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Today Andrea Argueta is director of financial institution advisory at Glia, a company that focuses on providing credit unions and banks digital customer service tools and nowadays that means AI. So this show’s focus is on the practical suite of tools Glia has working in some 400 credit unions, making Glia very probably the largest provider of AI tools to credit unions.

Importantly, too, Argueta knows credit unions. That’s because before coming to Glia she served as COO at Washington DC based IDB Global Federal Credit Union, an institution that serves the employees of the Inter-American Development Bank and their families and there are members in over 75 countries.

At IDB Global she was a Glia customer and eventually that evolved into her joining the Glia team.

In the show she tells about that journey and she also offers insights into what AI is really doing for credit unions today and the smart way for a credit union to join this party.

In the show mention is made of two prior appearances on the show by Glia executives, Glia CEO Dan Michaeli in 2020 and Jake Tyler a year ago.

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Fraud is up, a lot, at credit unions, according to the Alloy 2026 State of Fraud Report, says Sara Seguin, a principal adviser at Alloy. Sara is a past CU 2.0 Podcast guest - link to that show is in the show notes.

She’s on the show now to report that credit unions say they have experienced a 72% increase in fraud events, more than any other segment.

Worse, a lot of fraud now involves synthetic identities - i.e., manufactured people - and a long con that may take months or years before the crooks seek to defraud the credit union.

What can credit unions do to fight back? Alloy has pointers.

Credit unions also have seen a spike in in-branch fraud, says Alloy. That’s surprising but also very worrying. Hear the details in the show.

Fraud is not a fun topic, I know that. But it is a real, every day concern at just about every credit union in the US and knowledge - of what fraudsters are doing and the tools available to fight back - is indeed power for a credit union.

Understand, too, last year’s fraud trends aren’t this year’s. It’s a constant battle where the criminals are always updating their weapons. Credit unions have to do likewise\.

How? What? Listen up.

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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What a ride Steve O’Donnell has had at One Nevada Credit Union, a $1.5 billion institution where he started as a teller some 22 years ago and in August 2025 he was promoted to CEO.

This podcast is about his journey getting into the top job - and also what he sees as some of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for him and One Nevada.

A name you will hear often in this show is “Paul,” that’s Paul Parrish, the prior CEO at One Nevada and a current member of the institution’s board of directors. He also is the one who mentored Steve as he climbed up the ladder at One Nevada.

Over the years I have had a number of talks with Steve and he always is frank and candid.

So listen as he details his climb up from a teller role but know that he knows what it’s like to walk in the shoes of a teller.

At the show’s end, Steve tells why it took him a long time to earn his degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Hear the story and you will know this is a guy you’d like and respect.

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Safe Harbor, the Golden CO based cannabis banking pioneer, is alive and growing and that’s the message of today’s guest Terry Mendez, the recently installed CEO.

Mendez took over the seat that had been occupied by Sundie Seefried, onetime ceo of Partner Colorado Credit Union who left that post to helm Safe Harbor. Sundie, by the way, was the guest in CU 2.0 Podcast #139 which posted 4+ years ago, link in the show notes.

A lot had happened in those intervening years and, to my eyes at least, Safe Harbor seemed on the edge of extinction.

But Mendez is on the show to share his optimism about growing the business, how it hit financial troubles in 2023-24, how he says the troubles were abated, and why now is the time for more credit unions to take a fresh look at cannabis banking.

Probably Mendez is right, probably legal cannabis now is with us and, indeed, reliable, legally compliant banking has to be part of that package and Safe Harbor says it is well positioned to provide those services to credit union customers.

The reality is that there are many wrinkles to cannabis banking. That’s where a Safe Harbor - a guide that knows the legal route - comes in.

Want to know more about CUs and cannabis? Listen to episode 364 where Wright-Patt Credit Union talks about its experiences.

Listen up.

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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The Credit Union Generation Barrier.

On the show today is Melissa Krut, VP of Success at Sogolytics, a Herndon Virginia based firm that focuses on data driven analytics that answer questions such as how satisfied are a credit union’s employees, how satisfied are members, and more.

Krut is here to discuss Sogolytics data driven approach and also to elaborate on a recent Sogolytics report that documents the disconnect between younger Millennials and Gen Z and credit unions.

That’s a disconnect that couldn’t happen at a worse time for credit unions as their Baby Boomer base erodes in numbers.

