Aerial Blog

Insights on digital account opening, credit union technology, and member experience.

Guide

Credit Union Core Systems: A Complete Guide to the Major Core Processors in 2026

Fiserv holds 25.9% market share. Symitar is the most-deployed platform. Corelation is growing fastest. Here's the definitive breakdown of the credit union core market — and how core choice affects every digital tool you can build on top of it.

Read article
Buying Guide

Aerial vs. MANTL: Which Digital Account Opening Platform Should You Choose?

MANTL is the enterprise incumbent. Aerial is the conversion-focused challenger. Six real questions credit unions ask before choosing — and a decision matrix to help you pick.

Read article
Buying Guide

Top 5 Alkami Alternatives for Credit Unions and Community Banks (2026)

Alkami's MANTL acquisition made it the dominant full-platform story. Here's what to use instead — whether you need a full platform replacement or just best-in-class account opening at a fraction of the cost.

Read article
Buying Guide

Top 5 Q2 Alternatives for Credit Unions and Community Banks (2026)

Q2 is the largest pure-play digital banking platform — and enterprise-priced to match. Here's what to use instead, whether you want a full platform replacement or just focused account opening conversion.

Read article
Buying Guide

Top 5 MeridianLink Alternatives for Credit Unions and Community Banks (2026)

MeridianLink is the legacy incumbent — configuration-heavy, slower than modern alternatives, and consistently lagging on conversion. Here's what to use instead.

Read article
Guide

Digital Account Opening for Symitar Credit Unions (2026 Guide)

Symitar credit unions have more vendor choice than most cores. Here's how the top platforms compare on real-time integration depth, conversion, and cost.

Read article
Guide

Digital Account Opening for Jack Henry Banno Users (2026 Guide)

Banno is excellent at digital banking. Account opening is where most institutions add a specialist. Here's what that looks like — and how to choose.

Read article
Guide

Digital Account Opening for Fiserv DNA and Portico Credit Unions (2026 Guide)

Fiserv DNA and Portico both expose modern integration surfaces. Here's how the top account opening platforms compare — on integration depth, timeline, and cost.

Read article
Research

What Credit Union Members Are Actually Complaining About: 50+ Reddit Threads, Analyzed

We pulled 50+ threads from r/creditunions and found what members actually say when no executive is in the room. The complaints aren't about rates — they're about digital friction at exactly the moments that drive members to Chime.

Read article
Buying Guide

Top 5 Prelim Alternatives for Banks and Credit Unions (2026)

Prelim is built for 100-product omnichannel commercial banking. Most credit unions don't need that. Here's what to use instead — with honest framing on scope, cost, and fit.

Read article
Explainer

What Is Core Integration in Account Opening? (And Why It Matters for Credit Unions)

Real-time API, batch, or manual — what "core integration" actually means, how to tell the difference, and the six questions to ask every vendor before you sign.

Read article
Explainer

What Is Digital Account Opening? A Definition for Credit Unions and Community Banks (2026)

How digital account opening works, what a modern platform includes, how it compares to in-branch, and what good looks like in 2026 — with benchmarks from Cornerstone Advisors.

Read article
Buying Guide

Top 5 Cotribute Alternatives for Credit Unions and Community Banks (2026)

Cotribute has evolved into a full GrowthOS. Here's how to evaluate the alternatives — whether you need focused account opening or a broader platform — with honest framing on scope, cost, and fit.

Read article
Buying Guide

Top 5 Narmi Alternatives for Credit Unions and Community Banks (2026)

Evaluating Narmi? Compare the five strongest alternatives — from focused account opening platforms to full digital banking suites — with honest framing on cost, timeline, and fit.

Read article
Buying Guide

Top 5 MANTL Alternatives for Credit Unions & Community Banks in 2025

Evaluating MANTL alternatives? We compare the top 5 digital account opening platforms on pricing, implementation time, and fit for community financial institutions.

Read article
Conversion

Why Members Abandon Online Account Applications (And How to Fix It)

More than half of digital account applications are abandoned before completion. Here are the 7 friction points causing drop-off—and what high-converting flows do differently.

Read article