Credit unions have a unique advantage in helping members access the best possible products through a great member experience. Fintechs have a distinct advantage in cutting-edge technology and working with traditional financial partners to level up their digital experiences. But once a partnership is in place — what makes it work?

Our guest today, Jaynel Christensen, Chief Growth Officer at Commonwealth Credit Union, has spent her career increasing access to affordable credit for her members. Naturally, when fintechs entered the landscape to make lending more efficient, her team wanted in. As an earlier adopter of fintech partnerships, Christensen shares her experience finding the right partners for credit unions.

The future of in-branch experience for members

The reality for members of credit unions is not the same as it was 15 years ago. 

Because of the strong initiative for technology, specifically at Commonwealth, the in-branch experience for members is a lot more efficient. Members are invited to come in, take a seat and let the experts take care of everything for them.

On top of this, members are shown how to avoid any future issues that would result in them coming back in for help again and again. Through utilizing their app and giving members technology tips, members can self-serve at home through their phones and can skip the drive over to the credit union.

For those who enjoy a visit, Jaynel says the future of the in-branch experience is comparable to the Genius Bar at Apple — friendly and familiar faces available to you once you walk in to troubleshoot any issues in a quick and meaningful manner.

The in-branch experience has become a major priority as Commonwealth believes that a better experience for members will bring in better numbers for the union.

Commonwealth’s productive history of fintech partnerships

Fintech was once Commonwealth’s biggest competition. After realizing that they couldn’t compete with the technology or the speed at which Fintech was able to roll that technology out, they decided to join forces instead.

In 2018, Commonwealth began its first lending partnership with CuneXus. For Jaynel, they defined what a FinTech partnership should look like — they were there for Commonwealth all along the way and they learned together through the entire process instead of CuneXus just handing their product over and saying ‘figure it out’.

Constant communication and feedback for improvement between the union and the FinTech partner through both initial rollout and post-implementation is key to a successful partnership. 

When looking for new partnerships, Jaynel says a gut feeling and overall feel of the team during the demonstration process are essentially the only factors she can go off of to try to ensure that the potential partner will provide that consistent communication she can look for. 

How fintech partnerships deliver AI expertise to streamline efficiency

Christensen first considered AI partnerships after witnessing the technology at a conference a few years back, but at the time, it wasn’t the best fit for her team. A few years later, Commonwealth updated its core and was at a better place to revisit the idea of an AI partnership.

AI technology is fairly new and, thus, Commonwealth has had to do a lot in terms of learning and getting used to it. A former colleague used to sit down with the lending team every week and taught them about how the technology’s success was measured and all the different points involved with AI implementation with an underwriting model. 

Today, the AI partnerships at Commonwealth streamline efficiency throughout the credit union. On the Commonwealth underwriter team, there is a goal of getting the loan back in five to seven minutes. 

As someone who prioritizes access to credit for members, this stood out to Christensen. For a lot of people in traditional finance, AI can sound intimidating and confusing but Christensen says adapting has brought Commonwealth to a much better place.

Want to learn more about how Upstart partners with credit unions? Check out this case study mentioned in the episode.