Credit Unions Have a Window With Fiserv’s New CEO. They Should Use It

By Charles Nerko

Much of my work involves Fiserv, the technology company whose systems sit at the center of many credit unions’ daily operations and, too often, their frustrations.

Yesterday, Fiserv named Takis Georgakopoulos to succeed Mike Lyons as chief executive. Lyons is leaving to run Truist, where he will soon experience core processing from the customer side of the table. (Somewhere, a credit union is smiling.)

The CEO succession matters to credit unions, but only briefly. New CEOs are at their most accommodating soon after they are appointed: they reexamine strategy, court quick victories, and pay attention to departing clients. But that openness does not endure. Soon enough, the early wins are banked, the strategies harden, and old habits return.

A Vulnerablle Moment

Georgakopoulos inherits Fiserv at an unusually vulnerable moment. Its shares have fallen more than 70% over the past year, with the market delivering a clear message to Fiserv’s leadership. 

Pressure like that tends to force choices. A company under strain chooses which lines of business deserve investment, and which relationships it can deprioritize. Credit unions should not assume they will land on the favored side of that sorting.

Roughly a third of the country’s credit unions operate on a Fiserv core. But the importance seems asymmetric. Fiserv’s “Who We Are” webpage boasts more than 6 million merchant locations, eclipsing Fiserv’s 10,000 financial institution clients. Credit unions receive far less prominence in that corporate story. They can fairly ask where they fit in.

Georgakopoulos will soon decide, by his choices and by his silences, how much credit unions matter to Fiserv.

What Credit Unions Should Ask

What should credit unions ask of Fiserv’s new CEO? Just the things a serious technology partner should provide. The list is short.

• They should ask for service that feels like a genuine partnership, not a lengthy ticket queue.
• They should ask for fair, predictable pricing that arrives fully disclosed at the outset, not discovered later through surprises, add-ons, and upsells.
• They should ask for technology that improves year over year. Credit unions should not endure yesterday’s technology at tomorrow’s prices.
• They should ask for security that is worthy of the trust members place in their credit unions.
• They should ask for balanced contracts that incentivize the right behavior: meaningful remedies when performance falls short, and reasonable exit rights when the relationship no longer works.
• And they should ask Fiserv to decide what it wants to be for credit unions. If Fiserv wants to own credit union cores, it should invest in them as if they matter. If it does not, Fiserv should put those platforms in the hands of someone who will.

Credit Unions Need to be Specific

A Fortune 500 CEO who is losing clients has incentives to listen. But a CEO cannot listen equally to everyone all the time. Credit unions that air general dissatisfaction will receive general reassurance. Credit unions that arrive organized, with specifics, and genuinely prepared to leave will receive something far more useful. 

The worst move for credit unions is to be passive and let Fiserv define the relationship for them. Patience has its place, but it is not a strategy. Credit unions have to create leverage, preserve it, and use it to advocate for themselves.

Credit unions have a strategic window now. They should use it before it closes.

Charles Nerko founded NERKO PLLC, a law firm dedicated to advising credit unions on third-party vendor relationships. His firm represents multiple credit unions in negotiations and disputes involving Fiserv. He can be reached at 518.363.9100 and [email protected].