2023 MAP Happiness Payment Report reveals credit unions confront rising challenges from card fraud and back-office operations.

Seattle, Wash. – January 29, 2024 – Member Access Processing (MAP), the nation’s leading provider of the Visa DPS debit, credit, ATM, digital payments, and mobile processing platforms for credit unions, today released the 2023 MAP Happiness Payment Report. The report, culled from responses from 200 executives of U.S. credit unions, found widespread frustration about persistent issues with card fraud, the incomplete tools to respond to cardholder fraud, and the resulting member disputes and chargebacks.

Now in its seventh year, the MAP Happiness Payment Report measures how U.S. credit union executives feel about their credit and debit programs, and how important those programs are to their institution’s success.

While respondents were happy with their credit unions’ card processing services overall, the report revealed that just over half were “Somewhat Happy” with their debit (54.5%) and credit (53%) programs. This is a significant drop in credit union happiness from prior years.

For the first time, respondents stating they were “Somewhat Happy” eclipsed those stating that they were “Very Happy” with their card processor. For both debit and credit “Somewhat Happy” increased by more than 10 percentage points from prior years while “Very Happy” decreased by more than 10 percentage points.

According to the report, disputes and chargebacks topped the list for most difficult to manage, followed by fraud, network compliance, and mobile applications/mobile payments. The added expense and additional resources required for managing fraud and disputes are weighing heavily on credit union card and operations management, and their dissatisfaction is evident from the 2023 report.

In 2024, credit unions will be pursuing opportunities for growth. Respondents listed increasing non-interest income (interchange) and attracting new deposits as their top business priorities for their card programs in the coming year.

MAP’s Happiness Payment Report is conducted annually by the credit union-owned issuer and processor, measuring how credit union executives feel about their credit and debit programs and how important the programs are to its institution’s success. The report surveyed 200 credit union executives in the U.S. about their debit and credit payment providers. Respondents were executives and department directors in the areas of credit union operations, card management, risk management, Lending, Finance, and IT.

To view the study’s 2023 report, please click here.