MDT and OnTrac AI Partner to Help Credit Unions Accelerate AI Readiness and Adoption
MDT, a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) that helps credit unions navigate increasingly complex financial technology ecosystems, has announced a strategic partnership with OnTrac AI, an artificial intelligence development and consulting firm. The collaboration is designed to strengthen MDT’s Transformational Consulting services by adding specialized expertise in AI readiness, strategy, implementation and responsible adoption.
The partnership comes as credit unions increasingly explore artificial intelligence as a potential tool for improving operational efficiency, employee productivity and member service. While AI offers significant opportunities, many financial institutions continue to face uncertainty about where to begin, which use cases should receive priority and how new technology can be implemented without creating unnecessary operational, security or compliance risks.
Through its relationship with OnTrac AI, MDT will offer the company’s Ignite program as an extension of its existing consulting services. The program is intended to help credit unions identify areas where AI could generate meaningful value, evaluate their organizational readiness and establish practical steps for moving from early exploration toward measurable business outcomes.
The collaboration combines MDT’s understanding of the credit union industry with OnTrac AI’s AI development and consulting capabilities. Together, the companies aim to provide credit unions with a structured approach to evaluating and implementing AI based on their individual goals, resources and readiness.
Helping Credit Unions Determine Where to Begin
Artificial intelligence has moved rapidly from an emerging technology to an increasingly important consideration for financial institutions. Credit unions are evaluating potential applications across areas such as member service, internal operations, workflow automation, employee support, data analysis and administrative processes.
However, determining where AI can deliver the greatest value is not always straightforward.
Organizations may have numerous potential use cases but limited resources to evaluate or implement them. They may also lack internal AI expertise, making it difficult to determine which technologies are mature enough for practical deployment.
The MDT and OnTrac AI partnership is designed to address this challenge by helping credit unions establish priorities before investing heavily in AI initiatives.
Through the Ignite program, participating organizations can evaluate potential AI opportunities and consider factors such as organizational impact, implementation effort and the likelihood that employees will actually adopt the technology.
Rather than promoting AI adoption simply because the technology is receiving widespread attention, the program is intended to help institutions determine where AI makes practical business sense.
Extending MDT’s Transformational Consulting
MDT’s Transformational Consulting practice focuses on helping credit unions align people, processes and technology.
The objective is to identify inefficiencies, redesign workflows, optimize available resources and prepare organizations for thoughtful automation.
The addition of OnTrac AI’s capabilities expands this approach by introducing a specialized framework for AI readiness and implementation.
For credit unions, this means AI can be evaluated as part of a broader transformation strategy rather than as an isolated technology project.
Understanding how people, processes and technology interact is particularly important when implementing AI. Even an advanced AI solution may fail to deliver expected benefits if employees are not prepared to use it, if workflows are not redesigned or if the organization lacks appropriate governance.
By combining transformational consulting with AI-specific expertise, MDT aims to help credit unions address these factors before moving forward with implementation.
Assessing Organizational AI Readiness
One of the primary objectives of the partnership is to help credit unions understand their current level of AI readiness.
AI readiness involves more than simply having access to new technology. Organizations must consider whether they have the necessary infrastructure, employee knowledge, leadership support, data practices and governance processes to use AI effectively.
The Ignite program is intended to help institutions evaluate these areas and identify gaps that could affect successful adoption.
This readiness assessment can help credit unions establish realistic expectations for AI implementation. An organization that is in the early stages of AI adoption may need to focus first on education, governance and identifying appropriate use cases. A more mature institution may be ready to begin implementing and scaling specific AI solutions.
A structured assessment can help ensure that the organization’s strategy reflects its actual capabilities.
Establishing Practical AI Priorities
Another key element of the collaboration is prioritization.
Credit unions may identify numerous potential applications for AI, but not every opportunity will provide the same level of value. Some projects may require significant technology investments while offering limited operational benefits. Others may be relatively easy to implement and capable of producing measurable improvements.
The partnership aims to help credit unions evaluate opportunities according to their expected impact, implementation requirements and likelihood of adoption.
This approach can help organizations focus resources on initiatives with the strongest potential return.
It can also prevent AI strategies from becoming overly broad or disconnected from actual business needs.
Instead of attempting to implement multiple AI technologies simultaneously, credit unions can establish a phased approach that allows them to test, measure and refine their efforts.
Balancing Innovation with Responsibility
For financial institutions, AI adoption must also be balanced with security, compliance and responsible technology practices.
Credit unions manage sensitive financial information and operate within a highly regulated environment. As a result, AI initiatives require careful consideration of issues such as data protection, governance, access controls and responsible use.
MDT and OnTrac AI intend to incorporate these considerations into their approach.
The partnership is designed to help credit unions explore AI while maintaining alignment with their compliance obligations, security requirements and organizational values.
This is particularly important as generative AI and other advanced technologies become easier for employees to access.
Without clear policies and governance, employees may adopt tools independently or use AI in ways that create unintended risks. Establishing organizational guidelines and AI literacy can therefore be an important component of responsible adoption.
Supporting Employee Readiness and AI Literacy
Technology adoption ultimately depends on people.
Even a well-designed AI solution may fail to generate value if employees do not understand how to use it or do not trust the technology.
The partnership therefore places emphasis on employee readiness and AI literacy.
By helping teams understand what AI can and cannot do, credit unions can create a stronger foundation for adoption. Employees who understand the purpose of an AI initiative may be more likely to use new tools effectively and identify additional opportunities for improvement.
AI literacy can also help employees recognize potential limitations and risks, encouraging more responsible use.
This people-focused approach aligns with MDT’s broader consulting philosophy of considering people, processes and technology together.
