Achieva Credit Union Seeks to Expand Business Cash Management Services
By Roy Urrico
The $3.1 billion Achieva Credit Union, which has 27 branches serving more than 200,000 members, is expanding its cash management services to help businesses better manage money and protect against fraud. The Dunedin, Fla.-based credit union named Richard Martin, a banking veteran with more than 20 years of experience in cash management, as Assistant Vice President of Cash Management, to lead that growth.
Martin, who spent more than 17 years at JPMorgan Chase and more than four years at Encore Bank in treasury and cash management roles, joined Achieva in February 2026. He sat down with Finopotamus to outline the credit union’s plans to strengthen financial services available to Achieva business members.
“We used to go by treasury management here at Achieva, we changed it to a cash management approach because we want to look at things very simply…how that money comes in, how it goes out. We really want to understand what the member feels and want to make sure they understand we understand their business,” said Martin.
Evolving Cash Management Services
One of the biggest lessons learned in banking in his 20 plus years is “we just don't sell packages of products,” explained Martin. The credit union wants the interaction with Achieva more conversational with businesses and not just pushing products. “We truly want to do the right thing for our business member.”
Achieva’s goal it to fully understand the business. “That helps us drive the conversation. It has been my initiative,” said Martin. “I have been using this process for like 10 years now. I started implementing it here at Achieva and it is becoming pretty successful.”
The credit union also realizes that every business is different. “We take a different approach here at Achieva. We use the phrase with my team all the time, ‘follow the money.’ Before we start talking about products with the member, we want to understand their business first,” Martin explained.
Once they understand the business, Achieva can suggest the right solution. “We want that business to drive the conversation, not the product. That is a natural fit here at Achieva because the relationship with the member is already at the center of really what we do.”
Seeking Better Relationships
“I look at it the bigger picture. For me, it is pretty simple. I want Achieva to have a more complete financial partner feel with our business members,” said Martin. “We do not only want to be there when somebody comes in for a loan or a checking account. We want to understand the whole relationship. That is where I think cash management helps connect the dots between deposits, our commercial lending, and also the day-to-day financial operations of the business.”
Achieva offers a full complement of business management services including business checking and savings accounts, fraud mitigation, payables and receivables including ACH disbursements and ACH collections, digital banking including online and mobile banking, and business lending and credit cards.
From Achieva’s perspective, they want to add meaningful products and services. “We do not want to just add products and make that menu bigger. We want to ask the question, ‘What does the member actually need from us?’ At the end of the day, we want to hear our business owners say, ‘Achieva is not just where I bank. They really want to understand my business,’” said Martin.
Meeting the Competition
When it comes to competition for business banking customers in Florida, particularly in the Tampa area, Martin noted “at the end of the day, every bank, every credit union offers very similar products. And when I say products, I mean cash management or treasury management products like our ACH. So, I would say they are all very much the same. It is just the approach on how we handle it, (and) what type of business members or clients they are going after.”
Martin noted Achieva does not have a specific threshold within their business profile. “I would say our sweet spot is small to medium size businesses (SMB). We are getting into more of the not-for-profit businesses as well, which we are really excited about. So more to come on that as well.”
Martin explained, “We are adapting to the existing systems that we have, but we are always looking for improvement. We do work with our third-party vendors as well as any new technology. But we are always listening to the members on what they need and want. And then we try to incorporate that into our everyday technology. We also just do not jump on technology just because it is new. We also want to make sure that it is going to be the right fit for our members.”
Always Listening to Members
Not only are they listening to members, Achieva is identifying gaps in their business banking operation. Martin said, “We are also listening to see if there is a real need. And we want to make sure what we are looking at is secure. Does it work with our existing systems? Is it easy for the member to use? And the biggest thing too is, can it grow with us?”
Martin added, “For me, the test is pretty simple. we want to make things easier, safer, and more efficient for our members. And I would say fraud prevention is a big part of that. We need strong fraud prevention, and we do not want to unnecessarily make it difficult for the members. We want to make it easy for them to run their business.”
Martin emphasized the needs of Achieva’s business members are always changing. “We are always looking at digital capabilities like fraud protection and automation. But I also do not want to lose sight of the people side of it either. We could always buy the technology, but what really differentiates us here at Achieva is having people who understand that technology. We also want to make sure they understand the business. And then most importantly, we want to make sure we understand the member. So, we are always looking to improve our technology, but the number one thing is protecting our members.”
