The first interaction a new (potential) member has with your credit union is opening an account. It sets the tone for your entire relationship.
How do you want that interaction to go?
Think carefully. The answer matters—maybe more than you know.
Read on to learn more about the best new online account opening providers for credit unions… plus a quick highlight on our top pick!
Why Online Account Opening Matters
Traditional online account opening providers certainly get the job done. Meridianlink works. Legacy platforms are certainly better than requiring in-branch paperwork.
But works and works well are two different things. Traditional systems take 20–25 minutes to complete and application. Completion rates hover around 15%. That’s… not ideal.
A better platform can reduce application time to mere minutes.
Not only that, but it can dramatically improve conversion rates, reduce application friction, and drive more deposit and loan growth. Some platforms can also handle a good deal of the onboarding workload, too, complete with cross-sell opportunities based on your new member’s credit profile.
New online account opening fintechs give members a better application experience. They also give credit unions more members with higher product cross-sell and lower member churn.
Let’s take a look at the big players.
1. Valiify
Valiify’s Digital Account Opening and Loan Origination System platforms go hand in hand. They also tell you pretty much everything you need to know about what they offer.
Valiify is a unified origination platform for deposits and loans, digital and branch. It deploys quickly, updates the core in real time, and features built-in cross-sell capabilities, turning digital account opening into a strategic growth driver.
Typically, account opening takes less than 3 minutes, includes fraud prevention, and comes with dedicated onboarding and fast deployment.
Big wins: Deposits, white label, fast application time, onboarding included, inbuilt cross-sell, flexible configurations, platform consolidation potential
2. Glide
Glide offers an incredibly efficient and high-converting online account opening and loan origination platform. Its white-label platform cuts application time down to just 2 minutes. Conversely, their conversion rate is nearly 80%.
That’s way better than 25 minutes for a 15% conversion rate.
Glide also automates decisioning and onboarding. That means fewer bottlenecks, less operational overhead, and a frictionless experience for members and staff alike.
Finally, Glide automatically handles onboarding and cross-sell right from the get-go.
Big wins: Deposits, white label, fast application time, onboarding included, inbuilt cross-sell, flexible configurations, platform consolidation potential
3. MANTL
Note: MANTL was recently acquired by Alkami. We’re curious to see how this affects the product and delivery.
MANTL has grown quickly owing to its simple automated account opening. They’re built for credit unions looking for deep integrations and automation to drive deposit growth.
Their platform makes account opening easy with core-integrated workflows that reduce friction and increase efficiency.
Overall, MANTL is customizable, scalable, and deposit-focused.
Big wins: Deposits, business accounts, fast application time, flexible configurations
4. Cotribute
Cotribute’s online account opening platform places a heavy focus on automation to improve efficiency. Improved UX and automated decisioning dramatically improve conversions over legacy providers.
Cotribute also features inbuilt cross-sell into its onboarding workflow, improving new member product penetration and reducing churn.
Big wins: Deposits, lending, fast application time, onboarding included, inbuilt cross-sell, flexible configurations, platform consolidation potential
5. Narmi
Narmi’s Narmi Grow solution focuses on conversion optimization, providing a clean UX that improves conversion rates. It integrates well with core systems and other Narmi products alike.
Narmi Grow focuses on driving deposits and improving self-service options for members.
Big wins: Deposits, business accounts, fast application time
6. CreditSnap
CreditSnap’s online account opening platform handles both deposits and loan originations. They do a soft credit inquiry during the application process, allowing them to offer cross-sell options during core onboarding.
CreditSnap is leaning into AI, with an AI-driven, mobile-first platform.
Big wins: Deposits, lending, fast application time, inbuilt cross-sell
7. WithClutch
WithClutch offers a comprehensive online account opening and loan origination platform for credit unions. They feature automated decisioning, reducing the burden on underwriting teams while improving efficiency.
WithClutch also helps credit unions find pre-qualified offers for members at the time of application, improving overall cross-sell.
Big wins: Deposits, lending, automated decisioning, fast application time, inbuilt cross-sell, platform consolidation potential
Why We’re Excited by These Providers
Our Online Account Opening guide is filled with a mix of new and legacy DAO providers.
Legacy providers increasingly don’t get the job done. Sure, they work, but when you see super high abandonment rates on online account opening engagements, you know something’s wrong.
Asking prospective members to dedicate 20–30 minutes to handle an application just tells the member that the credit union will never respect their time or give them a smooth digital experience. Not only that, but if those 30 minutes of account opening don’t drive deposits, can’t originate loans, don’t include cross-sell capabilities… well, then you’re just asking for even more of the member’s time in the future.
These vendors are different.
Not only is the overall application time 1/10th that of legacy providers, but they support so much more. Imagine taking 30 minutes to accomplish something that could be done in 3.
Now imagine which account opening experience your members would prefer.
Which Vendor Is Right for You?
We can’t answer that question definitively. However, we can highly recommend Glide and Valiify.
Cutting application time to under 3 minutes (or even under 2 minutes with Glide) dramatically boosts conversion rates. We’re talking over 80%.
Why these two? Glide handles onboarding. Valiify handles cross-sell and loan origination. Given that getting a new member is only half the battle—and that keeping the member is the other half—any focus on onboarding and cross-sell is critical.
Finally, with online account opening that drives deposits, originates loans, and handles new member onboarding, you could potentially consolidate multiple platforms into one.
Learn more about Valiify here:
Learn more about Glide here:
