Embers Credit Union goes live with MANTL loan origination

Embers Credit Union has gone live with MANTL Loan Origination from Alkami, expanding its existing use of MANTL beyond account opening.

The Michigan-based credit union is initially using the lending system for in-branch credit card origination and plans to extend it to auto, personal, and recreational vehicle loans across digital and branch channels. Embers serves communities across Michigan's Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin.

The rollout brings lending onto the same platform Embers already uses for retail account opening, giving the credit union a single origination process for both deposits and loans.

According to Alkami, Embers has already raised nearly AUD $28 million in deposits through the MANTL platform, and account opening takes about five minutes on average across branch and digital channels.

Early testing of the loan system showed operational savings for staff handling credit card applications. In a pilot group, loan officers cut the time spent on those applications by as much as half.

That initial work was part of a broader development effort tied to MANTL's expansion into consumer lending. Embers was among more than 10 financial institutions that worked with MANTL during product development and provided feedback on workflows and design.

Alkami said that input helped shape features around the day-to-day needs of borrowers and frontline lending staff. The company has positioned the product as a way for credit unions to reduce reliance on separate origination systems for deposits and lending.

David Black, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Embers Credit Union, said the pilot had already improved staff productivity.

"Within our pilot group, MANTL has reduced the time our loan officers spend on credit card applications by up to half, making them more efficient and giving them more time to focus on the member in front of them," Black said.

Black also linked the rollout to the credit union's broader operating model and staff experience.

"This partnership with MANTL promises to help us transform lending at Embers as we add additional loan products to the platform-simplifying the member experience and making it easier to meet our members and their borrowing needs where they are. We're also focused on improving our employee experience, and MANTL Loan Origination will enable us to do that through its intuitive and streamlined interface. This helps with adoption because employees are excited to use it and goes a long way toward helping us maintain our status as a top workplace. Expanding from deposit origination into loans is an important step toward creating one connected front door for members," Black said.

Development Cohort

MANTL developed the lending product with a group of early financial institution partners rather than in isolation. Alkami said the cohort challenged established lending processes and contributed structured feedback throughout the build-out.

For Embers, that meant direct input into how the product handles routine work for both borrowers and loan officers. It also gave Alkami an early production customer as it expanded MANTL from deposit account opening into lending.

Benjamin Conant, Chief Product Officer at Alkami, said Embers had played a formative role in the product's launch.

"Embers' launch of MANTL Loan Origination is an incredible milestone for Alkami and a meaningful step forward for the lending industry as a whole," Conant said.

He added that the relationship had influenced the system's design.

"As an early development partner, Embers helped ensure we built a platform that was intuitive for employees, seamless for borrowers, and aligned with the way credit unions serve their members. Their feedback continues to shape MANTL Loan Origination as it evolves, demonstrating how close collaboration can turn real-world insight into a modern lending experience. As more credit unions look to modernize lending, we are excited to build on this momentum with a platform shaped by the loan officers, bankers, and teams using it every day," Conant said.

Platform Strategy

Alkami sells digital banking and account opening technology to US banks and credit unions, and the MANTL brand has been associated with onboarding and deposit origination. This launch shows how the company is trying to extend that footprint into consumer lending within the same customer base.

For smaller and mid-sized credit unions, the appeal of a single platform often lies in reducing the operational burden created by multiple vendors, separate interfaces, and duplicated processes. Embers' adoption reflects that trend as lenders look for tighter links between account opening, borrower intake, and staff workflows.

Embers has more than USD $630 million in assets, giving the project weight beyond a limited pilot. The credit union said the latest step is aimed at creating one connected front door for members across deposits and loans.