The Maryland and DC Credit Union Association, is excited to announce their strategic partnership with Zest AI, the leader in expanding access to credit through better scoring and winner of NACUSO's CUSO of the Year Award and Finovate’s Award For Best Use Of AI/ML In Finance. This partnership will grant access to Zest’s AI-driven credit underwriting for all Maryland and D.C. area credit unions.

“Zest AI has a proven track record of delivering value for credit unions across the country,” saidJohn Bratsakis, President/CEO of MD|DC Credit Union Association. “We’re pleased to bring this powerful resource to our area, as it is a win-win for both credit unions’ bottom lines and member opportunity.”

As a strategic alliance provider for CUNA Strategic Services, Zest AI’s technology allows credit unions and other financial institutions to make data-driven underwriting decisions tailored to the communities they serve. Using Zest’s technology, credit unions can analyze hundreds of member data points in seconds and better determine lending decision outcomes. Credit unions using Zest AI's technology see an average increase in approvals of over 25 percent, and some have increased the automation of their lending decisions fivefold.

“Working with the Association to reimagine the lending experience for 2.2 million members across Maryland and D.C. will be transformative for credit unions that remain firmly committed to better serving their members,” said José Valentín, Senior Vice President of Partnerships at Zest AI. “Transparent, compliant, and inclusive lending technology like Zest AI’s equips credit unions to be the financial health and wellbeing centers their members need them to be, especially in times of economic uncertainty."

Zest AI's technology gives credit unions the ability to monitor economic shifts and the agility to respond to changes in market conditions. With this capability, credit unions can be responsive to their members during fluctuations in the economic cycle and serve more members when they need it.

“Our priority is to deliver industry-leading solutions that uplevel compliance and fair lending expectations, help mitigate risks to credit unions, and increases access to credit for those borrowers who may get overlooked by traditional scoring methods. We’re excited to collaborate with the Association and Zest AI to bring game-changing technology to credit union partners,” said Barb Lowman, President of CUNA Strategic Services.