Eltropy Unveils EMERGE 2026 Agenda: Four Days of AI Innovation, Strategic Sessions, and Peer Learning

Ashish Garg

Eltropy, the leading AI-powered conversations platform for community financial institutions (CFIs), today announced the complete agenda for EMERGE 2026, taking place April 21-24, 2026, in Santa Clara, California.
​
The four-day conference brings together over 400 credit union and community bank professionals for an intensive program covering AI implementation, contact center operations, member experience, lending and collections strategies, fraud prevention, and digital branch modernization.

"We designed this year's agenda around the conversations happening in boardrooms and on the front lines right now – the gap between testing AI and actually running your institution on it, the tension between efficiency and trust, the reality that your members and your teams are both watching to see if you're ready for what comes next," said Ashish Garg, Co-founder and CEO of Eltropy. "Every session is built to close that gap with something you can actually use."

Program Highlights
The conference opens Tuesday, April 21, with hands-on certification workshops on AI implementation and contact center excellence, followed by a welcome reception featuring Northern California wines and regional cuisine. Wednesday and Thursday feature keynote addresses, panel discussions, breakout sessions, and Customer Story Sprints – fast-paced case study presentations where credit unions share results and lessons learned.

Key sessions include:

• AI for All: The Future of Community Finance – A keynote examining how agentic AI will reshape credit union operations.
• The AI-Ready Member – A panel exploring how member expectations are shifting across generations.
• The Hybrid Branch – Credit union leaders discuss modernizing physical and virtual locations.
• Growth, Efficiency, and Resilience: Unifying Lending and Collections – An in-depth look at the complete member life cycle.
• Preserving Trust in the Age of Autonomy – Building member confidence as AI takes on more critical roles.
• Stump the Experts – Live Product AMA – Eltropy's product and engineering leaders answer real-world questions.

Friday, April 24, offers additional certification workshops and specialized breakout sessions on integrations, data strategy, and fraud prevention.

Customer Stories of Real Impact
Thursday afternoon's Customer Story Sprints return following their successful debut at EMERGE 2025, where credit union leaders presented compelling stories of implementation success in rapid 20-minute sessions. Last year's $2,000 grand prize winner, Royce Ngiam from First City Credit Union, was among four finalists whose presentations resonated with attendees looking for practical, proven strategies they could take back to their own institutions.

This year's Story Sprints will again showcase credit unions sharing their real-world experiences with specific challenges and the measurable results they've achieved. The fast-paced format allows attendees to learn from multiple peer success stories in a single afternoon.

The conference also features a Fintech Showcase highlighting partner solutions and the return of CUbroadcast's Mike Lawson and his StudioLounge with live interviews throughout the event. Following EMERGE 2025's tradition of giving back, attendees will again have opportunities to support Credit Unions for Kids, which raised nearly $1,400 at last year's conference through a payment experience demonstration.

"You get so much good information from the vendor and from your peers – that alone is worth it," said Katie Bendyk, Director of eServices & Payment Solutions at alltru Credit Union, who attended EMERGE 2025. "And then the networking piece – so when I get back home, whether in a month, two months, or a year, I now have five people I can reach out to."

Registration and Sponsorship
Early-bird pricing for EMERGE 2026 is available for a limited time. Eltropy clients receive exclusive registration rates. Sponsorship opportunities are available for organizations looking to connect with CFI leaders throughout the four-day event.

For more information, to register, or to explore sponsorship opportunities, visit eltropy.com/emerge-2026.

---