One of the most impactful sessions at the Financial Brand Conference (April 2025) was led by Sean Payant, Chief Strategy Officer at Haberfeld. His session, Overcoming Strategic Contradictions in the Banking C-Suite, zeroed in on a critical growth opportunity for credit unions: earning and growing the Primary Financial Institution (PFI) relationship.

Here’s why that matters more than ever and how your credit union can win that spot.

What Is a PFI and Why Does It Matter?

When someone is asked where they "bank," they don't typically think about their mortgage lender or their auto loan provider. They answer with the institution that holds their primary operating checking account.

This is the foundation of relationship banking.

If your credit union holds that checking account, you have a direct path to:

• Build trust
• Offer relevant cross-sell solutions
• Improve retention
• Grow share of wallet

It all starts with checking.

The Strategic Contradiction: Who Are We Targeting?

Credit unions often focus marketing efforts on niche audiences or specific products. But Sean Payant challenges that notion:

In other words, the goal isn’t to narrowly define a perfect member profile, it’s to become the default financial partner for as many people as possible. Starting with checking opens the door.

Why Checking First?

• It’s habit-forming: Daily transactions build trust.
• It’s a gateway: Once checking is established, members are more likely to explore loans, credit cards, and financial planning services.
• It’s sticky: People don’t like to switch checking accounts often, which boosts retention.

At WebStrategies, this insight has inspired internal discussions around an experiment: What if we focused 100% of our ad spend and SEO on checking account acquisition, and used automation for cross-sell follow-ups?

It’s a strategy worth testing.

Breaking Down Other Strategic Contradictions

Sean Payant encouraged credit union leaders to challenge assumptions. Here are a few:

• • "We’re in a high fixed-cost business. Cut expenses to grow profits."
    Reality: You can’t save your way to prosperity. Revenue growth is the winning play.
    
    
  • "We need strong screening policies for account openings."
    Reality: Barriers hurt growth. Simplify the process. Make it easy for people to join.
    
    
  • "Operational training is the priority."
    Reality: Your managers need leadership skills. Most aren’t equipped to lead, yet.
    
    
  • "Let’s focus on emerging markets only."
    Reality: People do switch FIs. Around 8-12% of households and small businesses do it every year. Reach them with the right message, in the right channel, at the right time.
    
    

Tactics to Grow Your PFI Base

Sean Payant's recommendations:

• Use both digital and print media
• Market with frequency: every 6-7 weeks
• Deliver the right offer: Incentives that make switching easy.

Final Thought: Go All-In on the PFI

The road to growth isn’t just in new loans or better rates. It starts with one of the most overlooked yet powerful tools in your arsenal: the checking account.

Own that, and you don’t just gain a member. You gain their trust, loyalty, and long-term business.

Big thanks to Sean Payant and the team at Haberfeld for such actionable insights.

If you’re ready to reimagine how your CU wins the PFI, let’s talk strategy.