TechSolutions4CUs

Har Rai Khalsa, CEO and co-founder of Swaystack, joins TechSolutions4CUs to discuss how his company is tackling the challenge of inactive accounts at credit unions.  A surprising number of new accounts go dormant quickly, and Swaystack's gamified onboarding platform aims to keep members engaged and active. 

Har Rai explains the reasons behind account dormancy, highlighting the difficulty of switching banking relationships and the lack of guidance provided by many financial institutions. He details how Swaystack works for both indirect auto loan members and new checking account holders, among other use cases, emphasizing personalized communication, automated loan payment setup, and seamless integration with digital banking platforms.  

Har Rai also dives into the technology behind Swaystack, its integration process, and how it provides value for various departments within the credit union.  He also discusses the company's scalability and plans for future growth.

In this episode of TechSolutions4CUs, Ed Vincent, CEO of SRA Watchtower, discusses the company's evolution from a risk management consulting firm to a SaaS provider.  He emphasizes their focus on providing a "holistic" risk management platform, meaning it aggregates data from various sources and departments within a financial institution, rather than just focusing on isolated risk areas.  This allows for a broader, top-down view of risk and helps inform strategic decision-making.

Vincent explains that SRA Watchtower doesn't replace existing point solutions like fraud detection or vendor management systems. Instead, it integrates with these systems, pulling the data into a central location for analysis and reporting. This allows institutions to move beyond manual data aggregation in spreadsheets and towards a more scalable, automated approach.

The company’s target audience has expanded. Initially focused on Chief Risk Officers, SRA Watchtower now recognizes the need for everyone from front-line staff to board members to have access to risk data and analytics presented in a digestible format. They've also created a streamlined version of the platform to serve smaller institutions.

Looking forward, Vincent believes that the effective use of data will be critical for success. He points to AI, M&A activity, and the rise of fintechs  as significant factors impacting the financial landscape. SRA Watchtower is actively incorporating AI into its operations and product roadmap, using it for tasks like generating risk descriptions and identifying emerging trends.  Ultimately, the goal is to help financial institutions not only collect and analyze data, but to actually extract actionable insights and create value. He sees credit unions, smaller institutions, and those involved in M&A as key growth areas for his company.

In this episode of TechSolutions4CUs, host John San Filippo interviews Chris Turnley, EVP of Member Experience at University Federal Credit Union (UFCU), about his career path and UFCU's approach to member experience.  Turnley, with a background in startups and growth-focused businesses, transitioned to the credit union industry six years ago.  Intrigued by the potential for positive social impact, he joined UFCU and initially served as Chief Retail Officer before moving to his current role.

Turnley discusses the increasing importance of member experience in the financial services industry, emphasizing that personalized experiences are key to differentiation.  He outlines UFCU's strategy of increasing the value of every member interaction by leveraging data and understanding individual needs. This approach spans all products and channels, aiming for a seamless, unified experience.  He details the organizational structure at UFCU, where lending, retail, and marketing all report to him, ensuring an integrated approach to member experience.

UFCU's willingness to embrace change and invest in technology, like their recent implementation of the Backbase digital banking platform, is highlighted.  Turnley also underscores the importance of developing member personas to understand member needs and tailor offerings accordingly.  While acknowledging traditional metrics like member growth and ROA, Turnley prefers focusing on product utilization and understanding member journeys as key indicators of success. He advises credit unions to start prioritizing member experience to focus on understanding their members’ needs and friction points.  Finally, Turnley predicts a growing divide between credit unions that adapt to the changing economic landscape and those that cling to outdated models.

In this episode of TechSolutions4CUs, Finopotamus publisher John San Filippo interviews fintech legend Paul Fiore, tracing his career from the early days of online banking to his current work in wealth management technology. The conversation begins with the founding of Digital Insight, a pivotal moment in the evolution of financial services.

 Fiore recalls the limitations of PC banking in the mid-90s: expensive dial-up, cumbersome software updates, and complex distribution. He had an epiphany when he first saw a web browser, recognizing its potential to revolutionize banking. While at XP Systems, he secured funding to launch Digital Insight, a company dedicated to browser-based banking.

 A crucial aspect of Digital Insight’s strategy was partnering with competitors. Fiore recounts the story of securing a deal with Symitar, a major competitor to XP Systems. He strategically leveraged a key client to get a foot in the door and ultimately convinced Symitar’s leadership that partnering was in their best interest. This partnership proved vital for Digital Insight’s widespread adoption within the credit union space.

 Beyond Digital Insight, Fiore has explored diverse ventures, including restaurant investment and film financing. He briefly touches upon these experiences before shifting to his current focus: CU WealthNext.

 CU WealthNext is a collaborative platform designed to empower credit unions in the world of wealth management technology. Fiore explains the challenges credit unions face:

• Vendor Selection: Choosing from a multitude of fintech providers can be overwhelming.
• Integration: Piecing together disparate solutions can create complexity.
• Member Needs: Keeping pace with the evolving demands of younger demographics requires constant innovation.

 CU WealthNext addresses these challenges by aggregating a curated collection of wealth management fintech products. This simplifies vendor selection and streamlines integration for credit unions. Fiore also highlights CU WealthNext’s focus on financial literacy and incorporating safeguards into the offered products, particularly for crypto, recognizing that not all members are sophisticated investors.

