In this episode of TechSolutions4CUs, host John San Filippo welcomes Kristen Castell, Managing Director of CAFÉ (Center for Accelerating Financial Equity), a nonprofit organization.

The conversation dives into the origin story of CAFÉ, which was launched two and a half years ago out of a new fintech innovation hub in Newark, Delaware. It began as a public-private partnership involving Discover Financial, the University of Delaware, and other organizations dedicated to building new fintech innovation that helps people's lives. CAFÉ's primary mission is to advance financial wellness for low to moderate-income people across the US.

Kristen explains how CAFÉ serves the credit union community:

• Connecting Fintechs and Credit Unions: CAFÉ runs competitive Accelerator programs to help early-stage fintech companies, which have been vetted for strong product-market fit, existing customers, and mission-driven culture, accelerate their growth. CAFÉ then introduces these solutions to credit unions looking for innovative ways to help their members.
• Vetting Process: The fintechs undergo a rigorous, competitive process to enter CAFÉ's programs, which includes looking at the business, the product, and requiring them to already have credit union or other financial institution customers. A top priority for CAFÉ is the company's culture, focusing on collaborative, mission-driven people.
• Solutions for Members: The fintechs supported by CAFÉ offer diverse products, including more efficient ways to provide loans to small businesses and individuals, digital banking products, microloan services (like Salus), SBA 7A loans (like Parlay), and tools to help members search for government benefits (like Starlight).

The discussion also covers:

• Technology Trends: The role of technology in helping credit unions digitize their offerings, improve backend processes, and gain better member insights, specifically mentioning AI. Kristen notes that almost every fintech they work with incorporates AI in some way.
• Challenges for Smaller Credit Unions: They discuss the potential for smaller credit unions to be overwhelmed by the number of tech relationships, suggesting collaboration through groups like CUSOs (Credit Union Service Organizations) or partnering with fintechs that come as a package to ease the onboarding process.
• Future Outlook: Kristen shares her prediction for the future, expressing a strong belief in blockchain technology to facilitate instant global payments, improve security through tokenization, and enhance identity management for financial accounts. She also stresses the shift from providing "products" to providing a full experience in members' financial lives.
• Getting Involved: Credit unions can engage with CAFÉ by offering industry expertise as a speaker, becoming a sponsor, or simply by being interested in learning about and potentially partnering with the vetted fintech innovations. CAFÉ also hosts the annual Fintechs and Fairways Conference in Delaware.

To learn more about CAFÉ, you can visit FTCafe.org.