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Todd Mason, President/CEO of the Maine Credit Union League, has spent much of his career surrounded by technology. In those nearly three decades since he first began in the financial services industry, he has, no doubt, seen and been a part of many changes. As part of this month’s focus on technology, we recently sat down with Todd (pictured above) and asked him to share some of his extensive knowledge, experience and thoughts on technology today and where it might be headed.
NV: What is the biggest technology challenge facing CUs and financial services today?
TM: It is always hard to single out any one challenge with technology. Technology is both complex and far reaching, and where security is always on the top of the list. But aside from security, data is one of the biggest challenges. It is an asset that has strategic and tactical importance, because it is the emerging foundation of the future of member service.
NV: What are the League and Synergent doing to combat/meet that challenge(s)?
TM: The League and Synergent are increasingly engaged in helping credit unions with data. On the League-side, we are working with regulators and legislators on data protection and cyber security, and are weaving data into our education curriculum. For example, I’ll discuss the importance of data at our upcoming Management Roundtable and Volunteers Conference.
On the Synergent-side, we are investing in the development of a data warehouse, and business intelligence tools. Our aim is to improve credit unions’ access to their data, turning it into actionable information.
NV: In addition to challenges, there are also opportunities for CUs to adopt/implement new technology. What are a few that come to mind?
TM: Challenges are often opportunities at the same time, and that is the case with data. Data represents what we know about our members. Our relationship with them. Used to its fullest, it can be used to more deeply understand their needs and provide even better service. For example, through data, you can identify members that may have more expensive auto loans with banks, and save them money by re-financing through you.
NV: Technology is much like the weather in Maine – wait a few minutes and it will change. Taking out your crystal ball for a minute, where do you see technology headed in the next year, and what does it mean for CUs?
TM: Staying on the theme of data, it is only going to increase in importance over the next year and beyond because it permeates nearly every technology-related initiative. It will come in the form of access to better reporting and analysis tools. It will improve Synergent’s ability to serve our credit union customers as part of our own continued advancement. It will also fuel new products and enhancements, including emerging areas like artificial intelligence and predictive analytics.
Get more of Mason’s insight at the upcoming Management Roundtable September 20-21, at the Samoset, and at the Volunteers’ Conference November 2-3, also at the Samoset.