20 must-see credit union marketing stats for 2026

A credit union marketing leader pulls up the latest satisfaction report. The number is good: members rate their credit union 68 points higher than they rate the average bank, according to J.D. Power's 2026 U.S. Credit Union Satisfaction Study. Then they move to the next line: 59% of those same members already have a checking account somewhere else, and 56% have a savings account outside the credit union too.

That's the tension defining credit union marketing today: members like their credit union more than they like the alternative, but they're still hedging. Satisfaction doesn't seem to be converting into share of wallet, so credit unions have to think of more compelling ways to attract and engage members.

The 20 credit union marketing statistics below cover where credit union budgets are going, what video and personalization help deliver, and where to pay attention to attrition risks.

The loyalty divide credit unions can't out-market

These credit union member retention statistics show where the loyalty story gets complicated.

1. Credit unions beat banks on satisfaction by 68 points

Credit unions scored 725 out of 1,000 on J.D. Power's 2026 satisfaction index, compared with 657 for retail banks, a 68-point advantage. That's a significant differentiator against banks with big ad budgets, and a strong asset that belongs in acquisition messaging.

2. Member loyalty is eroding even where satisfaction is high

Only 71% of credit union members say they'll "definitely" reuse their credit union, down 2 percentage points from the previous year; 59% already have a checking account, and 56% have a savings account somewhere else, per J.D. Power. Satisfaction and loyalty aren't the same metric. The gap there is exactly where a relationship-deepening campaign can earn its budget.

Credit unions are growing. So is the competition for the same members

3. Total membership passed 144.7 million

Credit union membership reached 144.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, a net addition of 2.4 million members over the year, according to the National Credit Union Administration. The market is showing growth, which means acquisition campaigns have good potential.

4. The number of credit unions is shrinking

Federally insured credit unions fell to 4,287 in Q4 2025, down from 4,455 a year earlier, per the same NCUA data. Consolidation means fewer institutions splitting a growing membership base. For marketing teams at smaller credit unions, that raises the cost of standing out and the value of a differentiated, personalized member experience.

5. Credit union net income jumped 31.5% in a single year

Sector-wide net income hit $18.8 billion in 2025, up $4.5 billion, or 31.5%, from 2024, according to the NCUA. A profitability jump this size is the argument marketing and CX leaders can point to when building the case for reinvesting in member communication programs instead of treating them as a cost center.

What credit unions are actually spending on marketing

6. Marketing spend still tracks institution size

Credit unions under $100 million in assets spent 1.23% of noninterest expenses on marketing in 2025, compared with 4.30% at institutions with $5 billion or more, according to Capital Performance Group (CPG) data reported by The Financial Brand. The largest credit unions commit more than three times the budget share of the smallest ones.

7. Budget growth is splitting along the same line

Marketing budgets grew roughly 9% year over year at mid-size and large credit unions in 2025, while budgets at the smallest institutions grew 0%, per the same Financial Brand analysis. The gap between growth-focused and flat-budget credit unions is widening every year, and doesn't seem to be getting addressed.

8. Smaller credit unions get more out of every marketing dollar

Credit unions under $100 million in assets generated $69.83 in revenue for every marketing dollar spent compared with $37.90 at institutions with $5 billion or more in assets, according to The Financial Brand's analysis of Capital Performance Group (CPG) data. A bigger budget clearly isn't the whole story here; relevance and targeting carry real weight too, and that's exactly where smaller teams can compete.

9. Financial services ad spend is set to grow 50% by 2027

Financial services media ad spending is projected to grow from $39.9 billion in 2023 to more than $60 billion by 2027, according to eMarketer. The category is getting more competitive every year, not less, which raises the cost of generic, undifferentiated campaigns.

Learn how Red Crown Credit Union's marketing team built a foundation of modern member engagement with video.

The digital funnel is open. Getting members through it is the hard part

10. Nearly nine in ten checking accounts have an active digital user, but the funnel still leaks

Nearly 87% of checking accounts had an active digital banking user in 2025, yet 3.36 digital account-opening applications were abandoned for every one completed, according to The Financial Brand. Digital adoption is high, and the acquisition funnel itself is still very much a credit union digital marketing and communications problem.

11. Relationship depth is improving, slowly

Products held per digital user rose from 1.22 to 1.56 over the past year, per the same Financial Brand research. That's a signal that timely, relevant offers move members toward deeper relationships. It's also a small enough gain that most credit unions have far more room to grow it.

Video marketing is now the baseline

Video marketing for credit unions has moved from optional to expected, and the numbers below show why.

12. Nine in ten businesses now use video, and most holdouts are about to join them

Most businesses (91%) use video as a marketing tool, and 67% of the businesses don't plan to adopt it in 2026, according to Wyzowl's 2026 State of Video Marketing report. A credit union without a video strategy in 2026 isn't early or cautious; it's simply behind.

