Your Blueprint

The digital-first shift has reshaped the landscape of business and commercial banking. Business owners, once accustomed to visiting branches and waiting days for credit decisions, now expect to apply, fund, and manage their business banking online. Major banks and fintechs have capitalized on this shift, using automation and data-driven experiences to win relationships that once belonged to community institutions.

For credit unions, this evolution is both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge: limited or recent entry into business banking leaves credit unions using processes and systems originally built for consumer banking. The opportunity: starting from scratch and leveraging AI-enabled technology, credit unions are positioned to create a distinctly credit union experience, using modern systems that amplify relationships, trust, and local knowledge, with digital speed and simplicity.

That’s where Ascent comes in.

Ascent is a collaborative relationship platform that grows business banking relationships using data and intelligence. Where digital banking platforms provide information to members, and CRMs provide information to associates, Ascent gives both a shared view of the financial trajectory of the business. It then lets them collaborate on account management, product selection, servicing, and other tasks that improve financial outcomes.

Below are ten questions every credit union should ask when evaluating its readiness to compete for business banking, and how Ascent helps you answer each one.

1. Do you offer online account opening and small business loan applications for prospective business members? If so, what are your abandonment rates?

Many credit unions have moved applications online, but few have solved the abandonment problem. Generally speaking, online product applications have failed to deliver, with abandonment rates exceeding fifty percent. Long, repetitive forms, disconnected steps, and unclear status updates drive potential members away.

Ascent transforms the application experience through data prefill, intelligent validation, and progress persistence. Borrowers have complete flexibility, even starting an application on one device and finishing it later on another, without losing progress. Additionally, Ascent’s “proxy” concept allows associates and applicants to collaborate on applications, sharing the work and speeding completion.

Finally, Ascent integrates with external data sources like Plaid, QuickBooks, IRS, and Secretary of State databases, so that much of the application work happens automatically. The result: faster submissions, fewer drop-offs, and higher conversion rates.

2. Are you able to bundle several small business products at the same time, such as an SMB loan, deposit account, and ACH?

Traditionally, each product required its own stand-alone application solution, resulting in fragmented user experiences and siloed data. This not only frustrates members but also drains staff time.

Ascent enables multi-product boarding from a single application session. A business member can apply and get approved for multiple products in one seamless process. Shared data, centralized workflows, and configurable decision rules ensure that once information is captured, it’s reused across all applications, with no redundant input or manual rekeying.

This unified approach accelerates time to closing and strengthens relationships by giving members the sense they are onboarding with a partner, not a bureaucracy.

3. Can your associates see all of a business member’s profile information in one place, for both the member and their business?

The average credit union relies on multiple systems (core, LOS, CRM, document management) to understand a single member. That fragmentation obscures insights and slows service.

Ascent changes that. It consolidates consumer and business relationships into a single 360° profile. Associates can see data from every interaction, application, document, and product, whether business or personal, through one pane of glass.

This unified view eliminates data silos and enables staff to answer questions instantly, anticipate needs, and deliver service that feels personal and informed.

4. Are associates able to easily see, plan, and act on cross-sell opportunities across your business members and your market?

Cross-sell success depends on visibility and context. Without knowing which members are ready for expansion or renewal, opportunities are lost.

Ascent surfaces actionable insights by analyzing time-phased data across applications, accounts, and behaviors. Associates can filter for upcoming renewals, businesses with cash flow gaps, or members not yet using treasury services. Ascent can also filter and target prospective business members in-market based on factors like NAICS and time in business.

Embedded next best action views guide staff toward the most relevant conversations, helping credit unions grow wallet share and deepen relationships, all within the same digital workspace.

5. How easy is it for business members and associates to collaborate digitally? How about collaboration among front-line and operations staff?

Collaboration shouldn’t stop when the member leaves the branch, or when a file moves from the front office to the back office.

Ascent’s platform supports real-time collaboration between members, associates, underwriters, and operations teams. Comments, document requests, and status updates are tracked in one shared thread, ensuring transparency and eliminating “black hole” moments.

Front-line staff can see what’s happening behind the scenes. Back-office users can request clarification or missing documents directly from the member, without switching tools. The result: a cohesive, frictionless experience that strengthens both member and team communication.

6. Are new product experiences processed straight-through, from application to approval, to signing, to boarding?

Straight-through processing (STP) is the hallmark of digital efficiency, but rare in credit union business banking.

Ascent enables true STP. Once an application is submitted, data moves automatically through review, decisioning, document generation, e-signing, and boarding via integrations with loan origination systems and bank cores.

Every step is configurable, automated, and auditable, allowing credit unions to open new deposit accounts or book small business loans in hours, not days, while maintaining full compliance and oversight.

7. Are your digital experiences consistent with the same UI, not only for product applications but also servicing and maintenance tasks?

Members expect a cohesive experience. Too often, product applications look and feel different from servicing workflows, creating confusion and reducing trust.

Ascent’s modular design and shared UI framework ensure consistency across all digital interactions, whether a member is applying for credit, changing their address, uploading financials, or renewing a loan.

Consistency breeds confidence. Members feel they are engaging with one brand, and one experience, not a patchwork of disconnected tools.

8. Do your digital experiences share and reuse the same data, so members and associates don’t waste time re-entering information?

Rekeying information is the silent killer of associate productivity. It also frustrates members and introduces errors.

Ascent’s organic data model is designed to eliminate this friction. Every data element, whether from a prior application, an enterprise system, a document, or an external source, is stored centrally and reused intelligently across the platform.

That means when a business requests a service change or applies for another product, the form is pre-filled automatically. The credit union gains speed and accuracy while the member gains a sense of ease and partnership.

9. When your team engages with members, can they focus on the conversation? Or are they busy looking up information they should already have?

In too many credit unions, associates spend valuable time hunting for data across multiple systems instead of building relationships.

With Ascent, every interaction starts with context. Associates see the member’s recent transactions, cashflows, open applications, and even AI-driven insights, allowing them to engage meaningfully instead of mechanically.

Ascent turns every touchpoint into an opportunity to focus on the member, not the data retrieval.

10. Is it important for your credit union to be perceived as a relationship institution?

Credit unions thrive on relationships, but in a digital world, relationships must scale through technology.

Ascent was designed to amplify relationship banking, not replace it. By connecting data, people, and workflows across lending, deposits, and servicing, Ascent gives credit unions the power to deliver personalized, digital-first experiences that still feel human.

Whether through faster application experiences, proactive insights, or seamless collaboration, Ascent helps credit unions embody what relationship banking means: better outcomes for the member and the institution.

The Path Forward

Business members are no longer comparing your digital experience to other credit unions; they are comparing it to fintechs and megabanks that can onboard in minutes and fund within hours. Competing in this environment requires more than point solutions. It requires a platform designed for the entire member journey.

Ascent is that platform.

Ascent unifies business and consumer operations, automates what can be automated, and surfaces the insights that strengthen every conversation. With Ascent, credit unions can move faster, serve smarter, and grow deeper relationships at scale.