Credit union core processor Corelation Inc. completed yet another successful remote core conversion with Founders Federal Credit Union ($2.8 billion; 230,000 members; 700+ employees; Lancaster, SC) on July 13, 2020. Founders’ conversion to Keystone brings the total of remote conversions Corelation has successfully completed to four – with more to come.
According to Founders Federal Credit Union CTO Robert Bender, the credit union was aggressive with its conversion schedule-timeline and choose a non-holiday weekend (July 11-13) to execute the Corelation Keystone upgrade. This decision was made early on in the executive planning stage due to Founders’ comfort level in the Corelation team, its technology, and its feature-rich platform.
“Corelation has an excellent team of knowledgeable professionals and within 11 hours of starting the core migration we had our member data back in our hands for validation,” Bender says.
The upgrade of legacy systems will accelerate the enhancements to Founders’ digital delivery channels and the protection of its members’ information. The Corelation partnership benefited the credit union from the start as it married their feature-rich financial software package with its leading technology, including the first Corelation Financial Institution Automatic Enterprise scheduler and Dell technology’s cybersecurity data protection environment.
“We all hear the horror stories about conversions and the ‘first day live,’” Bender admits. “But our execution, the Corelation team, and their product delivery is as advertised – and conversion weekend executed as planned. This execution speaks volumes to the Corelation Keystone platform and our employee’s ability to use Keystone right from the start.”
Founders’ focus adjusted during a critical time of the core upgrade project, as attention shifted to keeping its employees, members, and vendors safe while complying with the COVID-19 health and safety regulations.
“Even though Corelation and Founders teams operated remotely, the collaboration was amazing, and the project never suffered,” explains Bender. “I would recommend a remote install over an onsite install anytime. Allowing employees reduced travel and back home at the end of the day was not a distraction for the project. In many ways, it accelerated the benefits and project timeline of the conversion.”
“Being able to pivot and refocus on what needs to be done – especially with creating a successful remote conversion process during this challenging time – is what we at Corelation do for our clients that ultimately helps them better serve their members,” says Corelation President/CEO Theresa Benavidez. “That’s the end goal. And working and partnering with credit unions like Founders Federal Credit Union to ensure they can continue to operate effectively during a crisis speaks volumes to the dedication both teams have for this ultimate goal – being there to serve members in good times and bad that ensures their loyalty well into the future.”
Robert Bender