East Hartford, Conn.-based American Eagle Financial Credit Union is integrating digital banking solutions provider Alkami’s sales and service platform.

The integration is part of the $2.5 billion American Eagle FCU’s digital-first strategy and will grant consumers easy access to their financial data, according to a March 5 release from Alkami.

Open banking is enabling financial institutions to stay competitive by offering more personalized, convenient and secure banking experiences while giving account holders greater control over their financial data, Jamie Lang, product manager at Alkami, told Bank Automation News.

Open banking allows credit unions to enhance services, according to Lang, with:

• Tailored solutions: Loan preapprovals, credit options and savings plans based on members’ financial data;
• Holistic insights: A full view of finances, with AI tools offering budgeting support and spending insights; and
• Proactive alerts: timely and relevant notifications about security risks, financial opportunities and account updates.

The credit union plans to use Alkami’s platform to improve marketing and expand services through:

• Using data to create targeted campaigns that drive growth and boost revenue;
• Providing tailored solutions to meet the changing needs of members; and
• Easily connecting with fintech partners to offer new products and services.

Vantage Bank taps SRA Watchtower for risk management

San Antonio-based Vantage Bank selected business intelligence platform SRA Watchtower for risk and financial insights, SRA said in a March 4 release.

The $4.5 billion Vantage Bank will use SRA’s platform to consolidate its risk data and streamline reporting, according to the release.

Vantage Bank had used Watchtower’s FinTech Risk Maturity Framework for evaluating the risk of fintech maturity programs and had previewed the Watchtower platform suite, Joel Castaneda, chief risk officer at Vantage Bank, told BAN in a joint statement with Edward Vincent, chief executive at SRA Watchtower.

Integration of the SRA Platform took “a matter of weeks,” Castaneda said.

SRA plans to begin rolling out AI features to Watchtower users this year, he said. The fintech last month announced that it raised $4 million to expand its capabilities.

“AI is a top priority of the SRA Watchtower platform roadmap,” Vincent said. “While the SRA Watchtower team currently uses AI internally for summarization, code review and data comparisons, the goal is to deliver purposeful AI-driven insights that add real value to Watchtower users.

Vantage Bank uses AI across multiple platforms for cybersecurity, credit risk stress testing and software development, Castaneda said.

The SRA Watchtower platform is also used by Madison, Wis.-based Banker’s Bank, according to a previous SRA.

Ingo Payments, Securely team up on payments

Alpharetta, Ga.-based payments solutions provider Ingo Payments is teaming up with cloud-based payment platform Securely to expand Ingo’s payment capabilities, according to a March 10 release from Ingo.

Ingo will power Securely’s Digital Cash bank-to-bank card payment solution that includes real-time settlements, according to the release.

The integration was completed in January, an Ingo spokesperson told BAN.

“The platform enables enterprises, fintechs and banks to fund accounts, transfer and payout funds instantly — all from a single, integrated platform with embedded compliance and risk management,” the spokesperson said.

FIs that use Ingo’s platform include:

• $190 billion KeyBank;
• $153.9 billion Regions Bank;
• $36.3 billion SoFI; and
• $25.9 billion OneMain Financial.

Plaid, Bectran simplify credit applications

Schaumburg, Ill.-based Bectran is partnering with financial data network Plaid to simplify and secure bank verification for credit applications, the SaaS company said in a recent release.

The integration enables credit applicants to link their bank accounts through Plaid’s secure APIs, providing real-time financial data that Bectran analyzes to generate risk scores, according to the release.

“Consumers increasingly expect fast, seamless digital experiences, and lenders need access to real-time financial data to make smarter decisions,” a Plaid spokesperson told BAN. “Automation helps financial institutions scale underwriting and approvals by streamlining data collection and verification, reducing manual processes and decision times.”

The partnership aims to:

• Reduce errors;
• Speed up processing; and
• Enhance fraud prevention.

The integration took less than 12 weeks, the Plaid spokesperson said.

While the largest FIs have the resources to build their own APIs, Plaid partners with core providers such as Jack Henry and Fiserv to enable smaller community banks and credit unions to connect to its network, Ethan Geiling, lead for strategic financial institution partnerships at Plaid, said on March 4 at Bank Automation Summit 2025.

Without the burden of contracting to build APIs, smaller banks can remain competitive in the open banking landscape, Geiling said.

“And what that means is that community institutions can really focus on their data and strategy,” he said.

FIs with assets of less than $50 billion that use Plaid’s network include:

• $7.9 billion Veridian Credit Union;
• $2.5 billion Credit Union of Texas; and
• $486.4 million Varo Bank.

See all of the coverage of Bank Automation Summit 2025 at finainews.com.