The President’s Perspective

​October is National Co-op Month and Cybersecurity Month! Plus, Congress avoids government shutdown; and an important update from America’s Credit Unions! 

Welcome to October! This is a significant month in the credit union world as it’s National Co-op Month and International Credit Union (ICU) Day on October 17. We also recognize October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month. While the first two “holidays” are familiar to us all, Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a bit lesser known; a collaborative effort between government and the financial services industry to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and to ensure that all individuals and organizations have the resources needed to be safer and more secure online. This marks the 20th year that this event was launched and sponsored by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
 
Cybersecurity is not just a credit union problem, nor is it a government responsibility; it requires collaboration between the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Please encourage your members to adopt basic cybersecurity practices, such as using strong passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, keeping software up to date, and being aware of phishing scams. Dakota credit unions can also help raise awareness about evolving cyber threats, such as ransomware, data breaches, and hacking. Many free resources are available at the links below:

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
National Cybersecurity Alliance
 
Congress avoids Government Shutdown, for now.
Late last week, the U.S. Senate voted 78-18 to pass a continuing resolution funding the government through December 20, thus avoiding a government shutdown prior to the November general election.  The House of Representatives passed the CR prior to the Senate by a vote of 341-82. The bill will allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to access its full-year appropriation beginning October 1. While 18 Republican senators voted against the three-month funding appropriations, all four of our Dakota senators voted in favor, as did both House members.
 
The Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), if attached to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), could be devastating to credit unions, community banks, and other credit card issuers, as it seeks to limit the interchange fees by allowing merchants to choose from multiple payment networks. Credit unions and community banks rely on these fees to support credit card programs and other services; a reduction in these fees would severely cut into their revenues, making it harder for smaller institutions to maintain affordable card options for consumers.
 
The CCCA would also impose additional regulatory burdens on credit card issuers, requiring them to update their systems to accommodate multiple network routing options. For smaller institutions like credit unions and community banks, these operational changes come with significant costs, further straining their resources. On the other hand, the big box retailers would stand to benefit significantly, resulting in a substantial increase in profit margins. Further, there is no guarantee that these savings would be passed on to consumers. In fact, we know with the Durbin Debit interchange amendment that passed in 2010 that profit and the savings retailers made were not passed down to consumers through lower prices and fees.
 
Ultimately, while large retailers stand to gain, the CCCA could have a damaging impact on credit unions, community banks, and consumers, who may face higher fees, fewer rewards, and reduced access to credit. Stay tuned and on alert as we will need your help when it’s time to “release the hounds” on this issue following the election.
 
America’s Credit Unions launching restructured advocacy and policy committee.
Advocacy is job one for America’s Credit Unions. As our new national organization works to ensure our advocacy efforts are effectively meeting the needs of our members and the industry as a whole, America’s Credit Unions has strategically redesigned their member-led advocacy committee structure.
 
There are significant changes between this committee’s structure and that of our legacy organizations, but they are intentional to ensure broad representation of our membership and encourage active participation. This group should be our most vocal and engaged advocates to help guide our policy positions and move our industry forward. Our legacy organizations had passionate advocacy committees where members helped identify priorities, challenges, and opportunities through regular communications and feedback. We expect this to remain true with the newly named Advocacy Policy Committee, charged with recommending and advising on policy positions America’s Credit Unions will take on behalf of our members.
 
The composition of the committee has changed to ensure broad representation, and the Dakota Credit Union Association can nominate one credit union professional per state. Our two Governmental Affairs Committees will be making those nominations. There will also be two initial subcommittees: Legislative & Regulatory. The committee makeup will include 100 members representing natural-person credit unions, 6 members representing the American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL), and the vice chair of America’s Credit Unions Board who will serve as the committee’s chair. Guest participants who represent other industry stakeholders may be invited at the discretion of the executive committee.
 
New Ideas Conference wraps up in Bismarck.
Last week, DakCU staff was excited to host more than 50 credit union professionals and business solution providers in Bismarck/Mandan for our New Ideas Conference. Always a crowd favorite, the appropriately named educational conference brings the latest in industry trends, technology, and concepts and leaves attendees with actionable steps and key takeaways that can be implemented immediately.

While each New Ideas event is impressive in the amount of information that is shared in such a condensed time, I can say this year’s lineup was outstanding, covering everything from AI to marketing, sales to crisis communications, and cybersecurity to advertising compliance. I hope all our guests enjoyed the event as much as our staff did, and for those who were not able to make it – keep this conference on your radar for next year, because it is too good to miss! 

Levo CU expanding into Fargo.
Levo Credit Union (Sioux Falls, SD) will be expanding into the Fargo, ND market early in 2026. Last week, they announced land has been purchased for a building site on Uptown Way, close to one of the city’s thoroughfares. We congratulate Fran Sommerfeld and his staff on their continued success and look forward to seeing your building progress in the future!

On a positive note. Sentinel FCU (Box Elder, SD) is not playing favorites but rather cheering on all their local football teams with “Spirit Towels” that staff is handing out at local high school football games. Fans can wave their towels and support their favorite team, and the Sentinel logo is cleverly included in the fun! A great idea and a fun way to show community support. Well done!
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Important update from America’s Credit Unions!
Finally, tomorrow evening, the new America’s Credit Unions website will launch. The transition work will begin around 4:00 p.m. (CT) so access to the website may be impacted for a short time. This is a big milestone in setting up the new national association! After the initial launch, the website will continue to evolve and be updated with the resources and tools you can rely on.
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Have a wonderful week, 

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DakCU President/CEO