By Adrian Moise, CEO & Founder of Aequilibrium
(Part of AEQ’s Thought Leadership Series on Digital Transformation for Credit Unions)
The Tipping Point
Every industry hits a moment when the outside world stops waiting for it to catch up. For Canadian credit unions, that moment arrived with the 2025 Federal Budget. For years, modernization lived in strategic plans. Something to “phase in.” Something to revisit next year. Budget 2025 removes that optionality. Open Banking is being legislated. AI adoption is being funded.
Cybersecurity is being reinforced at a national level. Workforce skills are becoming policy.
What caught my attention is how closely this aligns with what Gartner expects to define 2026: AI-first systems. Industry cloud platforms. Continuous threat exposure management. Different language. Same direction.
When government policy and global tech signals align, the window is narrow. Credit unions that move now shape the next decade. Those who pause will spend the decade trying to close the gap.
Open Banking: The Clock is Running
The government has confirmed that Open Banking legislation will be implemented in 2025, with rollout continuing through 2026 and full “write access” capability expected by mid-2027. That gives every credit union roughly 18–24 months to prepare, not for a regulatory event, but for a shift in how members interact with their financial lives.
Gartner’s 2026 outlook reinforces this trajectory. They expect the rise of “machine customers” automated financial agents that make decisions, move money, and interact with APIs without human involvement. And that only works if your data, integrations, and consent models are ready.
This isn’t just an IT upgrade; it’s a reimagining of how trust and access are managed.
At AEQ, we run what we call the Open Banking Readiness Phase. It’s short, structured, and blunt:
• What needs to change?
• How fast?
• And what’s the risk of waiting?
Credit unions that start this work now will walk into 2027 with confidence, not compliance anxiety.
The Government Is Funding the Shift
The budget puts real money behind modernization, AI infrastructure, cloud adoption, and workforce upskilling. These aren’t vague incentives. They are actual programs that reduce the cost of moving forward.
This matters because Gartner expects 2026 to be the first real year of AI-first operating models, where AI isn’t added on top of workflows, but embedded into how they run. That requires modern data foundations and the right execution model. It also requires people who know how to use these tools.
In other words, the government is effectively subsidizing the journey Gartner says you must take.
Our work with credit unions is often less about “adopting AI” and more about aligning transformation to funding streams – SR&ED, commercialization grants, and training programs. Modernization becomes something you invest in, not absorb.
Cybersecurity: The Anchor of Trust
Cybersecurity receives $600 million in new federal investment. At first glance, this looks like another funding pool, but it is more than that.
With Open Banking, your attack surface expands. Your integrations increase. Your data moves in new ways. Trust becomes a daily discipline, not a branding statement.
Gartner’s 2026 outlook reinforces this shift through its focus on Continuous Threat Exposure Management. It is no longer about perimeter defense. It is about constantly understanding where you are vulnerable and closing gaps before someone else finds them.
We see this firsthand in every platform migration or integration program. Security is no longer a step that happens at the end. It is the foundation you build everything else on.
Beyond Compliance
The smart credit unions won’t treat 2025 as a checklist year. They’ll treat it as an inflection point a moment to rethink how they operate and how members experience financial services.
Open Banking becomes a chance to design new member journeys. AI becomes a way to improve service and reduce friction. Cybersecurity becomes a way to strengthen trust. Training becomes a way to prepare teams for what is coming, not for what was.
This shift mirrors Gartner’s guidance for CIOs: move from project delivery to a product operating model. It means focusing on outcomes rather than outputs, and treating the digital ecosystem as something you actively shape instead of something you simply maintain.
When credit unions adopt this mindset, they move faster. They execute cleaner. And they deliver better member experiences, because every part of the organization is aligned around making that possible.
What to Do Before Your 2026 Strategic Planning Session
Start with clarity.
- Open Banking: Decide how you’ll prepare. This is now a two-year journey, not a compliance sprint.
- Modernization funding: Identify where government incentives can reduce cost and accelerate delivery.
- Cybersecurity: Benchmark where you stand today and where you need to be when your ecosystem becomes more open.
- Your people: Help them make the shift. VR scenarios. AI simulations. Hands-on training. The workforce of 2027 looks different. Prepare them now.
- Your partners: Work with teams who understand financial services, interoperability, and regulatory pressure. Modernization touches the whole institution, not just IT.
The AEQ Perspective: Turn Policy Into Progress
This budget does more than influence the economy, it reshapes what is possible for credit unions. It provides both the reason and the pathway to modernize, accelerating conversations about trust, data, and experience. It creates real urgency around architecture and security, and it nudges every credit union toward a future where agility is no longer optional.
2026 will belong to the credit unions that act with intention, those who ground decisions in data and align their teams, technology, and member promise around a connected, modern, and resilient ecosystem.
We see this shift happening every day. Modernization isn’t just necessary; it’s now supported, funded, and expected. The credit unions that lead this shift will be the ones transforming member experience, simplifying their digital ecosystems, and delivering measurable outcomes with lower transformation risk.
At AEQ, we help credit unions move from policy signals to real progress, aligning experience, integration, and strategy to create connected, resilient, and future-ready digital banking.
Let’s make sure you’re not responding to change, but shaping it.
