2026 Tekkie Transformative Member Experience Award: Frankenmuth Credit Union

By Roy Urrico

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 $1.6 billion Frankenmuth (Mich.) Credit Union (FCU) as the recipient of the Transformative Member Experience Award, which recognizes the credit union that delivered a significant upgrade to the member’s digital or physical journey in 2025.

FCU, which serves almost 79,000 members throughout Michigan, implemented Detroit-based Pocketnest, a white-labeled, artificial intelligence-enabled financial wellness platform that empowers the credit union to cultivate a deeper connection with digitally native millennial and Gen X members through personalized financial education, advice, and tools.

Pocketnest, which sits inside FCU’s online banking platform, guides members through core themes of comprehensive financial planning —such as budgeting, debt, investments, insurance, estate planning, taxes, and emergency savings —and requires just three minutes of member participation each week.

 “Partnering with Pocketnest brings to life our credit union’s dedication to financial innovation and personalized member services,” said Vickie Schmitzer, CEO, Frankenmuth Credit Union. “By integrating Pocketnest’s cutting-edge financial wellness platform, we are empowering our members with tools and knowledge to navigate their unique financial journeys. This collaboration aligns perfectly with our mission to foster trusted relationships and strengthen the financial well-being of our communities.”

Enabling Deeper Relationships

Rather than relying on an outmoded one-size-fits-all financial education program or expecting members to self-help, Frankenmuth Credit Union proactively embedded Pocketnest’s AI-driven financial wellness platform directly into its digital banking ecosystem. Powered by AI, behavioral science, and financial data, the platform delivers personalized financial guidance, actionable insights, calculators, recommendations, and financial planning tools tailored to each member’s unique goals, behaviors, and financial situation, Ashleigh Craven, CMO at Pocketnest, told Finopotamus.

 “Pocketnest helps credit unions like Frankenmuth Credit Union compete by transforming digital banking into a customized personal financial wellness experience,” Craven said, adding that Pocketnest requires no additional app, downloads, or credentials.

“This enables credit unions to deepen member relationships, increase digital engagement, and uncover opportunities to make timely, relevant product recommendations based on each member's financial goals, status, and life stage,” said Craven. “In short, Pocketnest provides members with a personal financial coach available 24/7 and delivers credit unions with increased product adoption and a modern digital experience that attracts and retains digital generations.”

FCU recognized today’s consumers expect financial experiences that are personalized, mobile-first, and seamlessly integrated into the platforms they already use every day, Schmitzer explained. By partnering with Pocketnest, the credit union transformed its digital banking experience from a place where members mostly just checked balances into a destination for holistic financial wellness and engagement.

Members, she added, now receive tailored recommendations, actionable to-dos, AI-powered guidance, and a consolidated view of their financial lives—all within a secure, easy-to-use experience.

Innovative Financial Ecosystem

What makes FCU’s approach especially transformative is its broader commitment to building a truly innovation-driven financial ecosystem for members, pointed out Schmitzer.

By introducing multiple integrated solutions simultaneously, the credit union equipped members with access to personalized financial guidance, digital investing tools, legal and identity-related resources, and actionable financial insights—all within a cohesive digital banking experience.

To create a more comprehensive and actionable member experience, alongside Pocketnest, the credit union simultaneously onboarded fintech partners including:

• Legal Karma, which offers self-service estate planning forms, document automation tech, member support, marketing support, rich financial data, and reporting.

• Concreit, a real estate investment and crowd-funded cash flow platform.

• nvestiFi, an “investtech” platform that enables credit union members to invest in securities and crypto from their checking accounts.

Frankenmuth Credit Union’s leadership team embraced a vision centered on empowering members with practical tools and guidance that simplify financial decision-making. Schmitzer emphasized the organization’s commitment to “financial innovation and personalized member services, reinforced by the credit union’s mission to foster trusted relationships and strengthen the financial wellbeing of the communities it serves.”

Enhancing CUs

“(The Pocketnest) platform has demonstrated an average 57% increase in member financial wellness across enterprise partners while also helping credit unions identify millions in cross-sell revenue opportunities through deeper engagement and personalized insights,” Craven noted. “Credit unions like Frankenmuth Credit Union are demonstrating a healthy adoption rate within only 90 days. And we are seeing continued engagement with an average of 5.3 minutes per session.”

In addition, FCU became the first credit union to launch Pocketnest through the CUSO CU*Answers’ digital banking platform, helping pave the way for broader adoption of embedded financial wellness tools across the credit union industry, according to Craven.

“Earning the Finopotamus Tekkie Award is exciting because it represents something bigger than Pocketnest,” said Craven. “It reflects the momentum we're seeing across the industry, with forward-thinking credit unions like Frankenmuth Credit Union embracing technology to deliver cutting-edge digital experiences that genuinely improve financial well-being.”