Chase Larson, EVP & Chief Lending Officer at St. Cloud Financial Credit Union, stopped by the show to share the big news about Minnesota legislation that would allow financial institutions to provide digital asset custody -- and what this new legislation means for not only Minnesota credit unions but credit unions nationwide.

Chase explained that St. Cloud Financial partnered with the Minnesota Credit Union Network to craft the legislation, which was signed by the state's governor and will take effect on August 1, 2026, making Minnesota the first state with a framework for financial institutions to custody digital assets.

He added that the legislation addresses concerns about digital asset deposit outflows leaving local communities and positions credit unions to compete with neobanks, while maintaining member relationships and local liquidity. St. Cloud Financial has already launched a CU Digital Asset Vault for their 28,000 members, though currently operating as safekeeping rather than custody, and plans to launch a stablecoin pilot in June and expand their Bitcoin Lightning payments capabilities later this year.

Pretty cool stuff from the fine folks at St. Cloud Financial, so check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.

​Mitchell Stankovic & Associates’ CEO Sue Mitchell and Coeus Institute’s CEO Michai Morin joined us on the show to share their organizations' new partnership that has recently launched Omni-53 — a new business intelligence platform that provides equalized access for credit unions of any size.

Susan and Michai shared how they identified a significant gap in how credit unions access and utilize complex data like NCUA information, which, subsequently, sparked Omni-53 to automate the process of analyzing NCUA data and presents insights in an easy-to-understand format that allows credit union executives, board members, and analysts to make better strategic decisions without requiring extensive data science expertise.

They also explained that the system addresses a critical need by democratizing access to sophisticated data analytics, particularly benefiting smaller credit unions that previously spent days compiling information that Omni-53 can now provide in minutes.

Omni-53 is now available for a 90-day free access period for credit unions to test the system, with plans to showcase the technology at the upcoming Underground Collision event in October, 18, 2026, in Las Vegas.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.

Doug Nahas, COO at NASA Federal Credit Union, and Fang Yu, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer (CPO) at DataVisor, joined us on the show for an in-depth conversation on how DataVisor's suite of AI agents is helping NASA FCU prevent fraud.

Specifically, Fang and Doug explained that fraudsters are now using advanced AI technologies to conduct sophisticated attacks on credit unions, including rapid account takeovers, multiple transaction creation, and perfectly generated scam emails that are difficult to detect.

They described how NASA Federal Credit Union implemented DataVisor's Vera suite of AI agents to reduce manual workflow and improve decision quality, resulting in a dramatic reduction from hours to minutes for generating SAR reports.

According to Doug, the implementation was seamless since they were already on the DataVisor platform, and the main challenge was establishing proper governance and compliance controls rather than technical deployment.

Fang emphasized DataVisor's focus on model governance, including human oversight of AI actions through chat histories and explicit approvals, while Doug noted that the AI agents have allowed their team to redeploy resources to other fraud vectors and more powerful models rather than reducing headcount.

Both Fang and Doug discussed future plans including DataVisor's development of customizable AI agents and NASA Federal Credit Union's upcoming auto rule tuning features, with Fang adding that the importance of collective effort between platforms, institutions, and consumer education to combat evolving fraud threats.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.

David Tuyo, President/CEO at Peak Credit Union, stopped by the show to share his insights and expertise on how mergers and rebranding efforts can actually strengthen a credit union's bond with the communities it serves -- all based on Peak's recent activities in these areas.

David talked about the credit union's 2023 merger between TwinStar and Northwest Community Credit Union and the resulting launch of the unified Peak Credit Union brand in 2025. Based on these business moves and other merger/rebrands he's experience, he provided his take on mergers in the industry today — because it’s still a polarizing topic for many.

Because of Peak's merger, David also touched on completing a key integration step by renaming the credit union’s philanthropic arm to "PeakCU Foundation." He commented on this foundation and what it means to the community — strengthening how the merged institution presents its community impact and member value proposition.

In addition, David shared that Peak has dedicated nearly $1.8 million in cumulative education and food security investment within the credit union's community. He expanded on how this offering is a concrete example of how credit unions can align post-merger brand strategy with measurable community outcomes — bringing merger and branding together.

Lastly, based on what he's seen and experienced, David provided his message and/or advice to other credit unions venturing down this merger road to solidify the brand and commitment to community -- sharing strategic elements that surround mergers and resulting branding.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.

Mambu’s Vice President of Credit Unions Amber Harsin joined us on the show to share highlights and insights from her recent article in Banking Exchange entitled: “As fintechs chase banking charters, community financial institutions face a quiet war on trust.”


Amber's article, all stemmed from a very recent Fintech Innovation Executive Order from the White House, may allow fintechs to be eligible for banking charters — which could be a shot across the proverbial bow of credit unions to continue upping their digital banking game.

Amber put the two together: What does the EO actually say? What doesn’t it say? And how should credit unions, ultimately, react?

Amber concluded with, since her article and the EO, where do we stand today? And what does it all mean for traditional financial institutions (credit unions, in particular)?

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.