 Fiore then analyzes the broader competitive landscape, noting the shift from banks as primary competitors to fintechs targeting consumers directly. This presents a new set of challenges for credit unions, demanding agility and a deep understanding of member needs. He offers key takeaways for credit union leaders:

•  Leverage CUSOs: Collaborate with credit union service organizations to gain access to technology and share the burden of due diligence.
• Understand Younger Members: Focus on attracting and retaining younger members by understanding their tech needs and preferences.
• Embrace Fintech Partnerships: Partner with fintech entrepreneurs to access innovation and expertise.

 Fiore’s insights provide a valuable perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing credit unions in the rapidly evolving financial technology landscape. He stresses the importance of adaptation, collaboration, and a constant focus on meeting the diverse and ever-changing needs of their members.

The term "big data" is nearly 30 years old. And throughout those 30 years, credit unions have been lectured to, schooled on, and advised about the tremendous treasure trove of data they have locked in their various computer systems. Yet, to this day, turning all this data into actionable initiatives remains a challenge. 

While artificial intelligence is no silver bullet, it can help credit unions take a giant step forward in making use of all that data. Our guest on this episode, Mitch Rutledge from Vertice AI, is here to talk about how AI can help drive member growth. Perhaps even more important is the scalability of the Vertice platform. Rutledge says his company serves credit unions ranging from $30 million in assets to more than $5 billion.

Listen in if you want to turn your data into member growth.

AI-powered chatbots are great for member self-service, but they "can't sell sh!t." That's according to Appli CEO and co-founder Tim Pranger. This sad state of affairs was the impetus behind the creation of Appli, a suite of smart financial calculators designed to drive member engagement. In this episode of TechSolutions4CUs, Tim explains some of the finer points of Appli, while sharing some of the insights he's gained over his first 20 years in fintech.

This episode of TechSolutions4CUs features host John San Filippo interviewing CU Lift Fund's President Paul Rindone about LIFT's FastPass platform, a new solution for credit unions to increase their auto loan volume. Rindone explains that credit unions struggle to compete with dealerships’ in-house financing, resulting in members often choosing the path of least resistance even if they prefer their credit union.  FastPass aims to solve this problem by creating a "hybrid channel," combining the best aspects of direct and indirect lending. It offers credit unions the control and transparency of direct lending with the speed and convenience of indirect lending.

FastPass integrates with dealer inventory systems, giving members the ability to search for cars they can afford based on their pre-approved loan amount through the credit union.  This "finance-first" approach allows members to shop confidently, knowing they qualify for financing on the vehicles they’re considering.  Through an anonymous chat feature within the app, members can communicate with dealers and ultimately share a “FastPass Code” which confirms their pre-approval and allows the dealer to prepare the final paperwork in advance.  This code streamlines the process, significantly reducing the time spent at the dealership.  

Unlike other online auto buying sites, FastPass doesn’t sell member leads to dealerships. Instead, it provides value to dealers by connecting them with pre-approved buyers. This model prioritizes the member relationship with the credit union.  

Rindone also discusses a developing partnership with Reseda Group to provide instant funding to dealers, making the process even more attractive. He emphasizes the importance of credit unions educating their members about this new, streamlined process.  Rindone predicts that credit unions using solutions like FastPass will regain lost auto loan market share throughout 2025.  He advises credit unions to analyze their potential auto loan opportunity and track how many members purchase vehicles using financing elsewhere, then develop targeted programs to capture that business.

According to Jain, the primary challenges credit unions face with outdated loan origination systems boil down to three main issues: 

• Integration difficulties
• Member experience
• Cost 

Older systems struggle to integrate with modern application program interfaces (APIs) and services like Plaid, fraud detection tools, and alternative data sources. This lack of integration slows down loan processing, increases manual work, and frustrates members, especially younger, tech-savvy Gen Z members who expect seamless digital experiences. Trying to piece together multiple systems and vendors for things like point-of-sale (POS) lending and digital banking also drives up costs and creates further inefficiencies.

Jain told host John San Filippo that Algebrik’s new LOS seeks to solve these problems by offering a cloud-native, AI-powered platform that’s designed to be flexible and easy to deploy. 

Exactly what is open banking? Is it just another pain in your regulatory butt? Is it an existential threat as you watch your precious data flow out the door to destinations you don’t control? Or is it a tremendous opportunity to provide your members with innovative new services that were simply impossible before?

The answer, as you may have guessed, is all three. The good news is that the opportunities for open banking far outweigh the negatives. 

That the opinion of our guest today, Vlad Jovanovic, Velera’s Vice President of Innovation. He’s going to help us demystify this complex topic and uncover ways you can leverage open banking to help your credit union and your members.

If your credit union makes auto loans, do you offer a fully insured, residual-based, walk-away balloon loan? Do you even know what a fully insured, residual-based, walk-away balloon loan is? If you answered no to either question, this episode of TechSolutions4CUs is for you. In this episode, Auto Financial Group's President Tim Kelly explains:

• Why these loans offer your members the lowest possible payments of any financing product, including leasing.
• How these loans can be used for both new and used auto financing.
• How these loans can be used for both direct and indirect lending.
• How these loans can even be used to refinance a delinquent loan down to a lower payment.
• Why AFG technology eliminates all the risk for your credit union.

CEOs, CFOs and CLOs, don't miss this episode.