Comments from MDT
Dan Schneider, Chief Project Officer at MDT, said AI has the potential to transform credit union operations but acknowledged that many institutions face uncertainty about where to start.
According to Schneider, the partnership with OnTrac AI will give credit unions access to a structured approach for AI adoption that is intended to be responsible and scalable.
He emphasized that the objective is to help MDT clients move beyond curiosity or confusion and begin taking deliberate steps toward operational improvements, employee adoption and enhanced member service.
Schneider also highlighted the importance of ensuring that AI adoption supports compliance, security and the broader mission of credit unions.
For MDT, AI is therefore being positioned as part of a broader strategy for organizational transformation rather than simply as a new technology category.
Comments from OnTrac AI
Bob Marsh, Chief Growth Officer at OnTrac AI, emphasized that the purpose of the Ignite program is not to encourage organizations to adopt AI simply for the sake of adopting it.
Instead, the program is intended to help organizations identify areas where AI can create meaningful operational impact and prioritize opportunities based on their needs, readiness and ability to execute.
Marsh said the partnership with MDT will allow OnTrac AI to provide credit unions with experienced AI professionals and support stronger AI literacy and readiness across organizational teams.
He also described the objective as helping credit unions take a practical and economical approach to AI adoption that aligns with their individual circumstances.
From AI Exploration to Measurable Outcomes
A major challenge for organizations exploring emerging technology is moving from experimentation to measurable results.
Credit unions may conduct AI demonstrations or pilot projects without establishing clear objectives for what the technology should ultimately accomplish.
The MDT and OnTrac AI approach is intended to create a clearer connection between AI initiatives and business outcomes.
Rather than evaluating AI based solely on technological capabilities, credit unions can consider how a particular application could improve an existing process, reduce inefficiencies, support employees or enhance member experiences.
This outcome-focused approach can help organizations determine whether an AI initiative is worth scaling.
It also creates a framework for measuring progress after implementation.
Improving Operational Efficiency
Operational efficiency is one of the areas where AI could provide significant opportunities for credit unions.
Many financial institutions rely on workflows that involve repetitive administrative tasks, manual data handling and processes that require employees to move information between multiple systems.
AI and automation may help streamline some of these activities.
However, technology alone is not always sufficient. Organizations may first need to redesign workflows and identify where automation can be safely introduced.
MDT’s existing transformational consulting capabilities can support this process, while OnTrac AI adds expertise focused specifically on evaluating and implementing AI opportunities.
The combined approach can help credit unions determine which processes are appropriate candidates for AI-enabled transformation.
Enhancing Member Service
Improving member service is another potential area of opportunity.
Credit unions operate around a member-focused model, making service quality an important consideration when evaluating new technologies.
AI could potentially support employees by helping them access information more efficiently, automate routine tasks or improve responsiveness.
The goal, however, is not simply to replace human interactions with automated systems.
The partnership’s stated approach emphasizes using AI where it can create meaningful operational value while supporting the credit union’s broader mission of serving members.
By reducing repetitive work, AI could potentially allow employees to spend more time on activities that require human judgment, relationship-building and personalized support.
A Scalable Approach to AI Adoption
Credit unions vary significantly in size, technology infrastructure, resources and organizational readiness.
A strategy that works for a large institution may not be appropriate for a smaller credit union.
The MDT and OnTrac AI partnership is therefore designed around a scalable approach that can be adapted to individual organizational needs.
Credit unions can assess their current capabilities, identify priorities and determine an appropriate pace for implementation.
A phased strategy can also reduce the risk associated with attempting to deploy multiple AI technologies at once.
Organizations can begin with selected use cases, measure their impact and use those results to inform future initiatives.
Preparing for the Future of Financial Technology
The partnership reflects the broader transformation occurring across financial services.
As AI technology continues to advance, credit unions will likely face increasing pressure to understand its potential applications and determine how it fits into their strategic plans.
Institutions that develop AI literacy and readiness early may be better positioned to evaluate emerging technologies as they mature.
At the same time, responsible implementation will remain essential.
Credit unions will need to balance innovation with data security, regulatory requirements, member trust and employee readiness.
By combining strategic consulting with specialized AI expertise, MDT and OnTrac AI aim to help institutions navigate these challenges.
The partnership between MDT and OnTrac AI represents a strategic effort to help credit unions move from uncertainty about artificial intelligence toward practical and measurable adoption.
Through the addition of OnTrac AI’s Ignite program to MDT’s Transformational Consulting offering, credit unions can gain access to a framework designed to evaluate AI opportunities, assess organizational readiness and establish priorities for implementation.
The collaboration brings together MDT’s experience in the credit union and financial technology environment with OnTrac AI’s expertise in AI development, strategy and consulting.
Together, the companies are focused on helping credit unions identify where AI can make a meaningful difference rather than encouraging technology adoption simply because AI is becoming increasingly prominent.
The approach also recognizes that successful AI implementation depends on more than technology. Governance, security, employee readiness, AI literacy, workflow design and organizational culture all play important roles.
By addressing these factors together, the partnership aims to help credit unions create practical AI strategies that are aligned with their individual needs and resources.
As AI continues to evolve, the ability to evaluate opportunities carefully and implement them responsibly could become increasingly important for financial institutions. Credit unions that understand where AI can create genuine value may be able to improve operational efficiency while strengthening the experiences they provide to members.
MDT and OnTrac AI are positioning their collaboration to support that transition, helping credit unions move from experimentation and uncertainty toward structured, responsible and scalable AI adoption.
Ultimately, the partnership is focused on making AI more actionable for credit unions. By identifying the right opportunities, preparing employees and organizations, addressing governance and security considerations, and developing implementation plans tied to measurable outcomes, the two companies aim to help credit unions use artificial intelligence as a practical tool for transformation while remaining aligned with their member-focused mission.
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