Founded in 1933, Landmark Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative that’s focused on serving its members by delivering great rates and low fees, providing personal service and investing in improved member experiences. Landmark Credit Union has more than $7 billion in total assets, 35 branches, more than 400,000 members and 1,000+ employees. For more information, visit landmarkcu.com.
Financial Institution Background
As Landmark Credit Union (Landmark) made the strategic move to expand from commercial real estate lending into operating company relationships, it quickly became clear: the credit union needed modern treasury management solutions to successfully support commercial entities with a comprehensive suite of tools that would enable them to complete all of their banking needs with Landmark.
At the heart of this transformation was the adoption of Alkami’s Digital Banking Platform — a pivotal decision that helped Landmark Credit Union grow from 135 business profiles to over 7,800 profiles in a few short years.
Before implementing Alkami, Landmark’s business members were accustomed to banking through their retail banking solutions — a less-than-ideal fit that blurred the lines between consumer and business accounts with limited treasury management features. The Landmark team quickly hit the ceiling on what the previous platform could support. Growth in business accounts was stalling due to system limitations.
Seeking a platform that would empower Landmark to support businesses at scale, the credit union implemented Alkami’s Treasury Management Solutions with a focus on establishing the infrastructure conducive to intentional commercial growth. Here’s how:
“We can do everything the big guys do, but there’s a person on the other end of the phone. You provide good tools, but then you back them with great service. That’s what makes account holders stick”.
– Jeff Luczak, VP of Treasury Management at Landmark Credit Union
Moving into serving larger scale business clients came with higher rates of fraud. However, Landmark had the right set of fraud prevention tools in place that enabled them to safeguard their clients and their institution’s reputation. While fraud attempts across the board have increased, Landmark’s losses went down. The implementation of Positive Pay & ACH Reporting offered as a protective fee-based service allowed Landmark to offer a fraud mitigation option; one that presented Landmark as a trusted advisor and partner who has the tools and knowledge to educate members on risk and protect relationships by acting before fraud occurred.
“Positive Pay is an insurance policy. You don't use insurance every single day, but you pay for insurance just in case something bad happens. This is a day-to-day insurance policy for the checks processed through your member’s account.”
– Jeff Luczak, VP of Treasury Management at Landmark Credit Union
Through Landmark’s partnership with Alkami, Landmark has seen measurable growth and improved business outcomes:
One of the most notable wins? A $55 million loan deal, paired with $5–7 million in deposits, where Landmark’s ability to offer strong treasury services was a deciding factor. The business client needed a single login to move money between 37 companies and execute frequent ACH transactions, and Alkami made it simple.
The Platform delivers, but so does the relationship. Over the years, Landmark’s team has worked closely with Alkami’s team to identify additional features that would help them continue to expand their suite of commercial solutions and ability to serve larger sized businesses, describing their partnership as collaborative.
For credit unions thinking about scaling or launching business banking, Jeff offers practical and powerful advice:
“There are invisible businesses hiding on your retail side.” Many business owners don’t realize their credit union offers commercial services. Mine your own membership first.
It’s not enough to market services, make sure your credit union can deliver on expectations. “Once you get the interest, make sure you can follow through.”
Tools like Weiland Account Analysis enable customized pricing and help justify your value. “When you start to bring on large customers, standard pricing isn't going to work. It's there for your standard customers, but the second they have a loan, the second they have a relationship with the lender, all that starts to change. So being able to provide special pricing for members makes them feel good. It also helps win deals.”
“Positive Pay isn’t a ‘nice-to-have.’ It’s insurance. And it shouldn’t be free.” Have the fraud conversation before it happens to protect both parties. Educate members and safeguard funds.
With Landmark’s own strategy, they now target businesses with $5M+ in revenue to identify gaps, pressure test systems, and grow in the right direction.
With a full suite of services in place, Landmark is focused on adding business members, learning from mid-market onboarding, and continuously refining its service model. The foundation is set, now it’s about scaling strategically and tapping into the full potential of their investments.
