Alkami adds Automated Stage Match to speed SDK work

Alkami has added an Automated Stage Match feature to its Software Development Kit. The digital banking supplier says it cuts the time needed to align a developer's local environment with staging to under 15 minutes.

The update, built into the Alkami SDK Wizard, targets a common source of delay for banks and credit unions building and testing new features. Differences between environments can slow validation and create extra back-and-forth during deployment.

Faster alignment matters because many financial institutions want greater control over release schedules for digital services. Development teams may build new functions quickly, but timelines often stretch as work moves through staging, user acceptance testing, and production rollout.

Developer workflow

Automated Stage Match is a self-service process developers can run on demand. It aligns local environments with staging earlier in the development cycle and enables testing against realistic data sooner, which can surface issues before a release reaches formal test stages.

Alkami positions the feature as a way to reduce manual requests and internal coordination when developers need environment changes. It says existing security, privacy, and compliance standards remain in place, while the process becomes more consistent.

Alkami previously offered a stage-matching approach used by many customers, but describes Automated Stage Match as a step change in speed and ease of use through the SDK Wizard. The vendor also links the update to faster SDK upgrades, a recurring challenge for institutions that maintain bespoke integrations.

Customer feedback

Jordan Lehrman, Chief Technology Officer at iQ Credit Union, described stage matching and deployment as constraints on delivery timelines.

"Right now, the biggest bottleneck for us isn't building features, it's getting them through the stage match and deployment process," Lehrman said.

"What should take a couple of weeks can easily stretch into months because of environmental gaps and back-and-forth validation. Stage Match gives us the ability to test in a truly aligned environment, fix issues ourselves, and move forward without unnecessary delay. That kind of control materially shortens our delivery cycle and helps us get value into our members' hands faster," he said.

Lehrman also said the update reduces dependency on queues and improves confidence that test outcomes will hold in production.

"Stage Match lets us operate on our timeline instead of waiting in queue. It reduces uncertainty in deployment and gives our team confidence that what we test is what will run in production. That means less time troubleshooting deployments and more time building meaningful enhancements for our members. Ultimately, it strengthens our partnership with Alkami by enabling us to move faster together," he said.

Westmark Credit Union also cited shorter iteration cycles and a smoother path toward user acceptance testing.

"Being able to align our local environment with staging in under 15 minutes significantly accelerates iteration cycles and shortens our path to UAT," said Andrew Swayze, Core Systems Analyst at Westmark Credit Union.

"The process was very smooth and straightforward, which makes it easier for our team to move quickly and with confidence," he added.

Platform context

Alkami sells digital banking software to US banks and credit unions. Its platform spans onboarding and digital banking, alongside data and marketing tools. The company markets the suite as modular, with components that can be deployed separately.

The SDK enables client teams and partners to develop, extend, and integrate services around the core platform. For institutions with in-house engineering teams, tooling that reduces friction in testing and deployment can influence how quickly they ship improvements and how often they can update dependencies.

Deep Varma, Chief Technology Officer at Alkami, said the company built Automated Stage Match based on customer feedback about pain points in the development process.

"This is a good example of how we approach technology innovation at Alkami," Varma said.

"We listen to feedback from our customers, and then transform their pain points into building tools that make development simpler and faster. Giving developers the ability to test almost immediately has a real impact on how quickly new ideas turn into real features," he said.

Alkami said it will share further technical updates and its longer-term platform direction at Alkami Co:lab 2026, where Varma is scheduled to deliver a keynote on the future of the company's technology platform.