13. Most marketers say video pays for itself

A clear majority of marketers (82%) report a strong return on their video investment, 85% say video has generated leads, and 83% say it directly increased sales, per Wyzowl. That's a rare case where marketing ROI data lines up cleanly with what credit union leadership wants to see before approving the budget.

14. Consumers use video to make financial decisions before they ever talk to a person

Almost every consumer (96%) has watched an explainer video to research a product, and 85% say video has persuaded them to make a purchase, according to Wyzowl. For a credit union explaining a loan product or account type, that's the difference between a static page and a piece of content that closes the gap between interest and application.

15. Consumer appetite for brand video keeps climbing

Consumer appetite hasn't leveled off either: 84% say they want to see more video content from brands in 2026, per Wyzowl. Demand is still growing, which means the credit unions building video programs now are building ahead of where member expectations are headed, rather than catching up to where they already are.

Alliant Credit Union's Creative Services team adopted SundaySky as part of a re-platform of its digital banking experience, and saw value right out of the box. Read more about their video story.

Personalization is the expectation now

Personalized marketing for credit unions has moved from a competitive edge to a baseline expectation for members in digital touchpoints.

16. Most consumers expect personalization, and many companies are still not delivering

A majority of consumers (71%) expect personalized interactions, and 76% report frustration when personalization falls short, according to McKinsey. That gap between expectation and delivery carries a real cost for any credit union still sending the same statement, onboarding sequence, or offer to every member regardless of their actual account and product mix.

17. Personalized campaigns outperform generic ones by a measurable margin

Personalized messaging campaigns generate 10% higher engagement and action rates than non-personalized content, per McKinsey's research. That pattern holds across the high-volume, data-rich communications credit unions already send every month.

Gen Z is the leading indicator of the loyalty problem

18. Gen Z members are 2.5 times more likely to say they'll leave

Gen Z credit union members are more than twice as likely to consider leaving their institution (36%) than all age groups (14%), according to PYMNTS Intelligence's Credit Union Innovation Readiness research. Whatever is driving broader loyalty erosion is showing up first and most sharply among the members credit unions need to retain long-term.

19. Gen Z learns about money from creators and peers before their own financial institution

Filene Research Institute finds that financial education for Gen Z increasingly happens through parents, YouTube creators, Reddit communities, and peer networks rather than directly from a bank or credit union. Filene also notes that many Gen Z consumers turn to social media 'finfluencers' for money guidance, sources that are often entertaining but not always accurate. Video is a key medium to compete with those sources for credibility. For marketing teams, the takeaway isn't to chase every platform Gen Z uses, but to make the credit union's communications feel as relevant and specific as the content already earning their trust.

Learn more about how credit unions can win Gen Z with personalized video.

Where credit unions still underperform

20. Financial services email still lags well behind top-performing content

Financial services email open rates average 20.20%, with a 2.50% click-through rate, according to Mailchimp and Campaign Monitor data reported by WebFX. That's the baseline most credit union marketers are working against, and it's a low one to overcome. Better targeting and more relevant content are can help move it.

Conclusion

There's a pattern across these credit union marketing trends for 2026: credit unions are growing, budgets are recovering, and video and personalization show clear, measurable returns. Most credit unions already have the account, product, and behavioral data to personalize onboarding, statements, and offers, but historically, producing individually relevant video at scale has required a production team that most credit union marketing departments don't have.

SundaySky's enterprise video creation and personalization platform allows editors to build a single onboarding, statement, or offer video and have it render individually for every member at scale. Learn how SundaySky helps credit unions build deeper relationships with personalized video.

FAQ

How much of a difference does personalization actually make?

McKinsey's research found personalized messaging campaigns generate 10% higher engagement and action rates than generic content, and 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions from the companies they do business with. For credit unions, that gap shows up directly in how members respond to onboarding sequences, statements, and offers.

Is personalized video realistic for a credit union without a big marketing team?

Yes. SundaySky fits the needs of credit union teams without having to add dedicated video production staff. iTHINK Financial cut its video production time by 75% after adopting the platform, scaling its video program without adding headcount in addition to the other examples cited in this blog.

What's the difference between marketing-adjacent stats and marketing stats in this roundup?

Several stats here, like membership growth, satisfaction scores, and digital funnel abandonment, aren't marketing-channel metrics on their own. They're included because each one shapes a marketing decision: where to invest, who to target, and what message earns attention. A credit union marketer who understands the loyalty gap or the funnel drop-off is better equipped to build a campaign that actually closes it.

See what these numbers mean for your marketing plan

Credit unions have a real trust advantage over banks and positive membership growth. Book a demo to see how SundaySky helps credit union marketing teams turn member data into personalized video, without adding to a small team's workload.