AUSTIN, Texas–A new report has found credit unions continue to trail banks when it comes to real-time digital payments, yet remain ahead of banks when it comes to expanding their branch networks.
In addition, credit unions also lead banks when it comes to modernizing their core systems, according to the new Q2 Holding’s , “2025 Digital Banking Trends and Priorities” report.
In a preface to the report that summed up its findings, Jim Marous, owner and CEO of Digital Banking Report, notes the survey of institutions found 51% say they are activity implementing digital transformation initiatives, and that digital experience enhancement leads institutional priorities at 52%. And het just a quarter of organizations prioritize modernizing legacy systems or back office operations, Marou noted.
Marous said the “most striking” finding in the 2025 report is the “continued commitment to physical presence amid digital acceleration, with the survey finding 35% of financial institutions plan branch network expansion, led by credit unions at 61%.
Other Findings
- 62% of banks offer some version of real-time payments, while just 40% of credit unions do. “This gap highlights smaller institutions’ ongoing challenges in implementing advanced payment technologies while maintaining competitive service offerings,” Marous stated.
- AI adoption continues to grow. “While fraud detection leads at 33%, the expansion into customer service chatbots (28%) and content creation (25%) signals a shift toward more sophisticated customer engagement,” the summation states.
The full report can be found here.
