“Don’t underestimate the value of the human touch.” - Jeff Keltner

Thank you for tuning in to episode 24 of The CUInsight Network, with your host, Lauren Culp, Publisher & CEO of CUInsight.com. In The CUInsight Network, we take a deeper dive with the thought leaders who support the credit union community. We discuss issues and challenges facing credit unions and identify best practices to learn and grow together.

My guest today is Jeff Keltner, SVP of Business Development at Upstart. Upstart is a leading artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform designed to improve access to affordable credit while reducing the risk and costs of lending for their lender partners. They leverage AI to empower credit unions to an inclusive, frictionless member experience in lending.

Jeff shares that more people are creditworthy than we think. Artificial intelligence and machine learning can help a lender understand who is truly creditworthy and how much risk a loan actually represents. Upstart enables financial institutions to use AI in lending with over 800 different variables, both traditional and non-traditional (including occupation, field of work, and stability of income, for example), in their underwriting process, better understanding those in the subprime pool and identifying hidden prime borrowers. This process improves funding rates and reduces friction for borrowers in all demographics. 

We chat about inclusive lending and the mission of credit unions to serve the consumer, not just maximize profits. Jeff explains the importance of an transformed digital experience for each lending product, and the need to optimize the whole process from end-to-end rather than digitizing a legacy experience. He believes the financial institutions that will win are those that can leverage artificial intelligence technology and digital transformation, while still providing the human touch where needed. 

In our rapid-fire questions, we learn a hobby Jeff has picked up, a book he recommends, and the beverage he’s been enjoying recently. Tune in to hear his perspective on work success and family success, and much more. Enjoy my conversation with Jeff Keltner!

Find the full show notes on cuinsight.com.

Connect with Jeff:
Jeff Keltner, SVP of Business Development at Upstart
[email protected]
www.upstart.com
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