SCFCU's Chase Larson Named 2026 Tech Visionary Award Winner

St. Cloud Financial Credit Union is proud to announce that Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer Chase Larson has been recognized by Finopotamus as its 2026 Tech Visionary Award winner.

Finopotamus, a leading fintech media platform, annually recognizes individuals, credit unions and tech partners that are displaying excellence, innovation and achievement in credit union technology as part of its Tekkie Awards.

The Tech Visionary Award is annually awarded to any credit union tech professional who has actively worked to advance technology for the credit union movement over the past year.

“I’m incredibly honored to be recognized as this year’s Tech Visionary,” Larson said. “This recognition reflects the innovative work happening at St. Cloud Financial Credit Union and our commitment to helping shape the next chapter of the credit union movement. I’m proud to accept this award alongside so many others who are pushing our industry forward.”

The award recognizes leaders who share their knowledge through CUSO involvement, industry speaking engagements, participation in industry conferences, collaborative research or by spearheading open-source initiative. This individual understands that when one credit union innovates, the whole movement succeeds.

Larson is a distinguished leader in the financial industry, having served as Executive Vice President at SCFCU since 2023 and as Chief Lending Officer since 2021. With two decades of strategic experience in finance, credit unions and community banking, Larson’s expertise spans risk management, member business lending, strategic portfolio growth, and emerging areas such as digital finance, crypto and tokenized assets.

As the executive driving SCFCU’s digital asset strategy, Larson leads the development and execution of innovative financial solutions, including the first-of-its-kind CU-Digital Asset Vault, ensuring the credit union remains at the forefront of this evolving space. His leadership extends across all facets of lending, fostering a culture of growth and innovation, and creating an environment where every team member can thrive.

“To me, digital assets aren’t simply another financial product — they represent core infrastructure for the future of financial services,” Larson said. “Credit unions have always been built on member ownership and cooperative governance, principles that align closely with the decentralized, member-driven ethos of digital assets — making us uniquely positioned to lead in this space.”

This award is the latest achievement for Larson on an individual basis, going along with being named Most Visionary Business Leader to Follow in 2026 by The Business Tycoon, recognized by Marquis Who’s Who for Excellence in Financial Services in 2025, named to the St. Cloud Times/LocaliQ 5 Under 40 list in 2024 for innovation, involvement and influence, as well as receiving the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce Star Celebration Award in 2019 and 2021.

To view more awards that SCFCU has recently been recognized with, click here.