Business

Why Americans Are Seeking Loans from Credit Unions in Record Numbers

Published

5 years ago

July 4, 2021

During the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, many Americans have relied on loans to keep their personal and business finances healthy. However, a recent trend has developed, indicating that how Americans are seeking loans may be unique compared to how they did so in the past. Specifically, rather than seeking loans from traditional commercial banks, many are instead choosing to apply for loans with credit unions.

A credit union is typically a local financial institution whose services and products overlap substantially with that of a bank. However, most commercial banks are profit-making institutions beholden to shareholders. Credit unions, on the other hand, exist to serve a community’s needs instead of earning a profit.

Each member of a credit union has equal voting rights. Instead of following rules and adhering to standards dictated by executives who aren’t members of the community, credit union boards consist of volunteers elected by all members who wish to cast a vote.

These differences influence the customer experience in ways that have recently made credit unions more appealing to loan-seekers than banks may be. Perhaps more importantly, research indicates that particularly in times of crisis, credit unions are more inclined to approve loan applications. One recent study indicates that, while banks often become hesitant to approve loans during crises, during the Great Recession and pandemic, many credit unions not only continued to loan money to members, but actually increased their lending.

This may be a reflection of the basic nature of credit unions. They’re established to provide a necessary service, much like a fire department or local hospital. According to Jordan van Rijn, senior economist for the Credit Union National Association, “During periods of risk and uncertainty, banks tend to pull back a lot more on lending and just get a lot more conservative. But credit unions as part of their mission is just to continue to serve the members.”

It’s also worth noting that loan interest rates at credit unions tend to be lower than they are at banks. This is another reason many Americans may have opted to seek loans from credit unions in recent months. They don’t want to exacerbate their financial woes by taking out loans with prohibitively high interest rates.

Additionally, many have already found that credit unions offer similar benefits even when national crises aren’t occuring. For example, some who’ve been turned down by numerous banks for home mortgages find that credit unions are more willing to work with them to offer alternatives to traditional mortgages.

Credit unions don’t provide loans and mortgages more willingly than banks because they engage in predatory lending. On the contrary, their low interest rates on loans highlight how they exist to support their members. Often, members have greater luck receiving loans from credit unions than from major banks because the local quality of the service, combined with the fact that credit unions don’t have a responsibility to earn a profit, allow credit union decision-makers to make these particular decisions based on a more personal understanding of a member’s situation. At a bank, decision-makers are required to follow the same procedures from one branch to another.

Many speculate that credit unions will also continue to grow in popularity after the pandemic. The way they served their members during a time of crisis has generated significant loyalty that may last well into the future.

Business

Inside the $4.3B Quarter: What’s Fueling Black Banx’s Record Revenues

Published

4 weeks ago

January 16, 2026

Matthew Wiles

Every quarter brings fresh headlines in fintech, but few make the kind of impact achieved by Black Banx in Q2 2025. The Toronto-based global digital banking group, founded by Michael Gastauer, reported an extraordinary USD 4.3 billion in revenue and a record USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, while improving its cost-to-income ratio to 63%.

These results not only highlight the company’s operational efficiency but also mark a pivotal moment in its journey from challenger to global leader. The big question is: what’s fueling such impressive financial performance?

Customer Growth as the Core Driver

One of the clearest engines of revenue growth is Black Banx’s expanding customer base. By Q2 2025, the platform had reached 84 million clients worldwide, up from 69 million at the end of 2024. This 15 million net gain in six months demonstrates both the attractiveness of its services and the scalability of its model.

Unlike traditional banks, which rely heavily on branch expansion, Black Banx leverages digital-first onboarding that allows customers to open accounts within minutes using just a smartphone. This approach is especially effective in regions underserved by legacy institutions, where access to affordable financial tools is in high demand.

More customers don’t just mean higher transaction volumes—they generate a compounding effect where network size, brand trust, and service adoption reinforce one another.

Real-Time Payments and Cross-Border Solutions

A major contributor to Q2 revenues is the platform’s real-time payments infrastructure. Black Banx enables instant cross-border transfers across its 28 supported fiat currencies and multiple cryptocurrencies, helping both individuals and businesses bypass the traditional bottlenecks of international banking.

