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Affinity Plus wins ‘Innovation in Lending’ award for program enhancements, streamlined member experience (VIDEO)

ST PAUL, MN (June 15, 2018) — Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union recently received the “Innovation in Lending” award from CU Direct Companies.

The award was presented to Affinity Plus at the Drive Lending Conference in Grapevine, Texas, from among CU Direct’s credit union clients nationwide.

“We used the implementation as not only a new technology and a loan origination system, but also as an opportunity to reengineer our process,” said Corey Rupp, senior vice president of Lending, highlighting the enhanced digital options and streamlined member experience.

In fall 2017, Affinity Plus implemented CU Direct’s Lending 360 loan origination system. The conversion resulted in several automations and efficiencies and the implementation of electronic signatures.

The credit union used the opportunity to change employee processes and internal processes to enhance the member experience. The result was that the average time it takes for a member to get an Affinity Plus loan dropped from four days to two days.

In addition, Affinity Plus has made several other lending experience enhancements in the past few years. These increased the sophistication of its consumer lending program and factored into the innovation award selection. These included:

• ongoing pre-approval lending campaigns;
• TrueCar search engine functionality within Affinity Plus’ system;
• the expansion of the credit union’s proactive Outreach department;
• the evolution of its marketing and omni-channel strategies.

“Consumers today want their lending experience to be easy and convenient,” Rupp said. “Through the enhancements we’ve made to our lending program, we’ve improved the overall experience for our members so that banking doesn’t have to be ‘another hassle’ in their busy lives.”

RESULTS: A SIX-MONTH SNAPSHOT
Since the November 2017 implementation of the new loan origination system, Affinity Plus has experienced an 8-percent increase in consumer loan volume. That equates to an additional $16 million in consumer lending over the same time period as last year.

The credit union has been able to help more than 1,000 more members with loans and savings since implementation compared to the same time last year.

“We’ve always had a vision that we’d like to have a standing approval waiting for as many members as possible,” said Levi Wilson, Consumer Lending software administrator.

“When we put these new lending tools in front of member advisors and then pair that with a focus on doing what’s right, it really makes it easy for our employees to talk to members about opportunities to save money,” Wilson said.