NAPERVILLE, Ill.— As rising technology, regulatory, and cybersecurity costs increase pressure on credit unions, one industry executive says institutions have two viable paths to sustainable growth, and also sharing advice on what should be on CU strategic planning session agendas for 2027, where costs can be squeezed out, and more.
Tim Bruculere, senior vice president-membership, at Alloya Corporate Federal Credit Union, says some credit unions are pursuing growth through mergers and acquisitions–which tend to be more high profile, he said others are finding success through organic expansion by concentrating on their local markets, delivering differentiated service, and working with partners to manage costs.
Bruculere’s observations appear here as part of the CU Daily’s series, “The Growth Imperative,” with an emphasis on strategic planning for 2027.
The CU Daily: Has the role of the corporate credit union changed? If so, how?
Bruculere: Our role hasn’t changed, but it has been expanding. As an aggregator of services and with a goal of making the back-office lives of our members more efficient, we have adapted as financial services have evolved. Where some credit unions have excess liquidity, we provide investment options, and those options have grown, such as in the case of our Loan Participations investments through our Loan Participations Platform.
Where other credit unions need liquidity, we provide lending and other options such as SimpliCD issuance, Loan Participations sales, and most recently, the ability to securitize loan portfolios in an efficient manner that had never before been accomplished. Working alongside three credit unions, we facilitated the credit-union network’s first-ever multi-issuer prime auto loan securitization (ABS), opening up a significant source of liquidity for the entire network and blazing the trail for future ABS transactions within the credit union system.
As payments continue to evolve, Alloya has been an early adopter of offering the FedNow® Service to members and has formed a stablecoin CUSO, Appex CUSO, LLC (Alloya Premier Exchange), that is testing our own stablecoin, CUUSD, through a pilot program with select institutions to be ready when regulation is finalized. CUUSD is designed for institutional use only and is not yet available for purchase.
Alloya also continues to enhance our ability to provide members with a fast and efficient small-dollar loan solution through QCash Financial. In short, Alloya is now more than a corporate.
The CU Daily: What did you hear primarily from your clients/member CUs during 2026 (questions, requests, pain points, etc.)? Did anything come as a surprise?
Bruculere: The two primary concerns from members—which aren’t really a surprise—are the growing discussions around affordability due to inflation and continuing worries around fraud. Cyber fraud, check fraud, card fraud and various other scams against members continue to grow, with no end in sight.
What to Put on the Agenda
The CU Daily: If you could put one item on the agenda for strategic planning meetings this fall, what would it be and why?
Bruculere: Prepare for payment system changes. As more consumers adapt to faster and instant payments, credit unions need to stay close to this evolution. Credit unions can start by getting set up for the Federal Reserve’s FedNow products, especially Receive.
The CU Daily: Is growth a frequent subject of discussion for Alloya or credit unions? If so, what kind of growth is discussed? What is misunderstood about growth, and what is the most important growth metric to watch?
Bruculere: There are two schools of thought, and at Alloya we see success from both paths. The first school of thought is to get larger and more efficient whether through organic growth, merger or bank purchase. As technological, security and regulatory needs all grow, being larger and more efficient is necessary to combat these pressures.
On the other hand, focusing on your strengths, your local markets, making service worth paying for and filling that niche while utilizing the right partners to help you be efficient also works very successfully.
The CU Daily: How do you monitor what’s taking place in the fintech space?
Bruculere: We stay close by participating in cooperative endeavors such as MDC and the CURQL Funds. In addition, attending every tech conference where new products that may benefit credit union members are displayed provides a great picture of the landscape. Most importantly, we dedicate staff members to following the fintech space and meet with as many innovators as possible.
The CU Daily: Cost management will be on the agenda for every credit union in 2027. Where have you found room to squeeze out costs?
Bruculere: Technological development has provided the most cost savings. When seeking a new core system, the choices were few and a terrible fit for a corporate credit union. None were developed for our special needs, and they were extremely expensive. Alloya built its own core system with in-house staff – Premier Core.
When it came time to innovate around making our members more efficient in their daily transactions, Alloya developed its own mobile app, Premier View Mobile, again using internal staff. Premier View Mobile enables members to access our one-stop transaction system, Premier View, anytime, anywhere, from any device. Authorized users can view accounts, perform transfers, advance a loan, grant second approval on wires and much more, all with the same level of Premier View security.
With continued improvements to our technology base, Alloya has been able to use existing staff to take on the ever growing regulatory and security burdens faced by all credit unions.
The Focus for Alloya
The CU Daily: In the case of Alloya, where will you focus strategically in 2027?
Bruculere: We haven’t finalized that with our board yet, but you can expect that highlights will include continued development around payment evolution, security, and fraud enhancements, as well as continuing to grow our membership base to further strengthen the power of aggregation and cooperation that benefits credit unions across the country.
The CU Daily: How has Alloya used AI this year, and how does it plan to use AI in 2027? Do you have an AI strategy?
Bruculere: In 2026 we made an AI tool available to all staff and gave them each a simple task: develop one use case. As staff have learned about AI and what it can do, many more use cases than that have been found. In truth, many areas of Alloya have already been using AI, especially our Technology Solutions team, but with one very deliberate strategy: there is no connection to any system outside Alloya.
The CU Daily: How are clients/member CUs using AI? How should they use it? What would you recommend to them as an AI strategy?
Bruculere: The use of AI among members is highly variable, and we simply recommend that members take it slowly, keep their information and data shielded from the internet, and choose the right partners. Before exploring AI use cases, credit unions should understand where their data resides and who can access it. From there, they can determine how best to put that data to work.
Stablecoins, Tokenization & More
The CU Daily: What direction does Alloya provide—or what direction has been sought—regarding stablecoins, tokenization, and other blockchain-based payment types? What are the focus and message you offer?
Bruculere: Alloya has developed its own stablecoin CUSO and announced the launch of CUUSD, a U.S. dollar-denominated institutional payment stablecoin issued by Appex CUSO, LLC (Alloya Premier Exchange), a wholly owned credit union service organization of Alloya. CUUSD is designed for approved credit unions and other institutional participants to support the transfer and holding of digital value across modern payment networks. As financial activity moves increasingly to digital networks, CUUSD is designed to offer a cooperative, credit union-owned option that keeps the industry’s interests at the center of innovation while preserving the principles that have long defined the credit union movement.
The CU Daily: Is Alloya doing or planning anything else that should be highlighted?
Bruculere: 2026 marks Alloya’s 15th year, and we are celebrating credit union success by highlighting credit union stories. Through our Celebrate Your Story initiative, the first 250 member credit unions to submit their stories will receive $10,000 grants as we highlight the impact that credit unions have on their members and communities. We will share these stories now and throughout 2027. In addition, each month for the next 15 months, one featured story will be recognized with the Next Chapter Award. Credit unions selected for the Next Chapter Award will receive an additional $10,000 to be donated to the charity of their choice. In total, Alloya will give away $2.65 million through this exciting initiative.
Earlier Reporting
Earlier reporting in this series:
- As CUs Plot Plans for Growing in 2027, One Person Urges Them Not to Overlook the Unicorns
- In Planning for 2027, Don’t Overlook the Value of a Clear, Consistent Brand: A CU Daily Series
- As CUs Prepare 2027 Strategic Plans, a Reminder of the Value of Offering PMI
–Reporting by Anne Battle Schultz
