TechSolutions4CUs

What happens when credit union leaders get too comfortable? They miss the subtle, rapid shifts that are quiet core-disruptors. In this episode of TechSolutions4CUs , host John San Filippo sits down with Jim Perry, Senior Strategist at Market Insights, for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about why complacency is the single greatest threat to the industry today. Jim brings 21 years of industry e...

In this episode of TechSolutions4CUs , host John San Filippo spoke with Clair Finkenbinder, the co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Veritium. The conversation focused on how managed service providers (MSPs) operate within the financial sector and how Veritium is disrupting the traditional MSP market through its co-managed cloud model.  Redefining the MSP Model Finkenbinder explained that tradi...

In this episode of TechSolutions4CUs , the official Finopotamus podcast, host and publisher John San Filippo dives into the massive, yet often overlooked, opportunities within commercial lending for credit unions. Joining the conversation are two industry experts: Andy Ivankovich, CEO of Baker Hill, a commercial and small business lending technology provider with over 40 years of experience; and T...

In this episode of TechSolutions4CUs , Finopotamus Publisher John San Filippo sits down with Elizabeth Osborne , the Senior Managing Director of Operations for Jack Henry’s Credit Union Solutions Group . Elizabeth shares her fascinating career trajectory, moving from an aspiring broadcast journalist to a powerhouse executive in the financial technology space. The conversation explores Elizabeth’s...

In this installment of the TechSolutions4CUs podcast, host John San Filippo explores the rapidly shifting landscape of artificial intelligence within the credit union movement. Breaking away from the show’s traditional format of interviewing credit union staff or or their technology partners, San Filippo welcomes Tom Church-Adams , the founder of CreditUnionAI News . Together, they dissect why AI...

In this episode of TechSolutions4CUs , host John San Filippo sits down with Stephen Baker, CEO of Kinective , to pull back the curtain on one of the most aggressive and strategic growth stories in the credit union technology space today. Following a massive year of acquisitions—including Epic River, Janusea, ESQ, and CompuFlex —Baker explains the master plan behind merging these disparate entities...

In this episode of TechSolutions4CUs , host John San Filippo is joined by Angi Milano and Holly Glowaty , the co-hosts of the GTM Loop podcast. Together, they dive into the critical elements of go-to-market (GTM) strategies, exploring how fintechs can align with the credit union mission and how credit unions can position themselves as partners of choice. Angi and Holly explain that the GTM Loop po...

In this episode of TechSolutions4CUs, host John San Filippo welcomes Kristen Castell , Managing Director of CAFÉ (Center for Accelerating Financial Equity) , a nonprofit organization. The conversation dives into the origin story of CAFÉ, which was launched two and a half years ago out of a new fintech innovation hub in Newark, Delaware. It began as a public-private partnership involving Discover F...

Tired of casting a wide net and coming up empty? The secret to revitalizing your credit union might be to start thinking small . In this episode, host John San Filippo sits down with Michael Duncan , CEO and founder of digital banking provider Bankjoy , to discuss the strategy of vertical banking (also known as niche banking or sub-branding). This approach allows community financial institutions t...

This episode of the TechSolutions4CUs podcast, hosted by Finopotamus Publisher John San Filippo, features Anna Khalzova and Slava Akulov, the co-founders of Jupid, discussing their white-labeled solution for credit unions looking to serve small business members.   The Core Problem and Jupid’s Solution   Jupid aims to close the gap between credit unions and small businesses, particularly new ventur...

As part of our ongoing commitment at Finopotamus to cover the tech topics you won't see in other credit union outlets, we're pleased to offer a very important episode of TechSolutions4CUs on a very important topic: cloud repatriation. This episode features cloud repatriation experts Kevin Heisser and Ian Nock from ArcShift. Cloud repatriation is becoming an increasingly popular idea as o...

In this episode of TechSolutions4CUs, host John San Filippo welcomes marketing expert Alicia Disantis to discuss foundational marketing strategies for small organizations, including fintechs and credit unions, operating on a shoestring budget . Alicia challenges the "Field of Dreams" mentality, where good products are expected to sell themselves. She emphasizes that in today's crowd...

On this episode of TechSolutions4CUs, we welcome Jason Cain, co-founder and CSO of ShiftMate, to discuss their innovative AI co-pilot for credit unions. Jason shares his unique perspective, born from decades of experience within credit unions and selling fintech solutions, on how ShiftMate addresses long-standing challenges by unifying data, AI, and workflow automation.  We explore how this platfo...

In this episode of Tech Solutions for CUs , host John San Filippo interviews Ronny Chapman about his new company, VisionFI. Chapman explains that VisionFI is not a standalone product but a component that plugs into other solutions like loan origination systems (LOS) or new account opening platforms, and even Microsoft Office. VisionFI's core function is to use multimodal AI to read images, ph...

On this episode of TechSolutions4CUs , Alex McLeod, CEO of Parlay Finance, discusses how credit unions can enhance their small business lending through Parlay's loan intelligence system. According to McLeod, more and more credit unions are recognizing the opportunities in serving small businesses, and lending is a critical component. Parlay Finance offers a front-end intake system, which they...

What started out as a simple interview for a written article ended up becoming a great TechSolutions4CUs episode. Podcast host John San Filippo recently sat down (virtually, of course!) with the ever-insightful Lee Wetherington, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy at Jack Henry. They were chatting about Jack Henry's brand new "2025 Strategy Benchmark" research, which, as you might...

In this  episode of TechSolutions4CUs , host John San Filippo talks with Chris Cox from Apiture to explore the evolving landscape of digital banking for credit unions. Chris delves into Apiture's five primary solution sets: Consumer banking services Business banking services Digital account opening, Data intelligence API banking He emphasizes the increasing importance of a credit union's...

In this episode, Paul Provenzano, VP of Market Development at ebankIT, discusses the significant opportunity for credit unions in the Small and Medium-sized Business (SMB) digital banking sector. He notes that many SMBs are currently dissatisfied with their banking technology and are seeking better tools to manage their businesses, creating an opening for credit unions. Key takeaways from the disc...

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 s...

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 a...

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 i...

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-...

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 cred...

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...

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 p...