Banking Transformed with Jim Marous ·Oct 6, 2026 ·38 min

How To Turn Partnerships Into Growth

Evaluation and Summary

8.3/10

Jim Marous interviews Esteban Guerra, leader of Chartway Credit Union, a $3.2 billion institution serving 265,000 members. The episode focuses on how Chartway leverages strategic partnerships and member feedback to drive growth and improve digital experience. The centerpiece is a case study: Chartway brought in $2 million in CD deposits in under 45 days without competing on rate, using targeted member segmentation, personalized push notifications via Pulsate, and frictionless one-tap authentication through Entersekt. Guerra explains why this approach retained deposits better than traditional batch emails or branch visits would have. The episode details Chartway's partnership selection methodology: surveying members to build roadmaps, vetting partners through Q2's Innovation Studio, checking references with similar-stack credit unions, and prioritizing mobile experience (85% of members use the app, 1.7 million logins monthly). Guerra emphasizes that any partner adding friction to mobile is rejected. The conversation highlights how speed has compressed timelines—work that once took 6-9 months now takes weeks. Chartway deployed ScribeUp subscription management in a production pilot in under two weeks and added background authentication during a fraud spike, cutting manual reviews by 40%. Guerra closes with advice for earlier-stage institutions: prioritize member feedback, invest in people, and conduct thorough due diligence on partners. The episode is part of Banking Transformed's "Experience Factor" series, recorded at Q2 CONNECT 2026 in Austin, featuring financial leaders discussing how account holder experience drives long-term success.

Verdict: A sharp, practical episode with a proven operator sharing specific strategies, metrics, and a replicable framework for smaller financial institutions seeking partnership-driven growth.

Business rubric

Actionable takeaways 4/5 20%

Clear, implementable framework: survey members first, vet partners against member priorities, test for mobile friction, establish feedback loops with vendors, and compress deployment timelines through modern tools.
Evidence over hype 4/5 20%

Concrete metrics throughout: $2M in 45 days, 85% mobile adoption, 1.7M logins/month, 40% reduction in manual reviews, 2-week deployment cycles; specific vendor names (Pulsate, Entersekt, ScribeUp) and measurable outcomes.
Guest and host credibility 5/5 15%

Esteban Guerra leads a $3.2B credit union named Q2's 2026 Credit Union of the Year, demonstrating proven operational success and direct experience implementing the strategies discussed.
Substance 4/5 15%

Dense with specific examples, methodology, and metrics; covers partnership selection, member engagement, deployment speed, and fraud management without apparent padding or tangents.
Delivers on its title 5/5 15%

Title promises turning partnerships into growth; episode delivers exactly that through detailed case study showing how strategic partner selection and integration drove measurable deposit growth and operational efficiency.
Value for time 4/5 15%

38 minutes for a focused case study with methodology and takeaways; appears well-paced with concrete examples throughout, though show notes don't reveal if there are slower segments.

How we score Business

Worth it if you lead a bank or credit union and want concrete examples of how to select and integrate digital partners to improve member experience and drive deposits.

Content flags

Sponsored Episode is part of a Q2-sponsored series recorded at Q2 CONNECT 2026; Q2 is prominently featured as the platform Chartway uses for partner discovery, creating inherent promotional framing.

#fintech partnerships #credit unions #digital banking #member experience #growth strategy #mobile-first

Based on the episode description. AI-generated; it can be wrong.

Show notes

A $3.2 billion credit union chooses its digital partners from member surveys, and the results show. Chartway Credit Union runs $3.2 billion in assets and serves 265,000 members, yet it brought in $2 million in CD deposits in under 45 days without leading on rate. It segmented members with known excess liquidity, reached them with a personalized Pulsate push, and took them through one-tap Entersekt authentication straight into account opening and funding. Esteban Guerra explains why a batch email and a trip to the branch would have lost a large share of those members along the way, and why the targeting kept the money from behaving like hot money. The method behind it starts with members. Chartway surveys them, builds its roadmap from what they ask for, then searches Q2's Innovation Studio and checks references with credit unions on a similar stack before choosing a partner. With 85% of members on the mobile app and roughly 1.7 million logins a month, any partner that adds friction to mobile doesn't make the cut. And the feedback flows both ways: Chartway takes what members tell it back to its partners, and it often ends up on their roadmaps. Speed has changed the math for smaller institutions. Work that took six to nine months now takes weeks, and Chartway had ScribeUp subscription management in a production pilot in under two weeks. During a fraud spike it added background authentication rather than friction and cut manual reviews by 40%. Esteban, whose credit union was named Q2's 2026 Credit Union of the Year, closes with advice for banks and credit unions earlier in the journey: start with your members, invest in your people, and do the due diligence. About the series: The Experience Factor is a special Banking Transformed series with Q2, recorded at Q2 CONNECT 2026 in Austin, Texas, featuring consumer banking experts and financial institution leaders on how account holder experience and engagement drive long-term success. Hosted by Jim Marous. Subscribe to Banking Transformed for new episodes multiple times each week.

Episode page

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