Raiz partnered with Alkami to modernize its digital banking platform and extend its member-first experience beyond the branch. For Amy Krasikov, VP of Digital Experience at Raiz, the work is deeply tied to the credit union’s commitment to El Paso: a warm, authentic community with tremendous opportunity.

That local identity shapes the credit union’s digital banking strategy. Raiz wants members to feel cared for whether they are visiting a branch, opening an account online, protecting their money, or managing financial wellness from a mobile device. With a lean technology team, the credit union needed a modern digital banking platform and connected solutions that could help execute a digital-forward vision without losing the personal connection that defines its brand.

Krasikov describes Raiz Federal Credit Union’s digital strategy as an extension of its mission to serve El Paso and expand access to financial wellness.

Since partnering with Alkami in 2023, Raiz has replaced a legacy digital banking system, transformed branch workflows, accelerated account opening with MANTL, strengthened fraud prevention, and prepared for a more personalized member engagement strategy through Alkami’s Data & Marketing solution. The result is a story rooted in access, trust, and the credit union’s belief that financial wellness should be available to anyone, anywhere, at any stage of life.

Moving from a legacy system to a digital-forward strategy

Before Alkami, Raiz had been operating on a legacy account digital banking system for more than 20 years. Leadership knew the technology no longer matched member expectations or the financial institution’s goals for speed, flexibility, and integration. The team needed a digital banking platform that could integrate third-party fintech solutions and reduce the constraints placed on operational teams.

Modernization meant replacing outdated technology while aligning the financial institution around a shared definition of “digital-forward.” Through a five-year strategy approved at the board level, Raiz established how the credit union could operate more like a fintech while staying grounded in its mission.

For Raiz, digital banking is a way to expand access and serve members beyond traditional branch hours. The Alkami Digital Banking Platform gives the credit union a foundation for 24/7 availability, modern integrations, self-service capabilities, and a more reliable experience across digital channels.

Creating fully digital branches without losing the human touch

Raiz Federal Credit Union connected its digital strategy directly to the branch experience. In 2023, the credit union began transitioning its branches to a fully digital model. By 2024, branches no longer operated with traditional tellers, cash drawers, or teller functions. Team members became member service representatives, while routine digital banking transactions such as cash withdrawals, deposits, transfers, balance inquiries, and account maintenance moved to the digital banking platform or enhanced self-service ATMs.

With fewer manual transactions to process, branch teams can spend more time talking with members about their financial lives. Face-to-face service remains important, but Alkami helps remove friction from routine digital banking activities so employees can focus on guidance, financial wellness, and relationship-building. The goal is to make support available when and where members need it. By expanding digital access, the credit union can serve members beyond branch hours while keeping in-person conversations centered on helping them navigate their financial lives and achieve their goals.

Creating a faster path to membership

The credit union selected MANTL Onboarding & Account Opening to replace a manual, time-intensive account opening process that created friction for both members and employees. Before implementing MANTL, opening and funding an account often required multiple touchpoints, manual reviews, duplicated questions, callbacks, and follow-up visits to the branch.

Fraud prevention during account opening was top of mind for the credit union, which required strong compliance, identity verification, and fraud controls. The team knew they needed an in-branch and digital account opening solution that was omnichannel, intuitive, and fast for new applicants but that could also support the organization’s security standards.

By implementing MANTL, Onboarding & Account Opening,, Raiz streamlined account opening across channels:

• Call center: funding that previously took two to three days now happens in about nine minutes.
• In-branch: a process that used to take 30 to 45 minutes has been reduced to under 10 minutes.
• Online: a process that once took up to nine days now takes about four minutes, with the team continuing to refine approval workflows with the goal of reaching approximately three minutes from an application being started to fully funded.

Krasikov explains how MANTL helped move online account opening from a process measured in days to one measured in minutes.

Aside from delivering a more intuitive application experience, the impact extended to employees as well. Tasks that once required manual document handling, identity checks, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) reviews, and funding follow-up are now automated through the digital account opening workflow, unlocking greater operational efficiency. As teams adopted MANTL Onboarding & Account Opening, they quickly built confidence in using automation for steps they had historically handled themselves. The new process demonstrated how automation could improve daily work, create a smoother experience for members, and help improve fraud prevention measures.

