Posts By: Denise Wymore

Spotlight on Siva Narendra, CEO of Tyfone and Week-End Urban Farmer

Posted by & filed under Blog.

PART ONE: Life Story and Experiences

What’s your current position and can you give me a brief overview of what it is you do in your work?

I am one of the Founders of Tyfone and CEO of the company which means I get to do all the things no one else wants to do. It’s important for me to define our purpose and why we exist and the value we bring to the ecosystem. Our purpose is to fill the gap between most consumers wanting money in community minded financial institutions, but they see digital services are done better by big banks. By filling this purposeful gap with innovative digital technologies with a great user experience we enable credit unions to compete with the big banks even in the digital domain.

What would you say most motivates you to do what you do? What are you most excited or passionate about?… Read more

Kaleyra Announces Agreement with Trellance to Build Communication Solutions for Credit Unions

Posted by & filed under CUSOs In The News.

Kaleyra, Inc. (NYSE:KLR), a rapidly growing Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS), today announced a new agreement in the US with Trellance, the leading provider of data analytics, business intelligence, and professional services for credit unions.

As part of the agreement, k-lab, the innovation lab of Kaleyra, will be creating communication solutions for credit unions powered by data from the Trellance M360 platform, further strengthening the platform as a single source of integrated enterprise intelligence. Kaleyra and Trellance will be solving digital communication issues, using messages such as alerts for fraud prevention or providing notifications that improve member experience.

“At Kaleyra, we believe in an ecosystem of companies focused on their core business, but that at the same time are interconnected to provide customers the best possible experience,” said Velco Farina, Managing Director of k-lab. “The combination of Trellance’s M360 data analytics platform and Kaleyra’s communication modules will deliver great value to all credit unions on the Trellance M360 platform, while accelerating their digital transformation with regards to customer engagement.”… Read more

Great Lakes First FCU selects CU*Answers as new core partner

Posted by & filed under CUSOs In The News.

Escanaba, Michigan-based Great Lakes First Federal Credit Union recently announced it has selected CU*BASE, the core data processing suite from the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based cooperative CU*Answers, Inc., for its new platform.

“Great Lakes First FCU is a progressive organization deeply rooted in the cooperative spirit,” said CEO Wayne Johnson. “We were seeking a new core partner whose vision mirrored ours. In CU*Answers, we found a partner with both a strong core suite and a network of partners with solutions that will help us solve daily operational concerns, while allowing us to grow our strategic initiatives. Through their unique CUSO network, they are able to provide services such as collections, daily accounting support, share draft, ACH processing, and native mortgage servicing. Partnering with CU*Answers for these services will allow us to use our valuable staff time serving the membership.”

Johnson added, “From a member perspective, we are excited to add additional products and services to our mobile offerings; products like a virtual signing room will enhance the members’ remote experience.… Read more

WE’VE SURVIVED, NOW IT’S TIME TO THRIVE: CO-OP ANNOUNCES TWO NEW THINK 21 FORUMS

Posted by & filed under CUSOs In The News, Third Party Due Diligence Policies and Procedures.

Interactive Events Designed to Help Credit Unions Leverage Payments as a Path to Growth

If credit unions are to thrive in a post-pandemic era, the industry needs to rethink everything, including the traditional credit union business model. This is the consensus among change agents from both inside and outside the movement, each of whom will take the digital podium at different sessions throughout CO-OP’s THINK 21 Virtual Forum series.

Among the presenters who will deliver this message to THINK 21’s credit union attendees are Noah Kerner, CEO of Acorns and Co-Founder of Say; Tim Greene, vice president of innovation for Elements Federal Credit Union; and behavioral scientist Francesca Gino. During the sessions, Jean Chatzky of Her Money Media will guide discussions exploring why there’s never been a more important time for credit unions to make the pivot from traditional, siloed product-driven providers to holistic, member-centric financial partners who activate member usage with lifestyle payments solutions.… Read more

A Return to ‘Normalcy’: Familiar Payments Trends Take Hold

Posted by & filed under CUSOs In The News.

CO-OP Payments Trends Report (Spending Data from March 1-31)

As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues to progress, enabling the U.S. economy to slowly but surely reopen, consumer spending patterns are finally beginning to take on a familiar hue. Here are a few of the encouraging trends we are watching this month:

#1: Consumers Shift from Online to In-person Shopping

March saw small declines month-over-month in some eCommerce merchant classifications, like bookstores (which consists largely of Amazon.comsales). However, these drops were much less than those seen in the prior month, and other categories like retail and digital goods showed slight upticks.

“We’re seeing lifts in transaction counts, amounts and interchange, as the post-holiday declines have now dissipated,” said Beth Phillips, CO-OP Director of Strategic Portfolio Growth. “Whereas there were some small declines in Amazon, computers and office equipment, consumers are beginning to spend their retail dollars elsewhere, including in physical stores as pre-pandemic ‘normal’ spending habits begin to take hold.”… Read more