GreenState Credit Union, HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union, and CU West select Zest AI technology for better lending

Three more innovative credit unions migrate to AI-driven lending for faster, more automated member experience

Zest AI, a leader in software for credit underwriting, welcomes three new credit unions to the Zest family of lenders using the Zest Model Management System to power more accurate, fair, and fast credit underwriting. GreenState Credit Union, the largest financial institution in Iowa, HawaiiUSA, the largest credit union in Hawaii, and CU West, a top ten Arizona credit union, will now be using Zest’s machine learning software to power better lending that enriches the lives of a combined 500,000 members.

The Zest Model Management System enables lenders to analyze vast amounts of credit data to make more good loans and fewer bad ones. Zest software provides the ability to explain powerful data models, measure and monitor their business impact, and comply with regulatory requirements. All three credit unions expect to be scoring live later this year.

GreenState, HawaiiUSA, and CU West join a growing roster of credit unions adopting Zest AI technology for more accurate, efficient, and inclusive underwriting. Zest’s credit union partners now represent more than three million members nationwide and include leaders in their communities such as Suncoast, VyStar, HawaiiUSA, and Commonwealth.

Credit unions that lend using Zest-built models have seen, on average, a 15 percent increase in approval rates with no added risk, and up to 30% reductions in charge-offs by using more of their own data and the advanced math of machine learning. Lenders typically see 40 percent or higher boosts in automated decisions and get their new models to market in a third of the time compared with the traditional model deployment life cycle. Zest models work in all product categories: auto loans, credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, and student loans. Zest-built models are also more inclusive, increasing approval rates dramatically for women, seniors, and borrowers of color.

“The direct link between faster decisions and member experience goes right to the service ethic of the credit union movement, and so does being more inclusive with lending,” says Zest AI CEO Mike de Vere. “Our whole team is grateful for the opportunity to help these organizations achieve their goal of saying yes to more members.”