“Collaboration is our superpower, if we could just use it.” That line from Sarah Snell Cooke during her sit-down with Bill Butler, CEO of Kachinga, lingers in the air. It is not just a passing comment. It is a challenge, a reminder, and maybe even a warning. In an industry where the average member is now 53 years old, credit unions cannot afford to miss the next generation.
Bill has been in the trenches long enough to see the patterns. When adults choose their financial institutions, they tend to stick. That is why his company is leaning hard into youth banking and financial education. However, what makes this conversation worth your time is not just the ‘how’ of serving younger members. It is the broader vision of where collaboration, technology and timing converge. With The Underground colliding with Money 2020 this year, Bill believes we are standing at one of those rare moments where real transformation is possible.
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Listening to Bill, you hear both pragmatism and urgency. He does not sugarcoat the reality that small and mid-sized credit unions are facing pressure, whether to merge, consolidate, or simply fight to survive. That is why shared services and collective innovation matter. A singular digital youth app, built once but scaled across many institutions, is just one example of how pooling resources can unlock growth.
What stands out in this conversation is not the buzzwords. It is the humanity. Bill talks about family units, parents and kids, and the importance of creating financial habits early. It is a reminder that behind every “member growth” strategy are actual people, and the stakes are generational.
And then there is the energy of The Underground itself. Bill lights up when he describes it. Thought leaders, executives, fintechs, and technologists colliding in one space, sparking ideas that credit unions might not even be considering yet, whether AI, blockchain, or new models for member engagement. It is not a conference where you passively sit and listen. It is a forum where reflection and strategy collide with inspiration.
By the end of the exchange, Sarah’s opening challenge circles back in a subtle way. Collaboration is not just a nice to have. It may be the very thing that determines whether credit unions thrive in the decade ahead.
NOTE: The following transcript is automated with AI. No, it didn’t replace someone’s job.
Sarah Cooke
Welcome everybody to The Credit Union Connection. I’m your host, Sarah Snell Cooke, and I have with me today. Bill Butler, welcome.
Bill Butler
Thanks, Sarah. Good to good to be here.
Sarah Cooke
Yeah, great to have you. And Bill is the CEO of a company called Kachinga, and I love that. I’m glad I said it correctly. I was going to let you have the first dibs on doing a little bit deeper dive on the introductions of yourself and your company.
Bill Butler
Yeah, thanks, Sarah. Well, so as you mentioned, I run Kachinga, and Kachinga is in a unique position in the credit union space. We’ve got a program that’s designed to provide youth banking to new members while encouraging financial education. So it’s a it’s a robust software solution, and then we also have educational services and solutions for, you know, schools and nonprofits and things like that, too.
Sarah Cooke
So cool, very cool. And so we’re going to be, I’m going to be too at the at the underground on October 25 in Vegas. And that, of course, is leading up to money 2020 What do you see as the significance of that?
Bill Butler
Yeah, this is a this is a fantastic moment for both the underground and Money 2020 to have this convergence. I’ve been in the industry for a lot of years and been participants with my companies with both Money, 2020 and the underground, right? And so it’s great to see this collaboration between the two, with the kickoff, with the underground, with the credit union space. And it’s really a unique opportunity to talk about technology, talk about ideas, bring new technologies into the fold from both directions. So I’m excited to see the two going hand in hand.
Sarah Cooke
Absolutely, absolutely. I think it’s the perfect combination to get credit unions out there and seeing what’s next or what’s new. And so you are going to be speaking on a panel at the underground, and your panel is called, give to get. Explain the goal of your panel, what you hope to tackle while you’re while you’ve got the stage?
Bill Butler
Yeah, absolutely. You know, within the industry, I’d say the premise of really, the reason why organizations have thrived and survive is this concept around collaboration, and so this give to get idea with the panelists is really to share some new thoughts, new ideas around how we’ll collaborate and really renew or revive this idea of collaboration within the industry to bring new technologies, you know, new resources and innovative ideas to the space. Yeah, yeah.
Sarah Cooke
I like the words renew and revive, because it was there. It’s still there, but it has. I do feel like it’s less there, if that even makes sense. But yeah, it’s definitely something that could be crediting superpower for sure. So how does what you’re doing, what your company does, tie in with the underground coming up?
Bill Butler
Yeah, so get Kachinga, we’ve been involved in the underground for a number of years, really focusing on thought leadership for the industry, and then particularly how to serve the youth population, right to you know? And a lot of the lot of the credit unions are facing the same challenges as their peers, right? It’s need for growth, need for new memberships. And, you know, need for an increase in deposits. And so really, we, we’re coming in with our technology, our thoughts, our ideas around how to better serve the industry, but then also how to help that, you know, the rest of the industry grow and thrive. And so, you know, it’ll be great to be there, great to be a part of it, share ideas. And, you know, we always learn a lot, too, from our peers in the industry. Yeah.
Sarah Cooke
And of course, the credits are also looking to get getting younger members and get ahead of it this time, you know. So I feel like a lot of credits feel like they missed the Gen Z or Gen Y boat, so to speak, at the time. So yeah, let’s get ahead of it. I totally agree, because our age is only going up. I think the average is 53 now.
Bill Butler
So yeah, one, it’s interesting. The other, yeah. The other interesting point too is that, you know, by the time the individuals are adults, they’ve typically found a financial institution of choice, right? So it’s really hard to market and target those you know adults to buy products or use whatever credit union services are offered. So it’s really important to collaborate with the broader. Family unit, and then grow from the ground up, right, really, starting at that younger age.
