SAN FRANCISCO, CA – August 25, 2025 – Clutch, a provider of digital omnichannel origination experiences for credit unions, today announced the launch of HAL, an AI-powered lending assistant designed to enhance the applicant experience, streamline operations, and reduce costs across the lending journey.
HAL is part of Clutch’s broader effort to help credit unions digitally transform and compete for member attention in a crowded financial services market. Regardless of loan type, it’s built to help credit unions convert applications into booked, funded, and activated relationships faster.
What HAL Does
AI-powered conversations with applicants. HAL engages loan applicants in real time, guiding them through the application process, answering questions, and addressing concerns as they come up.
Automated document collection and validation. HAL simplifies document collection and verification, reducing manual work and improving accuracy, while making the process more convenient for applicants.
Loan status tracking. Applicants can monitor their loan’s progress directly, which increases transparency and reduces back-and-forth for both members and staff.
Early Results
“By using AI to automate time-consuming tasks and provide round-the-clock access to the credit union, key performance metrics have improved substantially,” said Tamanna Kottwani, Head of Product at Clutch.
Across pilot customers, HAL has facilitated 80% of document requests, cut time-to-fund by more than a day, driven a 70% increase in look-to-book ratio, and required human escalation for only 2% of member messages.
“Our pilot customers have seen strong results with HAL,” said Chris Coleman, Co-founder of Clutch. “Credit unions are processing loans faster, reducing costs, and delivering a better member experience.”
“With HAL, credit unions are equipped to meet the growing demand for seamless, efficient, and personalized financial services,” added Nicholas Hinrichsen, CEO and Co-founder of Clutch. “This launch reflects our continued focus on helping credit unions compete in a rapidly changing financial landscape.”
Part of a Broader Platform
Clutch helps credit unions modernize every step of the member journey, from digital account opening to loan opening and cross-sell. The platform automates application processing for deposit accounts and loans – including auto, personal, credit card, and home equity – reducing manual data entry and verification. It also surfaces intelligent cross-sell recommendations to help deepen member relationships, and gives MSRs a simple, intuitive interface to guide members through applications and approvals with less manual effort. Clutch has supported more than $10 billion in consumer loans funded and deposits raised.
Request a demo to see how an AI lending assistant can speed up your loan process.