The NCUA reports that 64% of new credit union members show zero activity beyond opening their account. That's not a growth problem — it's an activation problem. And in this episode, we get into exactly how to fix it.

Joining host Joshua Barclay are Matt Fehrmann, CIO of Kohler Credit Union, and Har Rai Khalsa, CEO and co-founder of Swaystack. Together, they bring real-world experience and concrete solutions to some of the most stubborn challenges in member engagement.

In this episode:

• Why email isn't dead — and when to stop using it

• What it actually takes to activate a new member before they go dormant

• How Kohler Credit Union drove 40% of digital banking enrollments through guided onboarding workflows

• The truth about indirect lending: fewer than 1 in 20 indirect borrowers ever deepen the relationship — and how to change that

• How Kohler navigated a merger with Shipbuilders Credit Union, onboarding 5,500 members over a single weekend with zero open issues by Tuesday

• Why tracking account opens without tracking account utilization is leaving millions on the table

Banking on Experience is sponsored by BusinessNext — the CRM built for credit unions and banks.

Want to see it in action? Watch a demo here.

With thousands of credit union-related conversations under his belt, CU Broadcast host Mike Lawson has his finger on the pulse of the industry like few others.

So we asked him point blank: after everything you heard in 2025, what should be top of mind for credit union leaders heading into next year?

His answer? A wake-up call.

In this episode, Mike Lawson and host Joshua Barclay dissect the uncomfortable truths facing credit unions—from an aging membership base that threatens the movement's long-term survival, to mega-mergers that risk eroding the "people helping people" DNA that makes credit unions different.

We talk about what's actually working to attract younger members (hint: it's not just TikTok), why some credit unions are quietly dropping "credit union" from their names, and how AI is creating an arms race between fraudsters and the institutions trying to stop them.

This podcast episode is sponsored by BusinessNext, the all-in-one CRM made for credit unions and community banks.

If you want to see the BusinessNext CRM in action, you can watch a demo video by clicking this link.

Most financial institutions are swimming in risk right now: cyber threats, regulatory pressure, liquidity concerns, fast-moving competitors, and the accelerating impact of AI.

But as Ed Vincent, CEO of Lumio Solutions, explains, the biggest threat isn't any of those individually. It's the fragmented data sitting behind them.

In this episode, Ed breaks down why community banks and credit unions are essentially flying blind when their data lives in disconnected systems, spreadsheets, and legacy tools. He reveals why traditional, rear-view-mirror risk management leaves leaders reacting too late—and how unified, real-time data gives institutions the visibility to see what's coming before it hits.

Ed also shares why inertia is the most dangerous force in the industry right now, and why leaders can't afford to wait for "perfect information" before taking action. From practical steps for building a data foundation, to examples of how unified data transforms forecasting, credit decisions, fraud detection, and board-level reporting, this conversation offers a roadmap for modern, forward-looking risk management.

Want to see how BusinessNext actually works? Watch the demo right here.