By Fred Cadena
Building trust has always been a core tenet of how businesses develop relationships with customers. But in today’s environment, confidence in financial institutions (FIs) is being tested. Economic uncertainty, evolving customer expectations, and the speed of digital change have created a widening trust gap between people and the FIs that serve them.
In fact, data from a 2025 Vericast survey shows only 28% of Americans trust their current financial institution to help them navigate all this uncertainty.
For some companies, adding a Chief Trust Officer (CTrO) is the answer to rebuilding confidence, but outside of the enterprise, smaller organizations, such as a credit union, may not have the infrastructure or resources to hire for this position.
Still, trust and confidence need to be restored. Credit unions can use pillars of the CTrO role to help strengthen their core competency in relationship building and community connection.
A Unique Ability
Credit unions sit within their communities, making them uniquely able to couple local insights with real, in-person conversations as a way to more intelligently inform what they offer. Infusing elements of the CTrO role into this means credit unions must become proactive educators, understand what each generation values most, and create consistent experiences that feel both personal and reliable.
Use Personalized Communication to Become an Educational Guidepost
As part of the survey mentioned above, we asked whether the latest market uncertainty is making consumers more aware of and tuned into their finances – 85% said yes. More specifically, 64% are more aware of their account balances than before. Perhaps stemming from this, only 19% of respondents noted feeling “very positive” about their current financial well-being.
Consumer uncertainty combined with a heightened focus on finances means credit unions have a chance to fill in some gaps with transparency and education. People have long-term goals they are trying to achieve with their finances, and it’s important they know and understand what their options are.
The current economic climate comes with both a practical and emotional toll, putting credit unions at a critical inflection point. Consumers are looking to their FIs to guide them, educating them on solutions that feel real and achievable for whatever financial state they are in now. Becoming a true progress partner (and leveraging the CTrO approach) centers on using the right data to inform communications.
This data, along with the community-driven approach credit unions have, pave the way for providing the right products that will drive value however the financial goals of customers evolve.
Figure Out What Financial Support is Most Helpful to Each Generation
Americans are dealing with some tough realities; one in three said they had to delay large purchases like cars, homes, and appliances because of recent economic conditions. They also feel financially behind in building savings or an emergency fund (40%), paying off debt (38%), and saving for retirement (37%) among other concerns.
Even as consumers feel the pressure to delay certain purchases and reassess finances, they remain open to the right offerings that can fulfill their needs. Since January 2025, one third of respondents have taken out a personal loan or considered one to support their financial state. Additionally, one in five say they plan to evaluate the current financial and banking services they have.
The Opportunity for CUs
There’s opportunity for credit unions to play into the strengths they already have to build trust with customers because they know them and their communities well. Specifically, this gives them an edge to understand what it is that customers want and need. For example, Millennials and Gen Z are often looking for tools that can support personalized budgeting (36% and 44%). They also want advice on saving and investing (39%), debt management guidance (30% and 23%), and credit score monitoring (33% and 29%).
Market and demographic insights, community-based patterns, and regional economics can help credit unions have the right conversations and develop the right offers that will resonate and address unique needs.
Get the Best of Both Worlds with “Phygital” Experiences
To put on the CTrO hat, credit unions must think about reliability across channels as a trust builder. Digital wallets, for example, are growing, but according to research from The Federal Reserve, debit cards still remain a common payment method. In fact, the most common for payments of $25 or less.
While there’s growing hype around digital services, credit unions need to find the balance between what’s innovative and what’s familiar to maintain trust. This is where “phygital” experiences come into play.
The consumer desire to go fully digital with their banking and payments is quite low at just two percent. Physical cards are still seen as essential, especially in urgent situations like fraud or phone/card loss.
The Reality
The reality is that consumers don’t view digital and in-branch interactions as separate. The expectation is for seamless service between and across channels, no matter if it’s in-person or online. The community-based aspects of credit unions can go a long way in how these institutions bring the physical and digital worlds together. This community strength plays a key role in how credit unions provide consumers with the convenience and speed they expect and the personalized, relationship-driven support they need.
Taking this hybrid approach strengthens trust, positioning credit unions as both technologically advanced and community-grounded, delivering value in a unique way to customers.
The Path to Earning Back Trust
The CTrO role is aimed at bringing technology, communication, and innovation together. It’s meant to safeguard data, maintain compliance, make sure tech usage is ethical and communicate all of this to customers. A tall order, but one that’s always been important well before companies started adding this role to the c-suite roster, meaning you don’t have to have a CTrO to build trust.
What it comes down to for credit unions is taking the opportunity now to employ a people-first approach to rebuilding trust. It’s important to give consumers transparency and education to show that their financial needs are understood and can be supported.
Fred Cadena is SVP, Head of Client Strategy with Vericast.
