Hello, FinTech community. Welcome to our FinTech Top Voice Interview Series.
In this edition, we speak with Denny Howell, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Mahalo Banking. He brings over 20 years of experience in technology, financial services, and fintech.
Denny Howell has focused on building secure, inclusive, and human-centered digital platforms. At Mahalo, he oversees product development, operations, and strategic initiatives. His work ensures the platform evolves with the changing needs of credit unions and their members. He played a key role in launching Mahalo’s Thoughtful Banking platform. This innovative solution is neurodiversity-focused. It helps individuals with dyslexia, autism, ADHD, and visual sensitivity access banking more easily.
Mahalo has also introduced Credential Assurance Technology (CAT). This industry-first security solution stops credential-stuffing attacks at the authentication stage. It protects members without disrupting their digital experience. Denny’s vision combines technology, inclusivity, and member-centricity. He believes that digital banking should empower credit unions to offer meaningful experiences. With deep integrations into core systems, Mahalo Banking delivers secure, scalable, and omnichannel solutions. Its platform helps credit unions of all sizes modernize operations while retaining and growing memberships.
About Mahalo Banking ⁓
Mahalo Banking is a Michigan-based mobile and online banking platform. It serves credit unions with secure, future-ready technology. The platform is built on strong architecture and offers robust features across all delivery channels. Its Thoughtful Banking platform integrates neurodiverse functionality, making banking accessible for all members.
Mahalo also focuses on security and member trust. Its CAT solution neutralizes bot attacks proactively. This ensures safe and smooth authentication for users. The company’s goal is to provide price-competitive, scalable solutions. Mahalo helps credit unions modernize, improve engagement, and gain technological advantages.
FinTech Insights (FTI): Hi Denny, Welcome to the Fintech Top Voice interview series. Please tell us about your role at Mahalo Banking?
Denny Howell: Absolutely, I serve as the Chief Operating Officer at Mahalo Banking, where I oversee our product development, operations, and strategic initiatives. My role centers on evolving our platform to meet the ever-changing needs of credit unions and their members.
I have been in the industry for more than two decades and have a deep understanding of the credit union space union space, especially the importance of delivering technology that supports service-driven institutions. I am particularly passionate about making digital banking more inclusive. I recently guided the development of Mahalo’s neurodiversity-focused platform enhancements, an industry-first feature set designed to improve accessibility for individuals with cognitive differences.
We believe that accessibility and innovation go hand in hand, and we aim for our technology to empower every credit union to deliver a digital experience with meaningful, member-centric impact.
FTI: What are your core offerings? Which markets are you currently focusing on and why?
Denny Howell: Mahalo Banking provides online and mobile banking solutions exclusively for credit unions. Our platform is deeply integrated with core systems and designed to deliver a secure, intuitive digital experience across all devices. Our focus remains on serving the credit union market with inclusive, secure, and future-ready digital banking tools that empower institutions to serve diverse memberships.
We focus on humanized banking, with a strong emphasis on inclusivity and security. Our Thoughtful Banking platform is the first in the industry to fully integrate neurodiverse functionality to support members with cognitive distinctions such as dyslexia, autism, ADHD, and visual sensitivity.
We also offer advanced security tools, including our industry-first Credential Assurance Technology (CAT) solution that makes credential stuffing attacks fundamentally impossible by proactively disrupting bots before they can attempt unauthorized access. Unlike traditional bot detection or CAPTCHAs, CAT neutralizes threats at the authentication level without disrupting the user experience.
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You’ve been at the forefront of fintech evolution. From your perspective, what makes the Mahalo + Four Points FCU integration a standout example of modern credit union transformation?
Denny Howell: Four Points requested a unique rollout strategy that falls outside the typical approach to digital banking implementations, and our teams collaborated closely to deliver a seamless go-live experience that aligned with their goals, timeline, and operational needs. The integration was successful because our teams were committed to achieving agility, deep core integration, and scalability.
Four Points serves members nationwide, which meant it was critical that the platform deliver consistent performance, improved self-service functionality, and robust connectivity. Their success proves that credit unions can modernize without compromising service or operational integrity.
When integrating platforms like Mahalo, what are the most overlooked challenges credit unions face—not just technically, but culturally or operationally?
Denny Howell: One of the most overlooked challenges is internal alignment. While the technical integration may go as planned, success hinges on cross-functional team coordination. Digital banking touches every department, so it is critical that everyone shares a common understanding of the platform’s purpose, features, and planned member impact. Building that alignment early is essential to delivering a cohesive and consistent member experience.
How do you define success in a digital banking integration like this? What KPIs or user behaviors signal that real value is being delivered?
Denny Howell: We define success as going beyond baseline commitments to deliver a digital banking experience that drives long-term value for both credit union staff and members. Metrics such as digital enrollment, login frequency, feature adoption, and support ticket volume help us gauge member engagement with the platform. When members are actively using self-service tools and describe the experience as easier to navigate, we know the platform is making a meaningful impact. Staff reports on smoother workflows, less support requests, and fewer operational bottlenecks also tells us we’ve delivered value beyond technical implementation.
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You bring a deep understanding of member-centricity. How did the Four Points + Mahalo partnership keep the member experience at the core during this rollout?
Denny Howell: During the launch of our Thoughtful Banking platform, both Mahalo and Four Points were aligned in prioritizing the member experience. Four Points wanted to ensure a highly coordinated transition that would not disrupt access or usability, and we worked closely across departments to make that happen.
Members now benefit from a more cohesive, self-service environment, giving them greater ease in managing accounts, moving money, and accessing support. Every decision during implementation was made with the end user in mind. That level of care and coordination is something we strive to bring to every partnership.
Thank you so much for sharing your insights on Fintech with us, Denny! We look forward to having you again at Fintech Top Voice series.
To participate in our interviews, please write to us at sudipto@intentamplify.com