Credit Union Current Account gives members access to the everyday banking services they need, backed by the personal service of their trusted Credit Union. Since its launch, the proposition has grown from an offering by an initial group of Credit Unions to a service now available through more than 280 branches across Ireland. With the Credit Union movement consistently recognised as Ireland’s most trusted brands, the proposition has always been about combining the convenience of a modern current account with the relationship and reassurance of banking with your Credit Union.

The move from Mastercard to Visa was a significant operational change, but it was also a natural point to look again at the Current Account brand and customer experience. Rather than simply replacing the card, we saw an opportunity to bring the identity up to date, make the proposition clearer and refresh the collateral across the Credit Union network offering the service.

As part of this, the name was refined from ‘Current Account, from your Credit Union’ to a more straightforward Credit Union Current Account. The identity was refreshed and a new debit card was designed, giving the product a more contemporary and distinctive presence while retaining its connection to the Credit Union brand.

Just as importantly, the transition of a live financial product needed to work. Credit Unions needed clear, consistent information to communicate the change to their members, while members needed to understand what was happening, when it was happening, what they needed to do and when they needed to do it. Working alongside Payac, we helped plan the phased rollout and developed the communications strategy and materials to support Credit Unions throughout the migration.

We worked closely with Payac throughout the planning and rollout of the transition. With Credit Unions communicating directly with their members, the challenge was to create a central communications approach that could work consistently across the network while still giving individual Credit Unions the flexibility to communicate in their own channels. We developed the messaging and communications materials needed to explain the change clearly and reassure members throughout the process.

The website was also redesigned and refreshed, with a stronger focus on user flow, clearer information and a more engaging digital experience. New pages and content were developed to support the transition, answer customer questions and make it easier for visitors to understand Credit Union Current Account and take the next step.

Alongside the customer-facing work, we created a comprehensive marketing toolkit for participating Credit Unions. This included a new brochure, posters, pull-ups, advertising, digital assets, email signatures, stock imagery, updated brand guidelines, logo files, card mock-ups and large-format card props. We also created an explainer video to help communicate the transition. The result was a practical, ready-to-use system that gave Payac and Credit Unions everything they needed to promote the refreshed service across their own marketing channels.

The new Visa debit card is the most tangible expression of the refreshed Credit Union Current Account brand. But the work went well beyond the card itself. Every customer-facing touchpoint was considered as part of a single, consistent brand experience — from the website and digital communications to printed collateral and the materials used in Credit Union branches.

Consistency, with flexibility, was particularly important because the service is delivered through a large network of individual Credit Unions. The toolkit was designed to make it easy for each Credit Union to use the new identity and messaging whilst leveraging their own brand and the strength of the wider Credit Union movement brand.

Our role throughout was broader than design. We were a strategic marketing and communications partner to Payac, helping to structure the rollout, develop the messaging, plan the customer communications and give Credit Unions the tools they needed to make the transition successfully. The result is a refreshed Credit Union Current Account brand and a clearer, more contemporary customer experience — supported by a marketing system built to work across the Credit Union Network.