Fintech Candescent’s digital banking platform is laying the groundwork for continued AI deployment at Hapo Community Credit Union.  

The platform enables seamless integration of third-party AI tools into the credit union’s operations, Jeremy O’Niel, vice president of marketing and digital experience at the $3 billion credit union, told FinAi News.  

For example, Hapo uses AI-driven identity verification platform Callsign, which has been effective “because it combats account takeovers,” he said. Callsign is a Candescent partner. 

Callsign uses AI to analyze behavioral biometrics, including how a member types and whether a member is right- or left-handed, O’Niel said. The tool can reduce account takeovers by more than 80%, he added, citing feedback from industry peers.  

Hapo also has deployed an AI virtual assistant, called Abbee, through Candescent’s third-party network, leading to a significant increase in containment rate, or the percentage of member interactions fully resolved by a chatbot, O’Niel said.  

The credit union recently extended the chatbot to operate 24/7, with call center positions morphing into “AI-trainer roles,” he said.  

“They’re monitoring conversations, and they’re retraining the model, and they’re helping guide the AI into solutions where maybe it dead-ended or it hallucinated,” he said. 

Hapo is exploring AI solutions for underwriting and information retrieval, as well, O’Niel said. 

AI-first world 

While Hapo didn’t select Candescent for AI functionality, specifically, the fintech has worked behind the scenes to ensure that its platform is built for an “AI-first world,” Candescent Chief Product Officer Gareth Gaston told FinAi News.  

The fintech achieved this by unifying disparate solutions into an omnichannel stack, Gaston said.  

“When AI initially showed up, it showed up as bolt-on point solutions,” he said. “We really think about the success of AI as being integrated throughout the experience. … We’re thinking about AI across the spectrum of banking.” 

Gaston said Candescent has broken its AI implementation strategy into three focus areas: conversational tools, summarizations and data-driven visualizations.  

The company also plans to launch a mobile banking app later this year, providing a “very modular” experience with AI at the core, Gaston said. 

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