2026 Tekkie Award for Rising Star: Members Mobile

By John San Filippo

Finopotamus is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Tekkie Awards, all of whom will be profiled individually throughout the month of August. In this installment of the series, we highlight Members Mobile, which won the Rising Star Award. This award recognizes early-stage fintech companies that are bringing fresh solutions to the credit union space. Members Mobile enables credit unions to offer cellular service directly to their members. The company is also the sponsor of the inaugural TechSolutions4CUs On the Go podcast at the upcoming Reseda Summit.

Bridging Telecom and Credit Unions

Members Mobile Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Gary Brandt entered the credit union space with a deep background in telecommunications. He quickly recognized two core challenges facing credit unions: attracting younger members and maintaining consistent digital engagement with existing members.

“With the deployment of a full telecom offering, there’s the opportunity to use telecom both as a lure to attract new members, but also as an effective tool to engage with existing members,” said Brandt. “We felt that it was a perfect platform to bring forward.”

Pilot research cited in the company’s Tekkie nomination revealed that 88% of members manage financial accounts via mobile phones, and 59% are willing to switch to a carrier partnering with their credit union to save money. Furthermore, the data showed 66% of members could save over $300 annually, with 43% saving upwards of $540.

Operating as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), Members Mobile pairs nationwide cellular service with credit union deposit accounts. Members who link their checking account as the payment method receive monthly cash “sharebacks” – starting at $5 per month – along with perks like data safety nets. For non-members, opening and funding an account at a partner credit union through the platform unlocks a “Free Year of Service” promotion.

A Turnkey Model for Credit Unions

Backed by an initial investment from The Reseda Group, a CUSO owned by MSU Federal Credit Union, Members Mobile established its inaugural credit union partnership with MSUFCU. The organization has since expanded to 12 credit union partners representing over 2.5 million members.

To keep regulatory lines clear, phone operations run separately from the Members Mobile CUSO, which functions purely as a marketing organization.

“What the credit union’s getting paid for is for the marketing services and co-marketing to their membership base, not for the mobile phone service itself,” explained Brandt. “They have nothing to do with the mobile phone service. We do all the call center service, everything else, so they’re not in the phone business.”

Through bilateral co-marketing agreements, credit unions earn recurring commissions between 5% and 15% when existing members subscribe. Conversely, if a consumer discovers Members Mobile first and opens an account with a local partner, the credit union pays an acquisition commission.

Digital account opening is integrated into the mobile app through a strategic partnership with MeridianLink. “Think of it like a super app, where not only can you sign up for the mobile phone plan, but you can also go all the way through and even open up your credit union account,” Brandt noted.

Scaling Up and Looking Forward

Because the platform connects through Plaid, roughly 120 million credit union members nationwide can connect their accounts and earn cash sharebacks, even if their specific institution has not yet formally executed a co-marketing agreement. Credit unions access co-branded assets via the company’s VIMplicity portal and can analyze anonymized member data insights to deliver personalized product offerings.

Following early deployment with partners including MSUFCU ($8.9 billion in assets; 405,000 members) and Safe 1 Credit Union ($1.1 billion in assets; 90,000 members), Members Mobile is collecting early member testimonials while preparing future capabilities, including new and refurbished device sales, device insurance, and auto loan bundling.

“Very successful MVNOs within a five-year window can easily get to over a million subscribers,” said Brandt. “We would expect that kind of growth and more in this marketplace.”