City & County Credit Union Selects Mahalo Banking to Modernize Digital Banking Experience

City & County Credit Union has partnered with Mahalo Banking to implement the Thoughtful Banking® platform, aiming to modernize digital services for its 62,000 members. This move highlights the growing pressure on mid-sized credit unions to match the digital sophistication of larger commercial banks, particularly in the critical areas of business banking and fraud prevention.

What was announced

Announced on 22 October 2026, City & County Credit Union, which manages $1.1 billion in assets, has selected Mahalo Banking as its primary digital banking provider. The partnership focuses on deploying Mahalo’s Thoughtful Banking® platform to enhance both consumer and business member experiences. A primary driver for the selection was the need for deeper core integration and a scalable architecture that supports future technological shifts. The credit union specifically identified business banking functionality as a priority, seeking to offer more robust digital tools to its commercial membership where Mahalo has made significant recent investments.

Security also plays a central role in the transition; City & County will implement Mahalo’s Credential Assurance Technology (CAT). This system is designed to strengthen authentication processes and mitigate fraud risks, providing the necessary infrastructure to support modern payment rails such as ACH and instant payments. By adopting this platform, the Minnesota-based credit union intends to provide a more cohesive digital journey while maintaining the high-level safeguards expected by its membership. The collaboration emphasizes a "future-ready" approach, ensuring that the institution can adapt to changing member expectations without requiring a complete overhaul of its digital foundations. The integration aims to provide a true omni-channel experience, ensuring consistency across all delivery channels for the credit union's membership.

"Mahalo stood out because of its tight connectivity with our core, future-ready technology and proven ability to understand both our immediate needs and long-term roadmap. The Mahalo team has been incredibly accessible, highly responsive, and genuinely invested in our success. They don't just listen to our ideas; they value them and actively collaborate with us."

Brandon Burt, Director of Digital Services at City & County.

The companies involved

City & County Credit Union is a not-for-profit, cooperatively owned financial institution headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Established in 1928, it originally served employees of General Mills, Ramsey County, and the City of Saint Paul. Today, the credit union has grown to oversee $1.1 billion in assets and serves more than 62,000 members across several Minnesota counties, including Ramsey, Washington, Hennepin, Carver, Dakota, McLeod, Meeker, and Wright. It also maintains its historical ties by serving City of St. Paul and Ramsey County employees, as well as General Mills employees, retirees, and their families nationwide.

Mahalo Banking, based in Brownstown Township, Michigan, specializes in providing mobile and online banking solutions specifically tailored for the credit union sector. The company differentiates itself through a platform architecture designed for deep third-party vendor integration and omni-channel consistency. Notably, Mahalo provides an online banking solution that integrates neurodiverse functionality directly into its platform, an industry-first initiative aimed at making digital banking more inclusive for members with diverse cognitive needs. This focus on accessibility and core-centric integration has positioned Mahalo as a specialized provider for credit unions looking to modernize their digital footprint without losing their community-focused identity.

What this means

This partnership reflects a broader trend where credit unions are moving beyond basic mobile apps toward sophisticated, core-integrated ecosystems. For institutions like City & County, the challenge is no longer just providing digital access, but offering parity with fintech-first competitors in the business banking space. By prioritizing security features like Credential Assurance Technology, the credit union is addressing the heightened fraud risks associated with instant payment adoption. The market for credit union service organizations and specialized vendors like Mahalo is tightening as credit unions demand deeper integration and better usability. This shift puts pressure on legacy providers who fail to offer the agility and inclusive design features that modern members—and increasingly, business owners—now consider standard.