Together, Mark and Kerry are helping mutuals, credit unions, and cooperatives modernise through shared services, collaborative strategy, and inclusive innovation.
Their aim is to make financial services fairer, more accessible, and digitally capable while keeping sight of the communities those institutions serve.
Mark McAlpine and Kerry Nicolaides start from a clear purpose: levelling the financial playing field.
That means helping institutions that are often overlooked - credit unions, mutuals, building societies - access tools, tech, and strategies previously reserved for the big players.
Credit unions in the UK make up less than 3% of the financial sector’s market share.
Yet they serve millions and are deeply embedded in their communities.
They’re certainly not new actors on the scene - UK credit unions date back to the mid-1900s, while friendly societies trace their roots to the 1600s.
The difference today is that these member-owned organisations are now facing serious pressure to digitally transform.
They are not short on motivation either.
"They want to do so much for their members or customers and they don’t have access to the technology they need to do that."
Kerry Nicolaides, Head of Proposition & Innovation, Not The Odd One Out
This tension - deep commitment to purpose but limited digital capacity - is what sparked their current work.
The wider case for inclusion is well documented. The World Bank treats financial inclusion as a foundation for resilience, while UK research from RELX shows how uneven access still shapes everyday money decisions.
CU Share: A Cooperative for Cooperatives
One of the standout efforts from Mark and Kerry is something called CU Share.
It’s the UK’s first shared services platform created specifically for credit unions.
Why does this matter? Because credit unions can’t always afford digital transformation on their own.
By pooling budgets, sharing tools, and communicating across organisations, they can build sustainable, scalable solutions.
CU Share helps them do exactly that. In essence, it’s a cooperative of cooperatives - a structure that fits their DNA.
That model also reflects a wider shift in how smaller institutions share capability. Auxis notes that shared services are increasingly used to spread cost, expertise, and operational discipline across organisations that could not justify those investments alone.
The Barriers to Transformation
Why don’t more credit unions already offer full digital services like mobile apps or instant member onboarding?
Three barriers come up repeatedly:
Legacy systems - Old infrastructure is costly to maintain and hard to build around.
Lack of automation - Many processes are manual, slowing down operations and member service.
Limited access to integration - Smaller credit unions can’t easily plug in new fintech capabilities due to vendor inflexibility or prioritisation issues.
Interestingly, many of these challenges mirror what larger banks experience too.
The difference is scale and budget.
"Mainstream providers won’t build a £150K integration when they’re chasing £15M contracts."
That vendor logic leaves smaller institutions dependent on workarounds, shared platforms, or partners that understand their operating model.
"When a credit union modernises member onboarding or service delivery, the operational question is often how sensitive communication stays controlled and auditable for people who are not already confident with digital finance."
Paul Holland, Founder and CEO, Beyond Encryption (Mailock)
Legacy modernisation research points in the same direction: organisations can add new services around old cores for a time, but lasting change usually means replacing or retiring systems that were never built for today’s integration demands.
New Tech, Old Constraints
There is still room for progress.
Open banking, cloud technology, and microservices are unlocking new possibilities.
Credit unions can now layer services, automate processes, and improve user experiences without fully replacing core systems - at least in the short term.
But eventually, real transformation will require shedding the old tech.
Crucially, shared innovation models like CU Share mean that no organisation has to go it alone.
Choosing The Right Customer Channel?
Read our research on portals, logins, email, and post before deciding how customers should receive important documents.
Innovate Finance has argued that UK fintech can support inclusion when smaller institutions can access modular tools rather than bespoke enterprise builds.
Workplace Partnerships and Payroll Integration
Another route to growth for credit unions is workplace relationships.
Many institutions are already embedded within specific industries or employers - from nurses to armed forces to transport employees.
These relationships are a powerful route to member growth and new proposition design.
Payroll deductions are another opportunity.
Just like auto-enrolment for pensions, automatic savings schemes linked to payroll could transform financial resilience - especially for underserved workers.
Technology can now support this ambition, and payroll research from Zellis suggests employees increasingly expect savings and flexible pay options to be built into how they are paid.
Financial Products Must Evolve with People’s Lives
Digital change still has to work for people, not only for back-office systems.
Mark is passionate about reaching the hundreds of thousands who don't fit “mainstream” credit profiles.
That includes those with low savings needs, irregular or insecure incomes, and those excluded from typical lending products.
These people often pay a premium - or worse, fall victim to exploitative lenders.
That’s where credit unions make a real impact.
Building for these groups needs the right mindset:
"They’re not always able to be the masters of their own destiny. Being further down the priority chain makes innovation hard. We want to change that."
A credit union is a member-owned, not-for-profit financial co-operative that provides savings, loans, and other services to its members, often with a community or employer focus.
Why Are Credit Unions Important for Financial Inclusion?
They reach underserved and vulnerable people who may be excluded by mainstream banks, offering fair credit options and flexible financial solutions.
What Is Cu Share?
CU Share is a shared services organisation launched to help UK credit unions pool resources, share technology, and scale innovation affordably.
Are Credit Unions Regulated Like Banks?
Yes. They are fully regulated and must follow strict rules around capital, risk, and governance. The FCA’s mutual societies registration function sets out how those obligations are supervised in practice.
Can Smaller Financial Institutions Really Compete Digitally?
Thanks to modular systems, open banking, and shared service models, smaller players can now offer strong digital experiences without needing big budgets.
Paul, CEO and Founder of Beyond Encryption, is an expert in digital identity, fintech, cybersecurity, and business. He developed Webline, a leading UK comparison engine, and now drives Mailock, Nigel, and AssureScore to help regulated businesses secure customer data.
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Paul Holland
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