Members Demand Digital, But They Want Branches, Too

Digital adoption is rising, but branches still matter. To win members over, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union ($5.0B, St. Paul, MN) is building an experience strategy around both.

“We’re pushing hard to have this goal where anything you want to do in a branch or call in for, you can do digitally,” says CEO Dave Larson. “Yet members still like that they can go into the branch and talk to someone face to face about a problem or question.”

Data supports this idea, according to CFO Brian Volkmann.

“We did research last year as part of our strategic planning process,” he says. “It confirmed our approach of continuing to build branches.”

A Mission-Driven Expansion Strategy

Branches are still the largest driver of new memberships at Affinity Plus, with more than 65% joining in person. However, there’s a shift in member behavior. Volkmann describes members as increasingly self-sufficient. Increasingly, they are using branches less for everyday transactions and more for complex needs like fraud, first-time lending assistance, and financial advice.

“They’re coming in to talk about buying their first home, getting a car loan, or opening a new checking account,” the CFO says. “They want that personal service.”

Member behavior might be predictable, but when it comes to prioritizing where to put new locations, Larson describes Affinity Plus’ strategy as anything but.

“When it comes to what traditional data would tell you about where to put a location, we often don’t focus there,” he says. “We often go into communities that others are leaving.”

Larson says the credit union makes the decision to expand its branch footprint on a case-by-case basis, weighing whether each individual location makes sense from a credit union, member, and community point of view.

“We look at where we think we can have a bigger impact,” the CEO says. “And we want to go places with strong community pride.”

For example, Affinity Plus opened a branch in the small city of Hopkins, MN, in 2025. The city’s total population is less than 20,000; to date, more than 4,500 are credit union members.

“They are a very tight-knit community driven by small businesses,” Larson says. “Residents want to work with businesses that share similar values, and we have received a warm welcome since opening.”

Digital For Daily, Human When It’s Hard

Of course, branches are only one part of the member experience puzzle. It’s a digital age, and consumers overwhelmingly demand convenient, reliable service. That’s why Affinity Plus has also invested in its online banking capabilities.

As of April 2026, the cooperative’s digital banking platform logged 191,530 monthly active users — those who signed in at least one time during the month. That’s approximately 65% of its total membership, a rate that appears to be holding steady even as more members join.

“What’s just as encouraging is the depth of engagement,” Volkmann says.

Affinity Plus averages 21.37 sessions per active user per month. Mobile accounts for approximately 90% of all sessions. Younger members are especially active, with millennials and Gen Z representing roughly 60% of sessions. The credit union’s youth banking platform has also quadrupled its registered members in the past two years.

“Our members and potential members want digital for daily, but they want a human for when it’s hard,” Volkmann says.

To improve the member experience and help drive growth, the credit union converted its digital banking platform to Lumin Digital in January 2025.

“We were looking for a more up-to-date system that we could develop on and that had regular updates,” Volkmann says.

Within four months, the credit union completed more than 40 product improvements, including more than 10 in a single month.

“That cadence is a direct result of why we converted,” Volkmann says. “To be able to respond faster and, more importantly, to respond to what members are telling us.”

Features like better transfer tools and streamlined access for joint accounts came directly from member feedback. The new platform expanded self-service capabilities such card activation, card replacement, and travel notices. In the first eight months alone, members generated more than 20,000 loan payoff letters and completed more than 6,000 certificate maturity changes digitally.

The technology investment also allowed Affinity Plus to offer something it couldn’t before: a dedicated business digital banking experience.

“For the first time, our business members have a digital home with role-based access through authorized signers, sub-user entitlements, and self-service capabilities built specifically for how businesses operate,” Volkmann says.

Since the launch, business users have increased 6% to 10,756 business authorized signers and 580 sub users registered. The most used features include spending analysis, direct deposit letters, card management, and CD maturity changes.

A Long-Term Vision For Member Satisfaction

Affinity Plus’s approach to branching and digital banking is all about achieving channel parity.

“We talk about it as an industry, the friction around making banking easy,” Larson says. “Right now, there still are some things that require you to come in, so we’re talking a lot about how to ease or remove more of that friction.”

The CEO says he envisions a future where members may complete most transactions through a branch, contact center, or digital channel without receiving a different answer or experience.

“I want to get to where we can say to our members: ‘No matter how you want to bank with us, we can do everything for you,'” Larson says.