Three Approaches to Trending Consumer Banking Challenges

For over a decade, the Retail Banking Trends and Priorities report has served as a strategy guide for community banks and credit unions. Based on a survey of hundreds of financial services leaders, the 57-page report is packed with surprising—and sometimes conflicting—data. 

It presents a complex picture of an industry at a crossroads, where financial institutions must balance innovation with practical realities. Moving forward can feel daunting, especially amid economic, regulatory, competitive, and political uncertainty. As a result, some institutions feel stuck. 

Priorities in practice 

For inspiration, we looked to successful approaches of Q2 financial institution customers. 

We've highlighted how three of these institutions are moving forward and facing head-on some of the trending challenges outlined in this year's report. We understand, though, that success depends on your institution’s specific goals and the needs of your account holders. So, start here, then contact us to talk about how Q2 can help you. 

The personalization (investment) imperative 

According to the report, digital experience is Priority 1 for 52% of institutions. Yet, only a quarter of organizations prioritize modernizing legacy systems or back-office operations.

It's a complex juggle of innovation and realities. For example, we know consumers won't stay loyal to one-size-fits-all banking, but many institutions struggle to deliver personalization with their exisitng technology. For those that make the investment, though, there are measurable results.

Q2 customer United Federal Credit Union (United) is getting personalization right—in its technology investments, approach, and fintech partnerships. In a recent webinar hosted by American Banker, Vice President of Remote Services Brittany Grasley talked about United's successful personalization strategy.

She shared this: 

Better experiences are built on a strong foundation. For United, that meant a five-year technology investment strategy, including a new enterprise data warehouse, core conversion, enhanced member survey tools, and a new CRM that supports its processes and goals.  

As a result of those investments, United’s successful personalization strategy rests on a rock-solid foundation that’s driving measurable results. Its data warehouse, for example, provides the power to draw from 26 different data sources used to know members. 

The Q2 digital banking platform it relies on leverages AI to enhance the personalization capabilities necessary to serve people with tailored experiences. That means a member whose first product with the credit union is a mortgage can have a very different experience than one whose first product is an indirect auto loan.  

The Q2 platform is also built on the open architecture necessary to easily integrate with systems that empower United to go beyond traditional banking, including some of the more than 175 fintech solutions in Q2 Innovation Studio’s fintech partner ecosystem.  

With Q2 Composable Dashboard and the Q2 SMART marketing analytics platform, United can engage with members the moment they log into digital banking—highlighting personalized offerings as well as prompts to enroll in solutions that meet their specific  needs. Composable Dashboard further empowers United to increase the visibility of relevant products previously hidden behind drop-down menus. 

Read the full case study to learn more about how United increased engagement three-fold in less than a year and increased member utilization of a single product by almost 400%. Plus, listen to the webinar here. 

The power of partnership 

One clear takeaway from the 2025 Retail Banking Trends and Priorities report—and the Marous analysis—is that partnerships are imperative. To succeed, you simply can’t go it alone. 

To enhance account holder experience, financial institutions must integrate a wide range of services and tools into their digital platforms. This can be achieved through partnerships with fintechs and third-party providers. 

In the report’s findings, 64% of financial institutions indicate they have established relationships with fintech partners, another 17% plan to pursue partnerships this year. However, 20% have no plans to collaborate with a fintech firm in the foreseeable future—a likely hurdle to account holder experiences that differentiate and win over new and existing account holders. 

By leveraging open ecosystems, banks and credit unions can compete and stand out with offerings beyond traditional banking—from financial literacy resources to virtual support agent tools to rewards and charitable giving programs. 

This approach creates an ecosystem in which people feel supported—and known—throughout their life journeys. It establishes the trust necessary to build lifetime relationships. 

To create better experiences for its segmented member groups, Founders Federal Credit Union (Founders) leverages partnerships that improve lives.  

Founders improved members’ lives when it partnered with Q2 and a third- party vendor to launch Express Loans, an alternative emergency loan with far better terms than predatory lenders members were using. Now, after a five-minute application process, qualified account holders receive the emergency funding they need and avoid major financial setbacks.

Founders also has leveraged Q2 Innovation Studio’s SDK and fintech partner ecosystem. With custom-built content blocks, its Skip A Pay program and Loyalty Select savings account stand out on the digital banking landing pages of members who need them most, driving adoption and delivering value.  

Read more about Founders’ successful partnerships in this case study and in our whitepaper on dynamic personal experiences. 

Bridging the generational divide 

The 2025 Trends and Priorities report’s findings reveal that acquiring new account holders continues to be the primary priority for institutions, rising from 43% in 2024 to 45% in 2025. This suggests a heightened focus on growth by increasing the number of engaged account holders. 

However, that growth isn’t possible without an eye toward winning over younger generations of account holders, who will inherit $72 trillion in assets over the next 20 years—mainly from baby boomers—according to estimates by the consulting firm Cerulli Associates. 

These digital natives seek hyper-personalized financial guidance and expect institutions to use their data to deliver meaningful value, according to Marous’ analysis. 

A powerful by-product of digital banking is a treasure trove of data that reveals people’s needs and preferences. Accessing it and putting it to work, though, can be a major challenge. 

Cyprus Credit Union (Cyprus) is successfully using data to build lifetime relationships by identifying members’ life stages and engaging with them based on their evolving needs. Younger generations are an especially important segment for this strategy because Cyprus’ data analysis shows its member retention rates are highest among people who originally opened teen accounts. 

On The Experience Factor special-series podcast, Chief Strategy Officer David Sant talks about how Cyprus is meeting the primary need of this critical member segment: financial literacy. To do that, it uses Q2 solutions and Q2 Innovation Studio partner Zogo to teach financial literacy, then track and reward progress.    

Hear more about how Cyprus is building lifetime relationships with a younger generation of members on Episode 2 of The Experience Factor. 

How Q2 Can Help 

Need help navigating trends and challenges to meet your institution’s goals? Let’s talk about how Q2 can help.