Bellingham, Wash.-based credit union WECU has increased funding through its digital channels by 10% since implementing open banking in 2022. 

Following a core and digital banking conversion in 2018, the $2.5 billion credit union realized it needed to continue deploying new technology to be competitive with modern fintechs and bank giants like Bank of America and Chase, Jack Ingram, chief information officer at WECU, said during the “Understanding open banking: How to take advantage of data flows to comply and grow your business” webinar on Dec. 12.  

Watch the webinar here 

“We heard time and time again that [the tech] we had deployed to market wasn’t going to meet the need,” he said, noting that the rising rate environment and market volatility had many consumers leaving smaller financial institutions. 

That’s when the credit union partnered with tech providers like Plaid to ensure it had open banking capabilities, like the ability to fund accounts quickly, he said. Since implementing open banking, “over the past 24 months, we’ve had $350 million run through digital channels, and the majority of that was funded through tools like Plaid.” 

“Being able to quickly fund those accounts and book those deposits has been really critical,” he said. 

Open banking “has allowed us to close more deals and drive the business,” Ingram said. “As we’ve been able to deploy digital tools that chase the broader market we serve … growth has accelerated for us.” 

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