Sarah Cooke
Yeah, for sure, and hopefully get those parents accounts too. And so, yeah, there, you know, as you alluded to, there’s a, there’s a credit union track at money 2020, this year, which is pretty exciting to see. The Underground has been was, you know, very involved, if you will, made a huge impact in making that happen at money, you know, getting credit unions to go to money 2020, and vice versa, getting fintechs to the underground. And this latest action, the CUSS cussing, the CU, strategic CU, shared services could have a tremendous impact too, on the future of small and mid sized credits, which really need the assistance. Need the hand up right now. I hope credits take advantage of shared services. So what do you feel like the impact is going to be going forward with, with cussing?
Bill Butler
Yeah. Well, you know, I think CUSS is the proper term, right? You know, we’re really trying to make a change in the space and cry out, right? I mean, it’s, it’s really a movement and initiative to make change, and so I love, really, the theme around it. But more importantly, I know that the MIT Stankovic and Associates team has been working for, you know, over a year, multiple years, really kind of building out this plan. And so this, everything’s really come together in a good spot. And I’d say, you know, it’s exciting to be a part of it, seeing where this is really going to support the smaller size credit unions, but then also bring in, you know, all credit unions. I think there’s an opportunity for all to collaborate with this shared services model, and it really opens a lot of doors for credit unions.
Sarah Cooke
Yeah, I 100% agree to that. I’ve seen inside shared services models, and it creates that efficiency, and at the same time, the scale that those smaller credit unions need to really negotiate with some of these business partners and things like that. So what is, what is Kachinga his role in that?
Bill Butler
Yeah, so when the team at Mitchell Stankovic, you know, spoke with me about originally stepping into see what we can do to support this shared model, you know, we’ve come up with a shared model for the credit unions to have a single digital app for the youth banking. One of the big challenges with building apps, designing digital solutions, is the is the cost to build, deploy unique assets for each organization, and so for the smaller credit unions in particular, that becomes a challenge. And so we’ve overcome that by coming up with a singular, you know, application that the industry can use. We also support those credit unions that can build it on their own, but more importantly, we tie it back to the core. And so our goal again, is to support member growth, increase deposits, and that core connectivity is quite different than what might be out there in the market today, because it ensures that the credit union has access to those members and then also retains the deposits and those DDA accounts on their own, really to support the growth that’s needed for the industry.
Sarah Cooke
Mm, hmm. And I think you are, what are you what are you hoping credit union executives will be talking about there? What do you want to learn while you’re at the underground?
Bill Butler
Yeah, I mean, the underground always stirs up a lot of thought with, you know, the executives. I think a lot of people walk away energized and ready to take on their next challenge. You know, I think we’re going to see a lot of, you know, thoughts and talk around really change, right? I mean, there’s a lot of pressure for the industry to make a decision, sometimes, whether to consolidate, to acquire, to join to, you know, innovate differently. And so I think this is one new method that the industry really needs to look at to support sustainability with, you know, where the credit unions are at today, right, and help them thrive. I’d say a lot of the questions and thoughts I’d like to see are around, you know, member growth around new technologies and really innovation around this collaborative approach.
Sarah Cooke
Yeah, and I love that again. Collaboration that is our superpower, if we could just use it. So why are you? You kind of touched on all of this, but why are you a supporter of the underground? How would you sell it to someone else to get them to attend?
Bill Butler
Yeah, you know, it’s always a great event where Sue and the team at Mitchell Stankovic and Associates really bring together thought leaders, whether they’re technology companies or they’re partners or. There, you know, in the trenches as the, you know, executives of these credit unions, you know, and, and it’s, it’s just always a great event for thought leadership, right? And I’d say, you know, this particular events, I think is, is key, because it’s, it coincides Money, 2020, and so, you know, there’s going to be new ideas that maybe we’re not even looking at in the industry that are coming up at this event. It could be around AI, it could be around this idea of new member growth. It could be blockchain. There’s going to be a lot of great ideas that are generated through this collision between money 2020 and the underground. And so it’s a unique opportunity. And plus the executives have an opportunity to be in one place, you know, connect with each other, network as well, and then network with, you know, maybe other fintechs and technology companies that are there for Money, 2020.
Sarah Cooke
And there are credit unions there, of all sizes too. You got the guys in the billion dollar club and the guys down in the, or I shouldn’t say guys the credit unions down in the, you know, $40 million club. So yeah, it’s a wide range of people, but a common mission, which is, like we said, super important. So I always allow my guests to give their final thoughts. To wrap up, what would you like to leave our credit union executive audience with?
Bill Butler
Yeah, no, I appreciate you giving me the microphone here and really again, I just encourage the executives to really, you know, take one moment to stop, you know, reflect on where they’re at and look forward. I mean, there’s a lot of pressure for, you know, us to move in a lot of different ways, for growth ideas or for innovation and new technology. One of the things that’s come up in the past from the underground is really just kind of this self reflection moment where, you know, we can focus on what’s important to move forward, right? And so in a lot of ways that forward movement is going to be tied to ways that we can grow your customer base, right and increase deposits, and, you know, deliver on what the members want, right? And so I’d say, you know, if there’s a good reflection moment leading up to that event, and then during the event, I think it will help with the executive strategic plan for the upcoming year.
Sarah Cooke
Yeah, perfect timing for that as well. Awesome. I love it. Thank you so much for joining me today, bill. I appreciate it.
Bill Butler
Yeah, thanks. Sarah.