April News: AI for Small Credit Unions, ISO 20022 Progress & Partner Success
This month in our InfoNews, explore the new “AI Worth Having” series written specifically for smaller credit unions, important updates on digital arrest scams, our latest ISO 20022 connectivity milestone and more!
Tech Trends
AI Worth Having: A Series for Small and Mid-Sized Credit Unions
When was the last time you read an AI article written for someone like you?
Not for a $10 billion institution or a team with a data science department, but for a CEO or GM leading a credit union under $500 million, with a lean team and a realistic technology budget.
In his new 10-part series AI Worth Having, our CEO Tucker Sholtes addresses this gap with practical, honest guidance tailored specifically for smaller credit unions. The focus is simple: use AI selectively to eliminate tasks your team dislikes, freeing them to focus on what matters most serving members. Read the first article and follow the series as it continues. Read the full article here
Industry News
Digital Arrest Scams and Member Protection
Following Fraud Prevention Month, we continue to highlight emerging threats to help credit unions better protect their members.
One growing concern is the rise of “digital arrest” scams, in which fraudsters impersonate police officers, government officials, or customs agents to create fear and urgency, often demanding immediate payments or sensitive information.
The Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) has published important guidance on recognizing and avoiding these sophisticated scams. By staying informed and sharing these resources with members, credit unions strengthen their role as trusted financial partners. Read the full guidance on Digital Arrest Scams
Tip of the Month
The Case for Enlightened Ignorance
Our CEO, Tucker Sholtes, recently sat down with Alan Gregerman, author of The Wisdom of Ignorance. One framework from his book has stuck with him, and he believes it matters for anyone running a credit union right now. He calls it "enlightened ignorance."
The idea is simple: expertise alone is not the goal. The real advantage comes from pairing high drive with just enough openness to see what the experts miss. Here are five ways to put that into practice.
1. Treat "I don't know" as a starting position, not a weakness.
Most credit union leaders got where they are by knowing their domain cold. But when it comes to AI, embedded lending, or whatever your next strategic bet is, the person who admits what they don't know asks better questions than the one who assumes they already have the answer. Humility is a competitive advantage when the landscape is shifting faster than anyone's expertise can keep up.
2. Pair curiosity with drive. One without the other gets you nowhere.
Gregerman maps this on a simple 2x2: how much do you know vs. how hard are you willing to push? Curiosity without action is a hobby. Drive without curiosity is just doing the same thing harder. The breakthroughs come when you combine real urgency with a willingness to look beyond the obvious.
3. Replace empathy theater with honest respect.
Empathy gets a lot of airtime, but it implies you can truly inhabit someone else's experience. That is not always honest. Respect says: I may not fully understand what you are going through, but I take it seriously. For leaders managing teams through change, that distinction matters. People can tell the difference between someone performing understanding and someone who actually honors what they are hearing.
4. Be paranoid in a good way.
Gregerman's framing here is worth borrowing: live as though someone is always watching. Not in a surveillance sense. In the sense that you are always learning, always connecting, always testing something new. The credit unions that get blindsided are the ones that stopped looking around. The ones that thrive treat paying attention as a daily discipline, not a quarterly offsite.
5. Travel light.
Commit to carrying only the essentials forward. That means being informed by the past without being burdened by it. The "way we've always done it" is the heaviest luggage in any organization. If a process, vendor relationship, or assumption no longer earns its place, set it down.
Product Updates
Partner Member Onboarding in Progress
With the ISO20022 connectivity phase now complete, we are one step closer to enabling our partners' members to join InfoGo!
This has been a meaningful milestone for the team and for the credit unions we work with. A lot of behind the scenes work has gone into getting here, and it is exciting to see it start to pay off. InfoGo brings together the core functionalities your credit union needs, from bill payments and e-Transfers to remote cheque deposit and account management, all in one clean and focused experience.
More updates to come as we keep moving forward!
New Partnership: Infonancial + Sagen
We are excited to share that Infonancial has entered into a partnership with Sagen, one of Canada's leading mortgage default insurance providers.
For those less familiar, Sagen works alongside lenders to provide mortgage default insurance on high-ratio loans, a required step for many members purchasing a home with less than 20% down. Today, managing that piece of the process often means stepping outside the lending workflow to work through a separate system.
That is exactly what we want to change. The goal of this partnership is to build a direct API integration between Sagen and InfoLend, bringing mortgage default insurance requests into the application workflow so lenders can handle everything in one place.
We look forward to sharing more as this integration comes together in the coming months.
To see how InfoLend can streamline your operations, book a demo with our team here .
SO20022 Connectivity Phase Complete!
We're pleased to share that we have successfully completed the connectivity phase of the ISO 20022 project, including heartbeat testing with Central 1. This is a significant milestone as we work toward ensuring a smooth and compliant transition for all of our credit union partners.
With connectivity confirmed, we are now working closely with Central 1 through the internal testing phase: validating message flows and ensuring everything is in place ahead of the next phase.
For any credit union that has not yet received their testing and cutover slots from Central 1, we strongly encourage you to follow up with them directly as soon as possible. Securing your slots is essential to avoid any delays as the migration window approaches.
Improving Onboarding and Support Efficiency
One theme that keeps coming up as we work with credit unions day to day is how much of a team's time gets absorbed by access and onboarding. New staff joining, laptops being set up, system credentials, remote access, banking system licenses.
These requests seem straightforward, but they touch multiple systems and require coordination across IT, operations, and vendors. The more streamlined that process is internally, the faster new people become productive.
On the InfoCare side, we have been actively working to tighten up how we handle incoming requests so nothing gets missed and resolutions happen faster. Whether it's a login issue, a configuration question, or something that needs to be escalated to a third party, our goal is to make sure every ticket moves forward clearly and gets closed with a real answer.
Partner Spotlight
Celebrating Success at Oshawa Community Credit Union
We are proud to spotlight one of our valued partners, Oshawa Community Credit Union.
In 2025, Oshawa delivered a strong 4.46% dividend across all member shares, returning over 63% of net income directly to members. They continue to support local youth through the CU Succeed Youth Bursary, awarding $100,000 in 2026. Additionally, Oshawa has been nominated for Best in Customer Service in the 2026 Reader’s Choice Awards (voting opens May 4).
Congratulations to the entire Oshawa team on these excellent results and community initiatives!
What’s New at Infonancial?
Continuous Improvement for Our Partners
Our team is operating at full speed, with strong focus on continuously improving our products and services. Our development efforts remain centered on delivering more efficient, secure, and user-friendly solutions to support the success of our credit union partners.