“The future of the credit union movement is being shaped by the choices we make now.”
That was Anthony Hernandez, DCUC President/CEO and retired U.S. Air Force colonel, explaining why the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) and co-host Scott Credit Union gathered Midwest leaders at The Westin St. Louis, October 5–7, for the 2026 Midwest Sub-Council Conference.
The agenda hung together around one question: how can credit unions get ready for what’s coming without losing the service and trust that make them different? Advocacy, artificial intelligence, fraud prevention and regulatory change all got their turn, and the point was to show how they connect.
What was on the table
Advocacy. Federal advocacy sessions and state legislative updates laid out the policy environment credit unions work in. Decisions made in Washington and state capitals can change what it costs to serve members, how people access financial services and how well credit unions compete. The takeaway for leaders: stay engaged, and keep member needs in the policy conversation.
AI and fraud. Artificial intelligence was treated as a leadership and planning matter, not just a tech purchase. Choosing tools is one piece. Deciding how they’ll be overseen, and how they’ll actually help members, is the harder piece. A dedicated fraud session covered what credit unions are seeing right now, which set immediate threats next to longer-term questions about innovation. The shared message: pursue new capabilities, but protect member trust while doing it.
Regulation. Speakers walked through developments at the NCUA, CFPB, Treasury and other federal agencies, with an eye on what to watch heading into 2027. That matters because those signals shape where leadership teams put investments, how they manage risk and how they allocate resources.
Frank Padak, President/CEO of Scott Credit Union and First Vice Chair of the DCUC Board, put the practical side plainly: “Whether you are weighing a technology investment, responding to a fraud threat or planning for growth, you need to know what is coming and what your peers are learning.” He said the conference gave attendees room to work through those questions together, with members at the center. Scott Credit Union, he added, was proud to help bring it to St. Louis.
The bigger picture
Underneath the sessions ran a broader theme. Changing demographics and uneven consumer demand are testing old assumptions about growth. Faster digital payments and continued consolidation are changing how members pick a financial provider. The conference tied these pressures to decisions about payments strategy, technology and long-term relevance. For credit unions planning for 2027 and beyond, the job is adapting to new expectations while keeping the personal relationships and cooperative purpose that define member-owned institutions.
Keeping it local
The program also kept things grounded in the community. The Scott Credit Union and St. Louis Blues partnership showed how credit unions build relationships beyond the branch. The Veterans Community Project spoke about the needs of veterans in St. Louis, a reminder that a credit union’s future depends on staying connected to the people it serves.
That connection became concrete at the close, when Scott CU presented a $2,500 donation to the Veterans Community Project. Hernandez announced that DCUC would match it.
“The credit union commitment to our military and their families doesn’t end when they take off the uniform,” Hernandez said. “There are too many veterans struggling to make ends meet, and we are honored to support a program doing the hard work of meeting these needs.”
What to do with it
If you lead or work in a credit union, use the same framework in your next planning meeting: put advocacy, AI governance, fraud and regulatory outlook on one agenda instead of four separate ones. Then ask how each affects member trust. For more, visit midwest.dcuc.org to learn about DCUC’s Midwest Sub-Council Conference and view the agenda.