The potential for artificial intelligence to revolutionize global finance has been met with cautious optimism, tempered by fears over the industry’s sensitivity. As such, institutions have been measured in their AI implementation approaches.

USSFCU’s Mark Fournier discusses the institution’s digital transformation with theCUBE.

Breaking from that mold, however, the United States Senate Federal Credit Union has opted to balance tradition with innovation, adopting VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 and embracing gen AI to drive meaningful digital transformation. The aim is to stay relevant in a world where speed and robust digital experiences supersede low rates and great customer service.

“There’s a lot that is happening in the marketplace, whether that’s the immediate competition that we face, our credit union peers or the greater competition that I think credit unions sometimes overlook,” said Mark Fournier (pictured), chief information officer of USSFCU. “The tier one banks, J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, Capital One, to name a few … are self-proclaimed tech companies that happen to do finance. Our members go to them probably more than we’d like them to, and we want to learn from that and deliver just as great an experience at a wonderful cost point.”

Fournier spoke with theCUBE’s Rebecca Knight and Paul Nashawaty at VMware Explore, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how, by leveraging VMware LLC technology, empowering staff and embracing AI, USSFCU is proving that even smaller financial institutions can punch above their weight in global finance in the digital era. (* Disclosure below.)

Staying fresh in a changing global finance landscape

A major step in USSFCU’s modernization journey is the upgrade to VCF 9.0, with the Private AI Foundation stack included in the release serving as a key compelling factor, according to Fournier. This capability is enabling the credit union to modernize legacy systems without the costly and complex process of fully replacing mainframes.

“Our core banking stack is in line with a lot of other financial institutions,” he said. “A lot of what our team works on is what we can build as an envelope around that. We are not going to get that out of the way today or tomorrow, but we can create a more seamless experience at the front end and do a good job for the internal users who are supporting customers, as well as the customers directly.”

Additionally, modernization at USSFCU is just as much about people as it is about technology. The organization has invested heavily in product management and software engineering, fostering an internal culture that embraces innovation, Fournier added.

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of VMware Explore:

(* Disclosure: Broadcom Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Broadcom nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE