Originally published on CUInsight.com
Fintech growth numbers get read as an acquisition story. Read them again and the real lesson is one community institutions are far better equipped to act on.
Last year, SoFi acquired more new checking and payment account relationships than all the credit unions in the United States combined. It’s a striking number. And it’s easy to draw the wrong conclusion from it.
The reflex is to chase more applications, more accounts, more new members. But look at what happens after that first account: more than eight in ten of those members go on to open a second product, and many come to treat the fintech as their primary financial home. That’s where the real growth happens. Not simply in acquiring the relationship, but in deepening it. What starts as one account can grow into multiple products, greater share of wallet, and a larger role in a member’s financial life.
That kind of relationship banking is your model. So, the opportunity in front of you isn’t to out-acquire anyone. It’s to grow the base you already have, faster and more deliberately.
With strategic planning season upon us, now’s a good time to think about what that could look like. Here’s where I’d start:
Treat every application as the opening of a conversation.
One of the most valuable shifts is changing how you think about the application. When a member opens an account, the instinct is to book it and move on. But that moment isn’t the finish line. It’s one of the clearest signals you’ll get about what that member may need next, and the beginning of a relationship you’re positioned to grow for years to come.
Build your onboarding around what comes after the yes: the second product, the direct deposit, the card that actually gets used. Map the natural next step for each kind of new member, then use the technology to make that next step timely, relevant, and effortless. The difference is often what you do in the weeks after they join. The experience should feel less like starting another application and more like continuing a conversation.
A member who opens one account and stalls is worth far less than one who goes on to deepen the relationship.
Mine the signals your members are already sending you.
You already have some of the most valuable growth data in the market: signals from people who already trust you. A paycheck landing at another institution. A loan payment leaving every month for a competitor. A member visiting a rate page three times this week or running the auto calculator again. Each signal tells you something about what that member may need next.
Put those signals to work. Identify the members whose behavior points to a clear next product, then reach out with something specific and timely, not another blanket offer sent to the whole list. The right technology makes it possible to deliver the right offer at the right moment. And when that offer comes from an institution the member already trusts, it can feel less like marketing and more like help.
Reach out more but make it relevant.
There’s a long-standing, well-meant instinct at many credit unions to hold back on outreach for fear of becoming a nuisance. It’s worth reconsidering, because under-communicating can be the more expensive habit. The bigger risk isn’t sending a member a useful, well-timed message. It’s staying silent while they go somewhere else for the product you could have offered them first.
The answer isn’t more messages. It’s more relevance. When a recommendation is grounded in what you actually know about a member—their behavior, their needs, their relationship with you—it doesn’t have to feel like a pitch. For an institution built to serve its members, it can feel like service.
Connect the journey so the relationship doesn’t reset.
Too often, each product lives in its own campaign, with its own list and no connection to what came before. A member who financed a car with you two years ago can feel like a stranger when they come back to open a checking account. That’s growth leaking through the cracks.
Your members shouldn’t have to reintroduce themselves every time they engage with you. When their data, history, and context follow them from one interaction to the next, each experience builds on the last. The relationship compounds instead of starting over.
That connective tissue is what turns a collection of accounts into a relationship that keeps deepening and makes the difference between a member who has one product with you and one who has five.
Make the moment you say “no” a reason to come back.
Not every member will qualify today. But a decline doesn’t have to be the end of the relationship. When the experience stops at a generic “no,” you leave the member with little reason to come back, and plenty of reason to look elsewhere.
Instead, use the moment to show them what comes next. Explain the decision clearly, provide actionable guidance where appropriate, and give the member a path to return when their circumstances change. “Not today” can become “here’s what to do next.”
That kind of guidance turns a difficult moment into an opportunity to build trust. And it’s precisely the kind of experience an institution built on member relationships should be known for.
Change what you count.
Finally, measure the things you actually want. If the number your team watches at quarter’s end is simply how many accounts you opened, you’ll optimize for acquisition instead of what happens next. Add the numbers that reflect relationship depth: products per member, how many single-product members move to a second, how much of a member’s direct deposit and balances you hold.
Manage to those measures, and growth starts showing up where it can be most valuable and lasting: inside the member base you already have.
None of this requires becoming a fintech or matching anyone’s marketing budget. It requires treating your existing members as your best growth opportunity and using the right digital platform to build a journey that makes it easier to meet more of their needs.
See how MeridianLink® gives credit unions the technology to get more from every member relationship.
