Tag: credit unions

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TRELLANCE ACQUIRES IRONSAFE CUSO PLANS TO DRIVE GROWTH TO CREDIT UNIONS WITH DATA ANALYTICS

Trellance, the Tampa-based CUSO that is on a mission to deliver end-to-end products and services to realize growth and profitability for credit unions, announced its acquisition of IronSafe, an Illinois-based software company that offers data analytics. President & CEO of Trellance, Tom Davis, said, “We recognize the importance of data analytics in providing insights to drive results today and into the future. With this acquisition, Trellance will give credit unions access to an integral resource to navigate the financial landscape. We will put the power in their hands to unlock data that was not available to them.”

IronSafe offers data analytics with a unique extraction capability to its customers and some of its functionalities are already in use by over 2,300 credit unions. Trellance will benefit from the expertise of the IronSafe staff and powerful dashboards that will help credit unions to integrate data from different sources and arm them with insights that will enhance how they serve their members.

The CUSO plans to leverage the data analytics capabilities of IronSafe’s proprietary platform and the expertise of the staff in its existing suite of products and services. “We see the benefits of this acquisition as two-fold”, said Bill Lehman, SVP of Managed Services at Trellance. “The Trellance team will become more effective to credit unions in our consultations as we use data to drive our conversations; and our credit union members will also have access to meaningful data to help them work smarter and more efficient in executing targeted initiatives to realize growth across their entire organizations”, added Lehman.

About Trellance:

With over 30 years of experience in the payments industry and partnering with credit unions, Trellance continues to work towards ensuring that all those served by financial service cooperatives have access to exceptional products and services, while maintaining our commitment to foster growth. Being processor-neutral allows us to offer unbiased guidance and set us apart from our competitors.

 

Learn more about us at www.Trellance.com, visit us at www.thepaymentsreview.com for industry insights and our perspective on the future, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter @Trellance.

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How a $10 Million, 5-Person Credit Union Created One of the Best FI Websites in the World

Over two years ago we wrote about this amazing credit union in Roswell, New Mexico.  And about a year later we interviewed their CEO in a Spotlight article. Both of these stories focusing on how small credit unions are vital and remain viable through collaboration. 

We were so excited to receive a story from the CU Service Network, that highlighted one of their members – this very tiny, very bold small credit union, The Florist FCU.  Enjoy!

Every year, the folks over at The Financial Brand publish a list of the top FI websites around the world. We at CU Service Network look forward to their listing all year because they showcase such beautiful and original websites, shattering the concept that banking is boring and dull. We also enjoy keeping up-to-date on industry trends and branding because it helps us serve as consultants for our clients.

Back in August, I was browsing their recent article 20 Visually Stunning Website Designs From Banks & Credit Unions and did a double take. My eyes weren’t playing tricks on me: $10M, 5-employee The Florist FCU was listed.

I wasn’t the only one that was shocked. Cisco Malpartida Smith, CEO of The Florist FCU, was as well. After spotting the listing, I immediately emailed the CEO to share with him the great publicity. “I had no idea,” he responded, bluntly.

“My first reaction was, ‘We couldn’t possibly be on a list like this. How does it even logically make sense?’ he said, laughing. “It’s very humbling.”

Continue reading How a $10 Million, 5-Person Credit Union Created One of the Best FI Websites in the World

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CU*Answers hosts CEOs at strategic collaboration event

CU*Answers, a 100% credit union-owned CUSO, held their 13th annual 2017 “CEO Strategies Week” conference last week in Grand Rapids, Michigan. CEOs from 70 credit unions and CUSOs from across the country gathered for three days of collaboration, learning, and direct peer interactions aimed specifically at credit union CEOs.

The events kicked off with the half-day CEO Collaboration Workshop, with this year’s theme: “CEO Challenges in Driving Cooperatives in a Consumer-focused World.” CU*Answers CEO Randy Karnes asked participants, “In our lust for more consumers, have we lost sight of how owners secure our futures?”  CEOs brainstormed about whether the pendulum has swung too far towards looking for competitive advantages for the member-consumer to ever swing back towards the member-owner persona.

The full-day CEO School is intended to help CEOs understand what they should be thinking about when it comes to getting the most from their investments in technology and the CU*Answers network. This year’s discussions centered around three key topics: “Data in Action,” “What does data mean to an Internet retailer?” and “What does it mean to add a data administrator to your organizational chart?”

The central point of the week’s events was the CEO Roundtable, where CEOs spent the day interacting with their peers, discussing in a roundtable format topics such as how credit unions can redefine themselves for the future, how to build a data-centric culture, prioritizing retail banking trends, and talking to members and stakeholders about new norms in the rate market.

Although CU*Answers holds many different learning and collaboration events all year long, CEO Strategies is unique in that it is designed only for credit union CEOs, a forum that encourages more open and frank interactions with other professionals who share the same day-to-day challenges.  “We do offer a special mid-year CEO School that’s open to up-and-comers who one day might sit in the CEO’s chair, but this week is truly for CEOs who want to learn from each other in a unique way,” says Karnes about the CEO-only restriction that has been a part of the event since its inception over a decade ago. 

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.