Author: Denise Wymore

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My Credit Union signs with CU*NorthWest

CU*NorthWest, the 100% credit union-owned cooperative CUSO, announced today that My Credit Union in Redwood City, California has signed with CU*NorthWest moving from Ultradata Finastra, and is scheduled for conversion in Febuary 2019. My Credit Union was chartered in 1963. The $34.7M credit union represents approximately 3,200 members.

Alex Casillas, CEO of My Credit Union said: “We are excited to join the CU*NorthWest family. Finding a partner that understands credit unions and that is committed to the credit union movement was very important to us. This transition will allow us to streamline many of our processes and improve efficiencies while maintaining a high level of member service. We look forward to this new partnership.”

About CU*NorthWest, Inc.

CU*NorthWest was founded in 2005 as a part of the cuasterisk.com network of credit unions and CUSOs. It is a 100% credit union-owned cooperative CUSO located in Liberty Lake, Washington. CU*NorthWest offers a wide variety of services for credit unions including its flagship CU*BASE® processing system (online and in-house) and Internet development services featuring It’s Me 247 online and mobile banking. Additional services include web site development, network design and security, project implementation and execution services, and a complete eDocument solution. CU*NorthWest provides expertise in implementing technical solutions to operational needs, and helps credit unions form strategic alliances and partnerships. For more information, visit www.cunorthwest.com.

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NACUSO Spotlight on Ashish Garg, CEO of Eltropy

We first met Ashish at the 2018 NACUSO Network Conference where Eltropy exhibited in the Network Lounge. Part of their package was the ability to co-host a webinar with NACUSO. That webinar “aired” in August and was one of the most entertaining ones we’ve seen. Here’s the link in case you missed it. If you’d like to watch it live and participate, click here to register for the September 27th free webinar. Eltropy recently became a member of  NACUSO and will be exhibiting again at the 2019 NACUSO Network Conference in San Diego. We reached out to them to find out just how this company came to be. It’s a great story, Enjoy.

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 the Founder and CEO of Eltropy, a technology startup in Silicon Valley. We serve credit unions, banks and insurance companies, by helping them adopt Text Messaging to engage their members and customers.

What I do as founder? My first goal is in setting the overall vision for the company — what we stand for, where we are headed and the impact we want to make.  

Secondly make sure my team has the resources they need to be successful. That is capital and management talent in my team. This is where I spend a lot of time.

Thirdly I talk to customers, investors, media, prospective employees and partners. Communicate our vision and try to find alignment with people that believe in our vision.

My fourth role is on the product side. When we started five years ago, I developed the initial version of the product but now I don’t get into the nitty gritty of it but rather look at where it is headed.

Lastly, I am always available to help my team if they are struggling, or having difficulty with a tricky situation, I will get involved as the last line of defense if it’s necessary.

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

I think the most important thing is the realization of a dream or vision and seeing it coming to life. That is something that makes me happy and keeps me excited. There is nothing more satisfying than building something that has never been built before. There is a real art to bringing vision and execution together.  

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1st Community FCU converts core to CU*Answers

In its most recent stockholder newsletter, CU*Answers, the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based cooperative CUSO, announced that it had completed a successful core conversion for San Angelo, Texas-based 1st Community Federal Credit Union. With the conversion, 1CFCU also become the first CU*BASE® user to leverage the new interface to the loan origination system from Austin, Texas-based CUSO Sync1 Systems.

When asked to comment on the conversion, 1st Community FCU CEO Bill Nikolauk said, “When we first started talking with the CU*Answers team, we were intrigued by their business model but we weren’t really looking to go through a core conversion. Nobody in their right mind wants to go through a conversion. With that in mind we knew the challenge of the conversion would be worth the great benefits of a more extensive system. Dealing with partners instead of a corporation is always the best option. The more we talked to our peers that were using CU*BASE, the more we thought a core change was exactly what our team and our members needed.”

Nikolauk concluded, “From start to finish, the process was managed extremely well by all the teams. And we couldn’t be happier to now be part of a cooperative that not only has awesome tools, but they also share our values.”

Scott Collins, EVP of National Sales and Marketplace Development for CU*Answers commented, “Our cooperative is excited to not only have another customer-owner in Texas, but also to have our first user of the Sync1 Systems LOS deployed in our network. The project was a tremendous success because all three parties—Sync1, 1CFCU and our team—were committed to bringing cost-effective and game-changing tools to not only the credit union team, but directly to the members as well. The successful launch was the culmination of five months of hard work by all teams, and I commend Bill and his entire team for a job well done. I look forward to many years as business partners and friends.”

About CU*Answers, Inc.

CU*Answers offers expertise in implementing technical solutions to operational needs, and is a leader in helping credit unions form strategic alliances and partnerships. CU*Answers provides a wide variety of services for credit unions including its flagship CU*BASE® processing system (online and in-house) and Internet development services featuring It’s Me 247 online and mobile banking. Additional services include web development, network design and security, and image check processing. Founded 45+ years ago, CU*Answers is a 100% credit union-owned cooperative CUSO providing services to credit unions representing over 1.9 million members and $19 billion in credit union assets. For more information, visit www.cuanswers.com.

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$10,000 DONATED BY CO-OP FINANCIAL SERVICES TO HURRICANE FLORENCE RELIEF

Donation Augments CO-OP Shared Branch, ATM Networks to Serve Displaced Members

CO-OP Financial Services is donating $10,000 to CUAid, organized to help credit unions and their members in the Carolinas as they work to recover from Hurricane Florence.

“Hurricane Florence reminds us that natural disasters can come upon us with amazing speed,” said Todd Clark, President/CEO for CO-OP. “We have been proactively contacting clients in the impacted areas to assess needs and determine where we can help. The donated funds on behalf of our client credit unions is one expression of that outreach, in addition to our vast network of branches and ATMs, ensuring access to accounts for those displaced by the flooding.”

CUAid is an online disaster relief system organized by the National Credit Union Foundation. Money raised is for credit union employees, volunteers and members affected by the powerful storm. 

To donate, CUAid can be found at www.cuaid.coop.

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PSCU’s DX Mobile Helps Credit Unions Compete in the Mobile Financial Services Market

CUSO adds integrated, user-friendly card management app solution to digital service offerings

PSCU – the nation’s premier payments CUSO – has announced the launch of DX Mobile. The easy-to-use app is part of PSCU’s Digital Xperience (DX) suite of market-leading digital offerings, all of which enable Owner credit unions to effectively compete with big banks while maintaining the personal touch that sets credit unions apart from other financial institutions.

“The win for our Owners is to optimize every moment a cardholder interacts with his or her credit union-issued plastic. DX Mobile provides the most relevant self-servicing functions in a highly intuitive user experience cardholders will want to use again and again by integrating credit and debit card management into one convenient application,” says Jeremiah Lotz, VP of Product Management at PSCU. “The app allows PSCU Owners to deliver intuitive card management that today’s cardholders demand. Plus, it is highly configurable and makes back-office management easy.”

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