In what is a recurring feature, Finopotamus spotlights innovative women who are positively impacting technology applications in the credit union industry, and beyond.
For this issue, we visited with Amanda Habansky, president and CEO at the Petersburg, Va.-based Peoples Advantage Federal Credit Union.
By W.B. King
Beginning her career as a loan officer at Resources Federal Credit Union in 2010, Amanda Habansky went on to serve as a member service manager and a branch manager at two other credit unions before landing at Peoples Advantage Federal Credit Union.
“I started my career in ‘people helping people’ 13 years ago. I had no idea then that it would mean a career in tech,” Habansky told Finopotamus. “My journey to leadership in the credit union industry involved immersing myself in the tech space to better understand members’ needs and deliver solutions to support them.”
She spent nearly five years as Peoples Advantage Federal Credit Union’s senior vice president of retail and then more than three years as its chief operating officer. In 2022, she was named president and CEO of the $98 million credit union that supports more than 10,200 members at four brick-and-mortar locations and one mobile unit.
“When I first started in credit unions, the ‘tech team’ consisted of IT professionals that worked to support the other departments. Now, I think the ‘tech team’ is a blend of teams across the organization as it touches so many departments,” she continued. “Rather than it being an isolated department, I think it’s woven into our identity and requires cross functional support and engagement.”
Cross Functional Tech Teams
Noting that the credit union industry is “leaning into cross functional tech teams,” Habansky said she is seeing “many more women that are involved in the decision-making process – it’s improved the way technology can better serve our members.”
Habansky credits former Peoples Advantage Federal Credit Union CEO Patsy Smith with giving her the opportunity to excel not only at the credit union, but within the industry. It is this type of mentorship that she pays forward to the next generation of women working in the space.
“She brought me into the credit union movement and really encouraged me to push my limits,” Habansky told Finopotamus. “I know that my career would look very different without her support and encouragement.”
With a deep passion for bringing innovation to her “small but mighty organization,” Habansky is driven to better serve members who are left behind by traditional financial services. She is assisted in this objective by the credit union’s 38 employees, two of which are full-time IT staffers, though she noted that eight employees are “pretty deeply in the tech space.”
A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, Habansky later obtained Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certification and oversees the credit union’s CDFI initiatives of "delivering financial products and services to low-to-moderate income members." From 2018 to 1019, she served as chairman of the Virginia Credit Union League’s (VACUL) Emerging Professionals group. She previously served on the Virginia Credit Union League’s Statewide Advocacy Council where she led credit union engagement in advocacy work.
Fulfilling the Credit Union Mission Through Strong Partnerships
In Habansky’s view, the way technology adoption in the credit union space differs from other financial institutions is the collective effort to solve problems that focus on serving members of modest means.
“You see this from small-dollar loan solutions, alternative credit analysis, financial education, budgeting tools and more,” she said. “All members are expecting enhancements in the digital experience and for us to have a focus on delivering that to the types of individuals we were created to serve. This really embodies the credit union difference.”
When asked if she believes fintechs today have a better understanding of the credit union ethos than in prior years, she told Finopotamus it’s a “mixed bag.” She continued: “Just like any industry, as more players come to the table, the motives diversify. There are some that really ‘get it’ and solicit feedback to make improvement to understand and fulfill the mission.”
Among those fintechs that "get it" is Member Driven Technologies (MDT), a credit union service organization (CUSO) that hosts the Symitar core processing system from Jack Henry to provide a private cloud alternative for core processing and IT needs. The firm, which Habansky said helps “drive efficiencies and provide a more robust experience to our members,” nabbed the 2023 Finopotamus Tekkie Award, Tech CUSO of the Year.
“The world is advancing digitally faster and faster every day,” she offered. “Some of the things in the credit union world don’t move as quickly so we will need to rely on strong partnerships with the right companies.”
