Innovation Only Goes So Far Without Internal Alignment

“The most successful initiatives are the ones where key stakeholders understand the problem we’re trying to solve, the member or business value, the risks, and what will be required from their teams before we move too far down the path.”

Founded in 1967 by a group of IBM employees, Coastal Credit Union ($6.2B, Raleigh, NC) grew up alongside one of the country’s leading technology hubs. Over time, that innovation mindset evolved from adopting new tools to helping build them through CUSOs, strategic partnerships, and investments in emerging fintech companies.

David Jamshid, vice president of fintech partnerships, oversees relationships with fintech partners and emerging technologies. Member value, strategic growth, internal alignment, and long-term fit all play a role in how the credit union evaluates new opportunities.

How does Coastal approach fintech innovation and investment?

David Jamshid: Coastal Credit Union has a long-standing history of fintech innovation through strategic partnerships, CUSO participation, and direct investment activity through our holding CUSO, Coastal Federal Financial Group (CFFG).

Through CFFG, Coastal has invested in and supported credit union-aligned fintech companies, CUSOs, and innovation funds. The latter includes participation in organizations such as CURQL, MDC/Circuit, CU NextGen Technology, Akuvo, Prizeout, CUDL, CU Auto Buying Service, United Members Title, and shared branching.

This structure allows Coastal to gain exposure to emerging fintech capabilities while supporting solutions designed for the broader credit union ecosystem.

Our fintech strategy is focused on identifying, evaluating, investing in, and implementing technology that improves member experience, operational efficiency, revenue diversification, and long-term competitiveness.

Although we’re primarily focused on partnering with and investing in fintech companies rather than commercializing internally built platforms for other institutions, our partnership model has supported innovation across digital banking, AI and automation, lending, payments, financial wellness, digital assets, and member engagement.

Overall, Coastal and CFFG use fintech innovation as both a strategic growth lever and a way to advance the credit union industry.

How are credit unions approaching fintech investment? Future Bets explores how leaders balance immediate needs with longer-term bets, evaluate potential partners, and define success alongside mission and member value. Read the series today.

When choosing what to invest in, how do you balance your day-to-day business needs with longer-term strategic goals?

DJ: Current business needs and longer-term strategic priorities both drive our investment decisions, but we try to avoid viewing those as separate objectives. The strongest opportunities are those that solve a real operating or member pain point today while also positioning Coastal for where the market is moving.

For example, fraud prevention, lending automation, onboarding, AI, financial wellness, digital assets, and member engagement are all areas where current needs and long-term strategy can overlap.

When there is a conflict, the business case and strategic alignment both matter. A near-term pain point might move faster if it has measurable impact, clear operational value, and a defined path to implementation. However, through CFFG, we also make longer-term strategic bets when we believe the capability could become important to Coastal, our members, or the broader credit union system.

In practice, we balance the two by prioritizing investments that have practical applicability to Coastal, strong member or operational value, and potential upside beyond the immediate use case. Current business needs often influence timing, but long-term strategic relevance determines whether the opportunity is worth pursuing.

What does success look like for a fintech investment? How does purpose play a role in your definition of success?

DJ: Success for a fintech investment means more than financial return. Although return on investment matters, we also measure success by whether the company or solution creates meaningful strategic value for Coastal, our members, and the broader credit union ecosystem. That includes improving member experience, solving operational pain points, creating new revenue opportunities, increasing efficiency, reducing risk, or giving Coastal early access to capabilities that might become important in the future.

A fintech investment differs from a traditional vendor relationship because we’re not only buying a product or service, we’re making a strategic commitment to the company’s growth, direction, and potential impact.

Purpose plays an important role in that definition of success. We’re most interested in investments that align with Coastal’s mission, strengthen the credit union model, and help members improve their financial lives. The ideal investment delivers financial upside, strategic relevance, and measurable value to members or the industry.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned about bringing along internal teams?

DJ: Internal alignment has to start early. Fintech innovation can’t be treated as something that is handed off to the business, IT, compliance, risk, or operations after a decision has already been made. The most successful initiatives are the ones where key stakeholders understand the problem we’re trying to solve, the member or business value, the risks, and what will be required from their teams before we move too far down the path.

We’ve also learned teams are more willing to support innovation when it’s framed around solving real problems rather than simply adopting new technology. Bringing internal teams along requires transparency, clear communication, and respect for the operational impact. The goal is not just to get approval for a fintech partnership or investment, but to create shared ownership so the organization can actually implement, support, and scale it successfully.

What’s one thing you’ve gotten wrong or would do differently if you started over today?

DJ: We would involve internal stakeholders even earlier in the process, especially teams that will ultimately be responsible for implementation, risk review, compliance, operations, and long-term support. In some cases, it’s easy to get excited about the strategic value of a fintech solution or investment before fully understanding the internal capacity required to bring it to life.

If we were starting over today, we would put even more emphasis on readiness upfront. That means being clearer about ownership, integration needs, operational impact, vendor management requirements, and success metrics before moving too far into a partnership or investment. Innovation is as much about making sure the organization is prepared to adopt it successfully as about finding the right fintech.

What’s one thing fintechs consistently misunderstand about working with credit unions?

DJ: Credit unions can’t always move at the same speed as a fintech. We’re highly regulated, member-owned institutions, and new partnerships require meaningful due diligence before moving forward. That includes readiness assessments, security reviews, compliance and risk reviews, vendor management, and determining where the implementation fits within an already full pipeline of projects.

Resources are often limited, so choosing fintech partners that understand how to work with us, reduce internal lift, and support a thoughtful implementation is critical.

At the same time, when a credit union supports a fintech, it can create value well beyond the initial contract. We can provide access to subject matter experts, practical feedback from real operating environments, and introductions to other credit unions.

The fintechs that work best with credit unions understand both sides of that equation: the process might take longer, but the relationship can be highly strategic when there’s alignment, trust, and a clear member benefit.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give a fintech about how to partner with credit unions?

DJ: Approach credit unions as long-term partners, not just prospective customers. It’s one thing to have an innovative product or the next best thing, but long-term partnership, trust, and alignment are what ultimately close the deal.

Credit unions need to know that a fintech understands their mission, respects their regulatory environment, and is committed to helping them serve members better over time.

The best fintech partners make it easy for a credit union to say yes. That means clearly defining the problem being solved, demonstrating measurable member or business value, reducing implementation lift, being transparent about risk and integration requirements, and staying engaged after the sale.

A strong product might gain attention, but a strong partnership is what creates adoption, scale, and long-term success.

This interview has been edited and condensed.