2025 Tekkie Award Winner for CUSO of the Year: CU NextGen

By W.B. King

As a CUSO, CU NextGen is dedicated to furthering the credit union movement by offering technological solutions that solve current problems and anticipate industry challenges. Among the services offered are CRM, robotic process automation (RPA), online account opening and a consumer lending portal.

While the noted solutions all have merit, the Blue Ash, Ohio-based CUSO earned the Finopotamus 2025 Tekkie Award for CUSO of the Year for its latest offering, Nextly Digital Banking.

“I was actually in a meeting with our leadership team when we got the news. We have put a lot of heart into what we do, so this recognition felt incredibly validating,” Hayley Harrison, SVP of operations, told Finopotamus.

“There was a real sense of pride not just for the award, but for what it represents: that a team of passionate people, working closely with credit unions, can build something truly transformative,” she continued. “The goal has always been to further the credit union industry, and this award feels like an amazing step in that direction.”

Maximizing Member Value

The $8.8 billion Melbourne, Fla.-based Space Coast Credit Union (SCCU), which supports more than 675,000 members, was the first credit union to go live with Nextly Digital Banking in October 2024. Hayley said the credit union was “foundational” to the development and rollout of the solution.

“Their commitment to member experience and operational excellence pushed us to build a platform that was not only customizable and scalable, but one that could be implemented in phases—minimizing disruption and maximizing value from day one,” she said.

During implementation, SCCU challenged CU NextGen to be “different than traditional digital banking” platforms, Hayley explained. “They wanted a piloted go-live that allowed their members the freedom to choose when they wanted to convert over. This allowed us to not only meet their needs—it helped us create reusable modules and tools we now use with every credit union partner,” she continued. “Their partnership accelerated our ability to scale Nextly across the industry. We would not be where we are today without the partnership and support SCCU has shown us.”

Among differentiating factors is Nextly’s no-code technology, which Hayley described as an "industry-first" approach allowing credit unions to innovate rapidly without “heavy reliance” on vendors.

Since launch, over 295,000 SCCU active members have logged in. Additionally, the platform’s user-friendly design and advanced capabilities have attracted 1,520 new members weekly since the go-live date, which Hayley said reinforces its effectiveness in driving growth and engagement.

SCCU’s Member Support Center (MSC) team, she added, has also played a crucial role in ensuring a frictionless transition. In the first month alone, MSC provided:

• 6,000 quick responses to member inquiries.

• 7,820 real-time support sessions.

• Daily processing of 620 quick transfers and 640 self-unlocks. These numbers underscore the platform’s reliability, efficiency, and ability to enhance the overall member experience, she noted.

  
  

“Nextly is built to empower credit unions to serve their members better—on their terms. Many digital banking platforms are rigid or require one-size-fits-all implementation. They also force the credit unions to all have the same features/functions and the same user experience,” Hayley continued. “When credit unions can focus less on technology limitations and more on their members' needs, they can innovate faster, support underserved communities, and deepen relationships. That’s ‘people helping people’ in action—making technology accessible, responsive, and member-first.”

Giving Credit Unions a Voice

CU NextGen believes that CUSOs bring credit unions together around shared challenges and shared solutions, Hayley noted. “We are not driven by shareholder profits—we are driven by outcomes for our credit union partners. That alignment allows us to build technology with intentionality, transparency, and collaboration.”

As the CUSO looks forward, including hosting its annual CU NextGen Engage event in August, Haley said it will adhere to its mantra to listen first, co-create solutions, and evolve alongside the industry. And as a CUSO, she said CU NextGen can take “strategic risks” other companies are perhaps not able to—like building an “entirely new digital banking platform” from the ground up.

“CUSOs give credit unions a voice in the fintech landscape, and that is more important now than ever. We want to give the credit unions the technological edge in the market,” she said. “With the amazing credit unions partners we have, we are enthusiastically working toward that goal.”