CU Build 2025: A Recap
- John San Filippo
- Jul 30
- 3 min read
By John San Filippo
The 2025 installment of CU Build, the grassroots build-a-thon for users of Jack Henry’s Symitar core processing platform, was held July 18-20. Finopotamus was there to witness the innovation, camaraderie, and sense of community.
The competition consisted of eight teams intentionally divided so no two team members were from the same credit union. A couple of vendors filled in as needed.
The role of the participating vendors was twofold. They provided their technology to participants to use at their discretion and also provided onsite technical support for teams using their respective technology. The event sponsor and understandably the largest vendor presence was Jack Henry. Other vendors included ASA, SWIVEL, Technology Happens, fiVISION, Libum, Q2, REPAY, SMA Technologies, PortX, Tyfone, and Rise Analytics.
The teams and their projects are listed below. Descriptions were provided by the teams.
Team: Code Crescendo
Project: Spend Break!
Description: Tap Pause, Hit Save. Spend Break! is an innovative, behavior-driven savings platform designed to help individuals achieve their financial goals by transforming passive spending into intentional saving.
Team: CUlave
Project: Harmoney
Description: A musical twist on financial wellness. Harmoney is a mobile app designed to help members — especially younger, busy adults — build smart savings habits through automation, AI guidance, and playful interaction.
Team: The Dixie Scripts
Project: BadgeQuest
Description: BadgeQuest is a gamified digital engagement solution that rewards credit union members for completing key financial activities—like opening accounts, setting savings goals, enrolling in e-statements, and more.
Team: Go Gettas
Project: AI Fraud Consortium
Description: The AI Fraud Consortium (AIFC) is a sophisticated platform that uses machine learning to monitor transactions, detect anomalies, and alert users in real time — without disrupting the user experience.
Team: HarmonyWare
Project: PulseScore
Description: PulseScore gives the CU a tool to manage relationships with their members based on how the member is utilizing the CU's services and products.
Team: Knights of the Night
Project: CommUnity
Description: CommUnity is a web app which utilizes AI to classify members spending habits into personas. It will then offer credit union products which fit their persona.
Team: The Magnificent 7.0
Project: SafetyNet
Description: SafetyNet is a small-dollar lending solution designed specifically for credit unions to provide their members with fast, fair, and affordable access to emergency funds — without the pitfalls of predatory lending or credit-score gatekeeping.
Team: W8 for it...
Project: Budget Buddy
Description: Budget Buddy is an intelligent financial wellness application built on the Jack Henry Banno digital banking platform that empowers credit union members with personalized budgeting analytics and AI-powered financial guidance to make smarter money decisions.
Each vendor was allowed to present an award for best use of their respective technology. Additionally, a panel of three judges evaluated all entries to select winners in Mission Focus, Technical Execution and Best in Show. The judges were:
Todd Richardson, CTIO, Y-12 Federal Credit Union
Brynn Ammon, President of Credit Union Solutions, Jack Henry
Jeff Marshall, Senior Managing Director, Jack Henry
The winning teams were:
Category | Chosen by | Winner |
Best Use of Banno | Jack Henry | W8 4 it... |
Bug Bounty | Libum | Code Crescendo |
Best Use of Nexus API | Libum | W8 for it... |
Best Use of ASA | ASA | CUlave |
Best Use of Opcon | SMA Technologies | HarmonyWare |
Best Use of Q2 | Q2 | Knights of the Night |
Best Use of Rise | Rise Analytics | W8 4 it... |
People's Choice | Participants | W8 4 it... |
Mission Focus | Judges | The Dixie Scripts |
Tech Execution | Judges | The Go Gettas |
Best in Show | Judges | The Dixie Scripts |
