World Credit Union Conference – Belfast 2016

The increasing role of mobile technology was a recurring theme at the World Credit Union Conference in Belfast. In a special breakout session at the conference, delegates looked at how devices can be used to improve member relationship and engagement. Paul Kennedy, a consultant at Bayberry, highlighted some of the latest trends in the industry. The daily consumer experience has become ...

With consumers changing their habits and expecting an omnichannel experience, credit unions need to be ready to embrace digital technology. Addressing delegates at the World Credit Union Conference in Belfast, Anne Horton from MasterCard looked at the main ways in which credit unions can appeal to consumers increasingly aware of the entire experience around shopping. MasterCard is the global ...

The 2016 Bangladesh bank hack raised new concerns related to cyber threats among financial providers, including credit unions. A former White House chief information officer, Theresa Payton, was a keynote speaker at the World Credit Union Conference in Belfast. She told credit union representatives that cyber security should be one of the main topics on their agenda. “Members deserve the ...

The World Credit Union Conference brought over 2,000 delegates from 55 countries to Belfast, boosting the city's economy by £3.7m. [caption id="attachment_107559" align="alignleft" width="287"] Outside the Waterfront Hall in Belfast[/caption] The four-day event, which took place on 17-20 July, is organised every year by the World Council of Credit Unions (Woccu). The 2016 edition was ...

Faced with competition from micro-finance institutions and fintechs, credit unions in Asia have decided to take a step further in digital payments. The Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU) has recently launched a common banking and payments platform for its members in the Philippines. The platform, called APP, was presented to delegates at the World Credit Union Conference in ...

Good regulation should be proportional and take into account the potential impact on economic growth, argued Prof Donal McKillop from Queen's University Belfast. An issue of great concern for credit unions, regulation is perceived by some as an extra burden. Prof McKillop was speaking at a special breakout session at the World Credit Union Conference in Belfast, where he described some of ...

Daniel Burns from Canada has been elected chair of the World Council of Credit Unions (Woccu). Mr Burns, who has been involved in credit unions for 20 years, formally took office during the World Credit Union Conference Annual General Meeting on 18 July in Belfast. He is taking over from Anne Cochran, president and chief executive of the Louisiana Credit Union League. Two other board ...

Delegates at the World Credit Union Conference in Belfast were told to lead with the brain in mind. A credit union practitioner with a passion for leadership Sandra McDowell led a special breakout session looking at the key challenges in terms of leadership. Neuroleadership is a new discipline that aims to explain why many leadership efforts and organisational change initiatives are ...

If in the past it was large buildings and rows of tellers that attracted members inside credit union branches, these days customers are looking for different experiences. Credit unions across the world are now exploring new branch models to respond to the needs of their customers. In a special breakout session, delegates at the World Credit Union Conference in Belfast heard from Terence ...

A member of a credit union for over 40 years, Northern Ireland deputy first minister Martin McGuinness believes the sector has a crucial role to play in caring for local communities. Mr McGuinness was a keynote speaker at the World Credit Union Conference in Belfast, where he addressed over 1,800 delegates from 55 countries. He began by referring to the 1994 IRA ceasefire, which he ...

At a break out session at the World Council of Credit Unions (Woccu) annual conference in Belfast, delegates explored the principle of 'co-operation between co-operatives’. An expert panel of Pawel Grzesik (head of the Warsaw office of Nascu, the National Association of Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions); Alan Moore (CEO of the Irish League of Credit Unions Foundation); Calyn Ostrowski ...

In a break out session at the World Council of Credit Union (Woccu) conference in Belfast, Mark Sievewright, president of credit union solutions at Fiserv, looked at 10 predictions for the future of retail financial services. Mr Sievewright described the current climate as “the most exciting yet challenging time of my 30 years in the financial industry”. As technological and demographic ...

In a world of disruptive change, credit unions must prepare for uncertainty. But predicting future trends can be a great challenge. One of the keynote speakers at the World Credit Union Conference in Belfast, Professor Ian Goldin, looked at the main global tendencies and the implications for the credit union sector. Professor Goldin leads the Oxford Martin School, a department at Oxford ...

The World Credit Union Conference is underway in Belfast, bringing together representatives from 55 different countries. The opening ceremony featured introductions from credit union leaders, including Daniel Burns, first vice chair of the World Council of Credit Unions (Woccu). “We all share the co-operative DNA, that’s what brings us together,” he said, welcoming delegates to Northern ...