VAIIL: Building What Credit Unions Actually Need

Credit unions know what their members need, and have great ideas for serving them better and improving operations. The hard part is turning those ideas into solutions that make a real impact, fast enough to matter, without every institution having to solve it on its own.

That's problem we set out to solve when we co-founded the Vizo Financial AI Innovation Lab (VAIIL) in 2025.

The Why Behind It

The credit union space is changing fast. New competitors, new technology, new member expectations. The institutions that are going to keep up aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets; they're the ones that can move quickly and solve the right problems at the right time.

The challenge is that most credit unions, especially smaller ones, don’t have the resources or expertise to do that. Building AI-powered products from scratch takes data science teams, engineering capacity and a time investment.

That's where VAIIL comes in. Built as a joint venture between Vizo Financial and Quantworks, the idea is simple: create a shared innovation lab where the technical work gets done once, and the whole movement benefits.

Small Wins, Fast

What makes VAIIL different isn't just the technology; it's the philosophy behind how we build. Rather than trying to solve everything at once, we focus on small, distinct problems that credit unions are dealing with currently. We identify the needs by engaging with the credit union community, building the solutions in a regulated and secure environment and efficiently rolling them out in production so that pertinent solutions reach credit unions in a matter of weeks, not years.

The problems credit unions face aren't waiting around. By the time a traditional development cycle is completed, the window to make an impact has often already passed. VAIIL is intentionally built to close that gap, giving credit unions access to tools that are timely, not just technically sound.

DefaultSleuth Is Just the Start

The first solution to come out of VAIIL was DefaultSleuth, which launched in early 2026. It analyzes behavioral signals across loans, deposits and transactions to spot financial stress before it turns into a missed payment, often up to three months earlier. It also helps teams prioritize who to contact and when, replacing the usual spreadsheet-driven collections process with a more streamlined approach.

The results speak for themselves. Across a snapshot of more than 131,000 loans, 87 percent of loans scored by DefaultSleuth proceeded to charge-off within the measurement window, and 3 in 4 future delinquencies were identified before a single payment was missed. During beta testing, the product also evolved into an easy-to-use workspace that replaces paper files and disconnected spreadsheets with a single, streamlined environment for collections teams.

DefaultSleuth is proof that the model works, it is one product solving one problem. We expect it to be the first of many—each one targeting a specific challenge, each one built to reach credit unions' hands as quickly as possible.

What's Next: CUFluent

The next solution in the VAIIL space is CUFluent, an AI voice coaching tool for front-line staff. Real practice, real scoring, real conversations; it's designed to build the skills that shape the member experience, without pulling staff out of the branch for classroom-style training.

The VAIIL Philosophy

“Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.”

It's how everything in the incubator gets built: DefaultSleuth, CUFluent and whatever comes next. That philosophy keeps us focused on solving the right problems and getting useful tools into credit unions' hands while they can still make a difference.

We are not just building the next product; we are helping credit unions redefine what's possible together.

Ready to see what VAIIL can do for your credit union?

Brent Shaffer is the SVP/chief technology officer of Vizo Financial. In this role, Mr. Shaffer leads the organization’s technology strategy. His responsibilities include managing enterprise technology, information technology, core and digital solutions, software development, research and development and product strategy.