Pictured L-R – From Del-One, CIO Marc Kidwell, CBO John Chartrand, CXO Horacio Garcia-Korosec, President & CEO Dan McCarthy, and Joseariel Gomez-Ortigoza, Founder and CEO of Shastic.

Delaware’s largest credit union says its digital assistant reviews auto-loan documents in minutes, offering other businesses a model for adopting AI within their existing systems

DOVER, Del. — Del-One Federal Credit Union is using artificial intelligence to expand its auto-lending capacity without increasing its staff, offering a Delaware example of how businesses can incorporate AI into everyday operations.

The credit union has deployed an autonomous digital assistant named Valeria to review documents submitted by automobile dealerships through Del-One’s indirect lending program. The technology, developed by Shastic, works within Del-One’s existing MeridianLink lending platform.

Del-One said the system could help its two-person funding team increase indirect loan production from approximately $8 million to $15 million per month without hiring additional employees.

“With Valeria, we believe we can nearly double our indirect production, from $8 million a month to $15 million, without adding a single person,” said John Chartrand, chief operating officer of Del-One. “We want our people to think, not enter data.”

AI handles paperwork, employees make decisions

When an auto-loan packet arrives, Valeria reads the documents, creates a funding checklist and flags missing, incomplete or inconsistent information before a Del-One employee begins the final review.

The process takes less than 15 minutes per packet, according to the credit union. Del-One said Valeria has completed more than 500 reviews without clearing a defective packet.

The AI system does not determine whether an applicant qualifies for credit or whether a loan should be approved. Those decisions remain with Del-One employees. The technology completes repetitive document-review work and provides an auditable record of its findings.

The distinction is important as financial institutions and other businesses explore ways to use AI while maintaining human oversight of decisions affecting customers.

“The model here is that our best people manage exceptions, verification and strategy; the digital workforce handles the box-checking, staring and comparing,” said Dan McCarthy, president and CEO of Del-One.

Working within existing systems

Del-One’s approach illustrates how an organization can adopt AI without replacing its primary software systems. Instead of purchasing an entirely new lending platform, the credit union added the digital assistant to a system its employees already use.

The strategy also represents a shift from treating AI as a general-purpose tool to assigning it a specific, measurable business responsibility. In Del-One’s case, that responsibility is checking dealer loan packets for missing or conflicting information.

Del-One said it has deployed two digital assistants and identified other potential applications in lending, account opening and collections. Each would perform a defined back-office function while employees retain responsibility for decisions, unusual cases and member interactions.

A potential AI road map for other businesses

The experience provides a potential road map for other businesses considering AI. Companies can begin with a focused project inside their existing systems, while regional technology and business consultants such as Trellist Marketing and Technology can help identify appropriate processes, develop an implementation plan and manage the organizational transition.

“What Del-One is doing reflects a pattern we see across every industry right now,” said Maria Gunther, CEO of Trellist Marketing and Technology. “Businesses do not need to replace their core systems to get real value from AI. They need to give it a specific, well-defined job inside the systems they already run.

“The first step for most companies is not a big platform decision. It is identifying one repetitive, high-volume process where a person is currently doing work a machine can do faster, then keeping human judgment in charge of the exceptions and the relationships. That is how AI transformation actually takes hold in an organization — one clearly scoped responsibility at a time.”

Building a digital workforce one role at a time

Shastic describes that approach as building a “digital workforce,” with AI agents added one role at a time to perform defined back-office responsibilities.

“Every credit union is trying to figure out how to get real value from AI,” said Joseariel Gomez-Ortigoza, founder and CEO of Shastic. “Del-One has shown what it looks like in production: not one tool, but a digital workforce added one role at a time, on a platform they already own.”

The initiative could allow Del-One to process a larger volume of loans without increasing administrative costs at the same rate. It also could shorten the time between a dealer submitting a complete loan packet and receiving funding.

Del-One, founded in 1960, describes itself as Delaware’s largest credit union. Its mission is to create an easy and enjoyable banking experience in which convenience is combined with personal service.

Shastic develops autonomous digital assistants that perform lending-related administrative work within credit unions’ existing technology systems.

To Go Box

• What: Del-One Federal Credit Union’s use of Valeria, an autonomous AI assistant that reviews indirect auto-loan packets
• Purpose: Identify missing or inconsistent documents before a Del-One employee completes the funding review
• Processing time: Less than 15 minutes per loan packet, according to Del-One
• Human oversight: The technology does not make credit or loan-approval decisions
• Projected impact: Del-One expects to increase indirect lending production from approximately $8 million to $15 million per month without adding staff
• For businesses: Companies considering AI can begin by identifying a repetitive, high-volume process within an existing system while preserving human oversight
• Learn more: Visit del-one.org, trellist.com or shastic.com/valeria-autonomous-loan-packet-reviewer

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