As we enter the new year, resolutions for 2025 are being set left and right, and the credit union industry is no exception. Following suit, credit union advocacy organization, America’s Credit Unions, has just released its Advocacy Priorities for 2025, making it clear what benchmarks it’s aiming for as it heads into its second year. The list “build[s] on a successful year in advocacy and direct feedback from America’s Credit Unions’ membership” and is divided into three categories: protect, empower, and advance.

The first section, protect, covers many of the basics, such as protecting credit unions’ tax-exemption status and combating NCUA authority, while also (coming as a surprise to none) sharing its opinion on many widely-debated topics such as interchange, overdraft, and, of course, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Under the new administration changes and the newly-appointed 119th Congress, long-time opponents of the CFPB, America’s Credit Unions, will be looking to limit the organization’s authority, stop its move on so-called “junk fees,” and institute a new organizational structure.

The second section, empower, seeks to spread awareness of the credit union difference and stop the comparison between credit unions and FinTechs, who are not held to the same regulatory standards as credit unions. Furthermore, ACU wants to increase member safety by establishing national data protection guidelines as well as increasing fraud protection. The final section, advance, aims to push credit unions’ reach, product offerings, and technological capabilities, while also pushing back against “burdensome regulatory speedbumps” that would slow such progress down.

With the Governmental Affairs Conference less than two months out, there’s little doubt that we’ll hear more about these priorities at the conference and how America’s Credit Unions plans to achieve them from President/CEO Jim Nussle. To see the full list of priorities, you can check out America’s Credit Unions press release.