Here’s one finding: “Nearly half (49%) of Gen Z say they've heard of credit unions but don't understand how they work. Perceptions of being outdated persist: 17% view credit unions as "for older people," while another 17% believe they are "not modern enough."”

Ouch

There’s lots of data in the report but, Krut stresses, the data also open doors to better communicating to Millennials and Gen Z.

By no means is this a battle lost.

And Sogolytics offers plenty of pointers about what a credit union can do to better appeal to younger potential members.

Listen up.

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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Rik Reitmaier is CIO at Tennessee based Ascend Federal Credit Union, with $4.4 billion in assets and 245,000. That puts Ascend in the nation’s top 100 credit unions. And Reitmaier is on the show to talk about the wide range of issues, worries and concerns that are on his mind.

AI of course is high on that list and Reitmaier explains both Ascend’s position on AI today and why he thinks it’s the right course. Hint: many Ascend employees are already using Copilot.

There already are productivity enhancements due to Copilot use - Reitmaier gives the details.

Cyber fraud of course is a big issue for Ascend and here we hear the credit union’s multi-pronged approach to defending itself in an age of ever smarter crooks.

Reitmaier also discussed Ascend’s procedure for adopting new technologies,

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Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto

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I fancy myself something of a minor expert on Medicare and often have advised friends who are approaching 65 about their best options. Until a man I know approached me and asked for my advice. He added he was dually qualified for Medicare and Medicaid and he thought he probably qualified for food benefits, too.

Huh? I had no idea what he was talking about and had to admit to him I was useless in this case.

Today I advised him to find a credit union he could join that also is a customer of Starlight, a fintech with a focus on unlocking some $100 billion in government benefits that are potentially available to credit unions.

Starlight was on the show a year ago. It’s on again today because it comes with big news: it’s now a CUSO and has won funding from One Washington Financial, a CUSO that is wholly owned by Washington State Employees Credit Union, the same credit union that birthed Q Cash.

Scott Daukas, a principal at One Washington Financial is on the show to talk about the CUSO and, specifically, why it funded Starlight. He also briefly talks about Silvur, a portfolio company that also has been on the show.

And Starlight CEO Shreenath Regunathan s back to talk about how it is helping automate the often bewildering process of applying for government benefits - a process made all the more bewildering by massive changes that several big programs (such as SNAP, the food stamps program) are undergoing as the year ends.

Starlight is deployed at over a dozen credit unions and it is busy signing up more credit unions because frankly the need is there.

Along the way, there’s a discussion about Prizeout, an innovative ad tech company that also has been a podcast guest. In another episode a Prizeout consumer user sings its praises.

There’s rich content in this episode. Listen up.

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Mark Ritter, CEO of Member Business Financial Services, a Pennsylvania based CUSO, estimates that about 800 US credit unions do member business lending, meaning that perhaps 3700 don’t.

Many, many more could. That is spelled out in HR 1151, the law that lets credit unions serve more than one employer group. Passage of that law is detailed in CU 2.0 Podcast Episode 51 with Marc Schaefer, then the CEO of Truliant CU.

If credit unions can make small business loans, why don’t they - that’s a question Ritter asks and answers in this show.

But it also is very clear that he believes credit unions - and their members and communities - would be better served if more credit unions jumped into member business lending. The need on the part of small businesses is acute, many are turning to non traditional lenders who may charge as much as 40% APR. Credit unions can play an important role in helping their communities' small businesses, says Ritter.

Understand, too, that a CUSO like MBFS - and there are several competitors in the space - may source the loan, it will underwrite it, MBFS will say if it thinks the loan is a definite “yes,” a definite “no,” or - most likely - a maybe. And if it’s a maybe MBFS will relate the pros and cons of issuing the loan.

The credit union provides the loan capital. MBFS does the heavy lifting.

In the show Ritter offers his unfiltered outlook for commercial real estate loans and also predicts a bump in delinquency rates - and yet he is bullish about member business lending in general.

Ritter, by the way, has his own podcast. Tune in for deep dives in member business trending.

Listen up.

Like what you are hearing? Find out how you can help sponsor this podcast here. Very affordable sponsorship packages are available. Email rjmcgarvey@gmail.com

And like this podcast on whatever service you use to stream it. That matters.

Find out more about CU2.0 and the digital transformation of credit unions here. It's a journey every credit union needs to take. Pronto