Protecting members with layered fraud prevention

Trust is central to Raiz’s digital growth, especially as fraud risk increases across digital channels. To help protect members, the team added a digital security bundle through Alkami, including BioCatch Account Takeover Protection and AppGate fraud-protection capabilities; enabling them with real-time alerts on high-risk activities flagged for further investigation. Raiz reports that those layered controls have helped prevent more than $286,000 in fraud at the credit union level in the first year.

Raiz is also expanding protection for business and commercial members through Positive Pay & ACH Reporting. The solution gives business and commercial members more control over unauthorized check or ACH payments, helping them identify suspicious activity and send items back for return. As more activity moves into digital channels, Positive Pay & ACH Reporting gives Raiz another way to protect relationships while supporting continued growth.

Supporting acquisition, adoption, and member access

Digital account opening has become an important part of the credit union’s growth strategy because it gives new members a faster, easier way to begin a relationship and move directly into the digital banking experience available around the clock. As Raiz looks beyond the walls of its branches and even beyond El Paso, that digital foundation becomes essential. Through its sister organization, the Underserved Communities Foundation (UCF), eligible members can join from other states if they align with the foundation’s values and become lifetime members of the UCF, giving the credit union a way to extend its mission and community to people wherever they are.

Powering El Paso warmth with personalized marketing

As the credit union looks ahead, the Alkami Data & Marketing Solution will play an important role in making digital engagement more personal and relevant. Krasikov sees an opportunity to use data to create interactions that feel as thoughtful and human as the care members experience in the branch.

Krasikov explains how Data & Marketing can help bring the warmth of El Paso into digital engagement.

With deeper insight into member behavior, the team can better understand needs, guide outreach, and deliver more relevant experiences across digital channels. Their key objective is to make members feel recognized and supported, whether they are visiting a branch, opening an account online, or managing their finances from a mobile device. Every interaction will be an opportunity to deepen the member relationship and combat attrition.

Building a full digital relationship around the member

Raiz’s digital-forward strategy has been shaped by their commitment to their local community to provide around-the-clock service access and trust. The credit union replaced technology that had been in place for more than two decades, changed how branches operate, streamlined digital account opening from days to minutes and implemented an omnichannel account opening strategy, strengthened fraud prevention, and built a roadmap for more personalized engagement.

The Alkami Digital Sales & Service Platform helps Raiz connect the moments that shape the member relationship; empowering them to serve members with more speed, relevance, and care. The Platform gives the credit union flexibility to move faster with a lean team while keeping the member experience at the center of each decision.

Krasikov shares how Alkami’s Digital Sales & Service Platform aligns with the credit union’s long-term vision for onboarding, engagement, personalization, and financial wellness.

Serving members from anywhere, at any time, is central to the credit union’s digital vision. Whether someone lives in El Paso, New Mexico, Virginia, Pennsylvania, or another community connected to the values of the Underserved Communities Foundation, the credit union is building the digital foundation to support them while preserving the warmth, care, and financial wellness commitment that defines Raiz Federal Credit Union’s mission.

Key outcomes from Raiz Federal Credit Union’s digital journey

• Replaced a digital banking platform that had been in place for more than 20 years.
• Transitioned branches to a fully digital model with member service representatives, enhanced self-service ATMs, and no traditional teller function.
• With the MANTL Onboarding & Account Opening Solution, Raiz reduced in-branch account opening from 30–45 minutes to under 10 minutes.
• Reduced call center funding from 2-3 days to approximately nine minutes.
• Reduced online account opening from approximately nine days to about four minutes, with additional optimization underway.
• Prevented more than $286,000 in fraud through layered digital security capabilities.
• Prepared to expand business fraud protection with Positive Pay & ACH Reporting.
• Built a roadmap for more personalized digital engagement through the Data & Marketing Solution.

Raiz is building a connected digital experience with Alkami that makes it easier for members to open accounts, manage their finances with confidence, and access support whenever and wherever they need it.