last year by Cornerstone Advisors revealed that 49% of executives cited deposit account opening inefficiencies as one of their primary concerns. That figure has risen to 52% in 2025, underscoring the growing urgency of the issue.
“As organizations continue to invest in technology, the need for process optimization becomes paramount to realize the benefits of digital solutions fully,” Miller said.
The Way Forward
For credit unions to overcome these hurdles, leadership teams must shift their focus from mere technology adoption to thoughtful integration and process reengineering, Miller said.
"Improving deposit account opening productivity is the number one objective,” Miller emphasized. “By addressing the foundational flaws in workflows and aligning them with innovative tools, credit unions can unlock new levels of efficiency and growth.”
The key, Miller said, lies in recognizing that technology, while central to the solution, cannot achieve its full potential without modernizing the processes it supports.
“Credit unions need to trust but verify, when it comes to those deposit account opening back-end solutions,” he said. “We want an auto approval rate of 45% of our deposit accounts. We need to turn on the functionality and trust the automated KYC checks…Trust that those third-party solutions are doing the ID verification fraud checks. We need to trust that those are working, and then verify that those solutions are doing what needs to be done on a quarterly basis with a batch review down the road. But we cannot put roadblocks in front of the new members who are opening a deposit account.”