Utah-based Mountain America Credit Union (MACU), with $6.7 billion in assets, will deploy a new digital banking platform courtesy of Alkami Technology. The new platform will integrate with Mountain America CU’s existing core system and enable the 650,000 member institution to provide a variety of digital banking services including billpay and PFM. “With our growing number of account holders, Alkami’s platform will enable us to deliver unique products and features that will set us apart, giving us a true competitive edge,” Kelly Albiston, SVP of Digital Banking at Mountain America CU said. “We look forward to offering this new platform to members.”

Once deployed, Mountain America will be able to customize their new digital banking experience by creating its own apps and products. The platform includes a fully-hosted business intelligence technology with analytics and reporting, marketing, and educational content. “Mountain America Credit Union recognizes (the) shift in consumer preferences to interact digitally in a way that is convenient, straightforward and intuitive,”Stephen Bohanon, founder, chief strategy and sales officer for Alkami Technology said. Emphasizing that technology in general and Alkami’s platform in specific should “enrich the life of the user, not encumber it,” Bohanon added that the solution will enable MACU to give its members “a simple, consistent, digital banking experience that meets their needs.”

Mountain America CU maintains 88 branches in five states, thousands of shared branch locations around the country, and more than 50,000 surcharge-free ATMs. Earlier this month, MACU was named “Best Credit Union” by readers of  Provo, Utah’s Daily Herald and St. George, Utah’s The Spectrum. The credit union was also recognized by KSL Jobs as a “top workplace culture in Utah.”

MACU is the second big credit union partnership Alkami has forged this summer. In June, the company inked a deal with Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union ($2.4 billion in assets; 84,000 members), the largest credit union in New Mexico, to deploy Alkami’s ORB Digital Banking Platform. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Plano, Texas, Alkami demonstrated its technology (as iThryv) at FinovateSpring 2009. A member of the Inc. 5,000, Alkami is ranked in the top 10 of Dallas-area companies and in the top 15 of all Texas companies. With 2016 revenues of $12 million, Alkami recently reported a 38% growth in its client base, 103% growth in users, and 51% growth in contracted users since January 2016. In July, the company announced a new set of Amazon Alexa skills, including balance requests, spending tracking, money transfers, and billpay. Mike Hansen is Alkami CEO.

Alkami Technology is partnering with credit-union service-organization Open Technology Solutions (OTS) to bring its ORB Digital Banking Platform to member CUs in states from Colorado to Maryland. ORB from Alkami will give credit unions a “unified platform across all devices and functional offerings” including PFM and P2P payments, billpay, retail and business financial services, mobile, and more. The platform also supports the ability of CUs to develop their own apps and product extensions, as well as add new features. Credit unions can take advantage of ORB’s integrated content-management system to conduct “one-to-one” product marketing and cross-selling.

User experience and cross-channel consistency were two aspects of Alkami’s technology that were underscored by Open Technology Solutions CEO Mike Atkins: “With Alkami’s ORB platform, our member institutions can deliver the same capabilities across different platforms while optimizing user experience.” Atkins says he believes the new solution will lead to better member engagement as well as help with prospective member acquisition.

Stephen Bohanan, founder as well as chief strategy and sales officer for Alkami Technology, praised the credit unions working with OTS for recognizing the increased consumer preference for the mobile channel in banking. Citing a Javelin report that said half the U.S. adult population used smartphones and tablets to do their banking—a 29% gain over the previous year—Bohanan said growing pressure will require FIs not only to provide a digital experience for their customers, but also a “superior” experience, as well. “We look forward to supporting this journey as their digital banking partner of choice,” he said.

Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Alkami demoed at FinovateSpring 2009 as iThryv and rebranded as Alkami a year afterward. The company has been busy this fall, forging partnerships with the largest credit union in Arizona, Desert Schools FCU, in September, and teaming up with Idaho Central Credit Union earlier this month. The company earned a spot on Fintech Forward’s “20 Companies to Watch” this fall. Alkami has 196 employees, more than 60 clients, and more than three million users. Mike Hansen is CEO.

One of our oldest alums just inked a deal with the biggest credit union in Arizona.

Alkami Technology, which demoed at FinovateSpring 2009 as iThryv and transitioned to its current incarnation a year later, announced this week that Desert Schools Federal Credit Union will use its ORB (Online Relationship Builder) digital banking platform. Desert Schools FCU is the largest credit union in Arizona, with $4 billion in assets and more than 220,000 online banking users.

Stephen Bohanon, chief strategy and sales officer for Alkami Technology, cited research indicating that mobile banking provided an “immediate lift in overall satisfaction” in praising his company’s partnership with Desert Schools. “Financial institutions like Desert Schools are embracing this shift in consumer expectations by investing in digital technology that delivers a superior, engaging experience,” Bohanan said.

Alkami’s ORB platform will give members of Desert Schools FCU access to a wide array of features inducing retail and business banking tools, mobile, billpay, PFM, P2P payments, and more. The technology will also enable Desert Schools to build their own apps and product extensions, as well as introduce additional, new features to provide its members with what Alkami calls a “highly, customized digital banking experience.”

And this is exactly what the Arizona-based credit union was looking for. “We selected Alkami for their modern and engaging user experience,” SVP of digital strategy for Desert Schools FCU, Tim Lipsky, said, “as well as their flexible and extensible platform, which aligns with our vision to strengthen our digital capabilities to meet our members’ needs.”

Based in Plano, Texas, Alkami Technology teamed up with security specialist Easy Solutions this spring, bringing enhanced fraud protection to Alkami’s digital banking platform. The company’s ORB was recognized in the 2015 GonzoBanker awards as part of Tim Daily’s “Online Banking/Mobile Banking Franken-Banking Product.”