2025 Tekkie Award Winner for Innovation: TruStone Financial Credit Union

By John San Filippo

TruStone Financial Credit Union, based in Minneapolis, Minn., has been honored with the 2025 Finopotamus Tekkie Award for Innovation. This marks a significant achievement for the $5.5 billion, 217,000-member credit union, making them the first-ever two-time Tekkie recipient. The credit union took home a 2022 Tekkie for Core Integration. EVP/CTO Gary Jeter and SVP of IT Development and Global Planning and Delivery Mayka Thao, spoke with Finopotamus about this latest achievement.

Modernizing for Member Experience

TruStone Financial faced the common challenges of legacy systems, siloed data, and escalating digital demands. As noted in the original Tekkie nomination package, the credit union recognized “the urgent need to modernize its digital infrastructure, enhance member engagement, and ensure robust cybersecurity.” Jeter elaborated on their overarching strategy, stating, “I think the common thread is more about member experience, and how do we enhance the overall member experience.”

The credit union’s efforts were a series of “individual projects that drive the value to the organization,” explained Jeter. This comprehensive approach aimed to address issues like “manual processes, disjointed member experiences, and inefficiencies in analytics,” which limited the credit union’s agility in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.

A Suite of Innovative Technologies

TruStone’s award-winning initiatives spanned several key technological areas:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP): TruStone implemented AI-driven sentiment analysis on chat interactions, providing real-time coaching for call center agents. This innovation automates engagement summaries, saving “over 150 hours annually and improving coaching opportunities with near-instant feedback.” Thao highlighted an early AI success: “Leveraging AI into our company using knowledge-based procedures and documents helped our frontline staff to pull procedures.” said Thao.

• Data Analytics and Automation: TruStone created a centralized data mart, unifying five databases and eleven flat files, which eliminated data silos and manual effort. This automation drastically cut down time spent on tasks such as loan rate updates (from two hours to two minutes) and campaign analysis (from two days to one hour). The credit union also migrated to Google Analytics 4 for “advanced, real-time data analysis, enabling a more member-centric strategy,” Jeter offered.

• Website & CMS Innovation: TruStone rebuilt 238 webpages using a custom content management system, incorporating automation and personalization features like dynamic rate updates. This led to a “37% increase in SEO effectiveness and a 7-10x increase in leads for business lines like Investment and Commercial Services.”

• Digital Engagement Tools: The introduction of eNotary and Co-Browse tools facilitated seamless digital member interactions, reducing the need for branch visits. SMS communications were also enabled, with over 10,000 messages sent to more than 7,000 members, fostering “personal, secure, and responsive connections.”

• Cybersecurity Advancements: TruStone adopted DMARC/DKIM protocols and partnered with PhishLabs to proactively monitor and take down phishing domains and malicious mobile apps. These measures were highly effective, blocking “18k phishing emails, eliminated 730k outdated PII items, and removed 275 impersonation domains and 53 unauthorized app copies.” Jeter emphasized the member-centric aspect of these efforts: “It’s not just about protecting our perimeter and protecting our network. It’s about protecting our members,” Jeter said.

Tangible Results and Future Plans

The technological advancements have yielded significant measurable results for TruStone Financial:

• Digital User Growth: Active digital users increased by 3%, now representing 52% of the membership.

• Operational Efficiency: Over 1,271 hours are saved annually, equivalent to 53 full workdays.

• Member Experience: DSAT scores, a digital satisfaction metric, improved from 9.04 to 9.27, indicating enhanced platform satisfaction.

• Business Growth: The credit union saw a 15% increase in digital deposits and an 11% increase in digital loan values. Chatbot engagement increased by 150%.

• Security Enhancements: 99.7% of unauthorized emails were blocked, and attack surfaces were reduced through proactive domain/app takedowns.

Looking ahead, TruStone is embarking on a major initiative to implement a new member relationship management (MRM) platform using Microsoft Dynamics. “That’s going to take all year,” Jeter noted. The credit union is also actively seeking partners for fraud prevention, a growing concern.

Lessons Learned and the Role of Fintechs

When asked about advice for other credit unions, Thao stressed the importance of starting and not fearing imperfection: “Don’t be afraid to start. I think sometimes people feel like, I’m going to wait and adopt to that [later].”

Jeter echoed this sentiment, advising, “Don’t let perfection get in the way of progress.” He also highlighted the critical role of organizational change management, ensuring that “the business is brought along.”

TruStone heavily relies on technology partners and fintechs to drive their innovation. Jeter explained, “It’s all about getting the right fintech partner.” Thao, as “the master integrator,” plays a key role in connecting these fintechs and “removes the friction and drives that integration.” This collaborative approach with fintechs is essential. “Doing it ourselves would be an absolute insanity,” he added.

The credit union’s success in managing diverse technologies and vendors stems from a clear roadmap and product management strategy, said Jeter. “It starts with the roadmap, as far as making sure you understand the member experience you want to drive to and the vision you move to,” he emphasized. Thao’s team has developed a repeatable project management process, with each product having a roadmap that aligns with the broader vision, helping to prevent overlap and prioritize efforts.

TruStone’s dedication to innovation, guided by a focus on enhancing the member experience, continues to set a high standard in the credit union industry.