There's a moment that happens millions of times a day - a credit union member taps their card at the register. The credit union knows it happened. The question is: what do they do with that moment?
Most do nothing.
That silence is costing credit unions members, revenue, and relevance - one swipe at a time. At Flow, we've been building tools to fix that. Now we have independent proof that it works.
Filene Research Institute Chose Flow for Independent Testing
Filene Research Institute - the credit union industry's most respected independent think tank - selected Flow Networks to participate in their FiLab innovation program. Filene partnered with us to run a rigorous, controlled study across two live credit union environments: Chartway Credit Union and Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU).
This wasn't a pilot we designed to make ourselves look good. Filene ran it. Their researchers set the parameters, managed the control groups, and published the findings publicly - without our editorial control. That's what makes it meaningful.
What Was Tested
Filene's FiLab tested Flow's "Low Transaction Booster" (LTB) playbook - one of our behavior-driven engagement programs built specifically for credit unions. The LTB playbook identifies low-activity cardholders and delivers real-time, personalized in-app messages the moment they use their card at the point of sale.
The core question Filene set out to answer was one every credit union leader should be asking right now:
What happens when you engage members with real-time, in-app messages every time they use their credit union card?
They also sought to understand whether this kind of engagement could change member behavior over time, what the ROI on incremental card transactions looks like, and whether digital point-of-sale experiences build broader loyalty and deepen member relationships.
The Results
Participants in one pilot credit union averaged nearly 2.4 times more monthly card transactions than the control group.
Not a marginal lift. Not a rounding error. Members who received Flow's real-time engagement more than doubled their card transaction frequency compared to members who didn't receive it.
You can read the full published report directly on Filene's website: filene.org/reports/year-two-filab-results-flow
Why This Matters for Credit Unions
Fintechs, Big Tech, and retailers are competing hard for your members' wallets - and the payment moment has become ground zero for that fight. Every swipe or tap is a signal: a member telling you exactly where they are, what they're buying, and what matters to them right now.
The credit unions that win the next decade will be the ones that show up at that moment - with something relevant, personal, and valuable. Not a generic push notification hours later. Not a monthly statement message. Right then. Right there.
That's what Flow enables. And that's what Filene's independent research confirmed works.
A Note on Our Partners
None of this research happens without credit unions willing to test, learn, and lead. We are deeply grateful to Chartway Credit Union and Michigan State University Federal Credit Union for their partnership throughout the FiLab study - and for their willingness to share the results publicly with the entire industry.
Thank you also to the team at Filene Research Institute for running a rigorous, independent study and publishing the findings without editorial interference. That kind of transparency is what advances the credit union movement.
What's Next
Filene recently launched All Things Payments - a three-year research initiative dedicated to helping credit unions compete and win in the payments space. Flow is proud to be part of that work.
If you're a credit union leader thinking about your payments strategy - card usage, interchange revenue, member engagement, wallet share - we'd love to talk about what the research means for your institution.
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