For freelancers, SMEs, and multinational clients, this means faster liquidity, reduced foreign exchange costs, and simplified global operations. The demand for real-time financial services is growing rapidly—Juniper Research projects global real-time payments turnover to hit USD 58 trillion by 2028—and Black Banx is strategically positioned to capture a significant share of this market.

Crypto Integration as a Revenue Stream

Another key revenue driver is crypto integration. While many traditional institutions remain hesitant, Black Banx embraced digital assets early and has built infrastructure to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the Lightning Network. In Q2 2025, 20% of all transactions on the platform were crypto-based, reflecting strong customer appetite for hybrid banking services that bridge fiat and digital assets.

Revenue comes not only from transaction fees but also from value-added services like crypto-to-fiat conversion, staking yields (4–12% APY), and blockchain-enabled payments. For customers in markets with unstable currencies, these services act as a financial lifeline, further expanding the platform’s relevance.

AI-Powered Efficiency and Risk Management

Record revenues would be less impressive if costs ballooned at the same rate. But Black Banx has proven adept at balancing growth with efficiency. Its cost-to-income ratio improved to 63% in Q2, down from 69% a year earlier, thanks to heavy reliance on AI-powered automation.

AI now drives fraud detection, compliance, and customer onboarding—areas where traditional banks often struggle with cost inefficiencies. By automating these processes, Black Banx can process millions of transactions securely while maintaining profitability at scale. This level of efficiency is rare in fintech, where high growth often comes at the expense of margins.

Regional Expansion and Untapped Markets

Geography also plays a role in fueling revenues. Much of the Q2 growth came from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America—regions where demand for mobile-first banking continues to soar. In 2024 alone, Black Banx reported a 32% increase in SME clients from the Middle East and Africa, signaling the strength of its positioning in underserved markets.

By extending services to populations previously excluded from formal banking—migrant workers, rural communities, and small businesses—Black Banx taps into vast pools of latent demand. The strategy proves that financial inclusion and profitability are not mutually exclusive but mutually reinforcing.

Diversified Revenue Streams

Another factor behind Q2’s record revenues is Black Banx’s diversified business model. Income is not tied to a single service but spread across multiple streams, including:

Transaction fees from cross-border transfers and payments.
Crypto trading and exchange services.
Premium account features for high-net-worth clients.
Corporate services for SMEs and international businesses.

This diversification insulates the company against volatility in any single segment, creating stable revenue growth even in shifting market conditions.

Michael Gastauer’s Strategic Blueprint

Behind these results is Michael Gastauer’s long-term strategy: scale aggressively but with efficiency, innovation, and inclusion at the core. His vision has always been to create a borderless financial ecosystem, and Q2 2025’s performance is evidence that this vision is not only achievable but sustainable.

By balancing mass-market accessibility with premium features, and by blending fiat with digital assets, Gastauer has positioned Black Banx as a category-defining player in global finance.

The Road Ahead: Toward 100 Million Clients

Looking forward, the company’s goal of reaching 100 million customers by the end of 2025 will likely be the next catalyst for revenue growth. More customers mean more transactions, more data insights, and more opportunities to refine and expand its service offering.

If current momentum holds, the USD 4.3 billion quarterly revenue milestone could be just the beginning of an even larger growth story. The challenge will be ensuring systems scale securely while maintaining trust in an environment where privacy and compliance are paramount.

A Record That Signals More to Come

Black Banx’s Q2 2025 performance—USD 4.3 billion in revenue, USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, 84 million clients worldwide, and a lean 63% cost-to-income ratio—is more than a financial milestone. It is a signal of how the future of banking is being rewritten by platforms that are borderless, crypto-inclusive, and data-driven.

What fueled this record-breaking quarter is not one innovation but a combination of strategies—scalable onboarding, real-time payments, crypto integration, AI efficiency, and expansion into underserved regions. Together, they form a model that doesn’t just challenge traditional banking but actively builds the foundation for global dominance.

For Black Banx, the road ahead is clear: the $4.3 billion quarter is not an endpoint but a launchpad for even greater scale and profitability.