This week we spoke to Dermot Griffin, CEO of CUSOP, to understand their journey of creating the MYCU brand, the reality of running a business during COVID-19, and what they see as the future of fintech.
Who are CUSOP?
CUSOP is a credit union owned payments service provider, we were established under trust by the Irish League of Credit Unions.
Who is your audience?
The MYCU audience is all credit union members and those who wish to become credit union members and therefore, the MYCU Current Account and Debit Card has been designed by credit unions for credit union members.
The MYCU offering means members no longer need to split their banking services. In effect Credit Unions are now a one-stop-shop for the day to day banking needs of their members.
What are the things you are most proud of in your company’s journey?
CUSOP are proud to be trusted by Credit Unions to provide this new debit card service.
Delivering a project of this scale will always come with its challenges and delivering it in the midst of a worldwide global pandemic has presented the biggest and most unforeseen challenge but the skill, experience and tenacity of the CUSOP team has prevailed and the delivery of the MYCU service, in addition to our electronic payments solution service, is something that we are very proud of.
Looking outside of CUSOP now, how do you see your industry developing in the coming years?
Consumers behaviours are changing and more and more we are seeing the move towards a need for faster, secure and more convenient money management. But, judging from the reaction of the Irish public to recent events and announcements of traditional banks pulling out of the country and closing branches, there is still an inherent want for a personalised, community based service — and that is where credit unions play a vital role.
We are proud of the fact that we are enabling Irish credit unions along their technological and service delivery journey by providing an effective, efficient and cost-competitive, cutting edge technology-based payments infrastructure.
The COVID-19 global pandemic has been going on for over a year now, can you share any survival tips for businesses?
Covid-19 has seen the reshaping of consumer habits in terms of payment methods. Cash is no longer king.
Contactless payments hit a record high in the third quarter of 2020 with more than 182 million payments valued at almost €2.9 billion recorded in Ireland. There has clearly been an increase in demand for contactless payments, and public-health measures introduced last year have had an impact.
Many Credit Unions are using this time to invest in new products and services like the MYCU Debit Card and Current Account, which will put them in ‘pole’ position to capitalise once these unusual conditions recede. My tip for businesses is not to lose focus on their longer term vision for the business and make sure they continue to build the infrastructure they will need to succeed in years to come.
