2026 Finopotamus Tekkie Award Winners Announced

By Finn O’Potamus

Finopotamus is pleased to announce the winners of the sixth annual Tekkie Awards, which recognize excellence, innovation and achievement in credit union technology.

Credit Union Awards

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The Data-Driven Impact Award: Platinum Federal Credit Union

This award recognizes credit unions that have moved beyond data storage to data activation.

The Core Innovation Award: Michigan State University Federal Credit Union

This award recognizes credit unions that have successfully undertaken the complex task of updating their primary core processing platform.

The Applied AI Award: Red Rocks Credit Union

This award recognizes credit unions that have successfully moved artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) from the "experimentation" phase into production.

The Transformative Member Experience Award: Frankenmuth Credit Union

This award recognizes credit unions that delivered a significant upgrade to the member’s digital or physical journey in 2025.

The Tech Visionary Award: Chase Larson, St. Cloud Financial Credit Union

Eligibility is open to any credit union tech professional who has actively worked to advance technology for the credit union movement in 2025.

The People Helping People Award: Addition Financial Credit Union, Advia Credit Union, Holy Rosary Credit Union, NET Credit Union, St. Louis Community Credit Union, TruStage Ventures Discovery Fund, and United Consumers Credit Union

True to the credit union mission, this award recognizes an initiative, program, or team effort that significantly improved the lives of members or the community in 2025. In the spirit of this category, which supports the ethos of the credit union movement, the judges determined that the first-place designation should be shared by all nominees.

Tech Partner Awards

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The Rising Star Fintech Award: Members Mobile

This award recognizes early-stage fintech companies that are bringing fresh solutions to the credit union space.

The Industry Game Changer Award: Vertice AI

This award recognizes established technology providers whose solutions have fundamentally shifted how credit unions operate or serve members.

The Tech CUSO of the Year Award: Payfinia

This award recognizes CUSOs that delivered outstanding technological value to their owners and clients in 2025.

Congratulations to all the winners. A profile of each one will be published throughout August.