Recently recognized as Best Credit Union for the 13th consecutive year in The State Newspaper’s annual Best of The State poll, Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union ($1.09 billion assets; 71,737 members; Columbia, SC) has selected Corelation’s KeyStone as their next core processor, preparing for their first upgrade in nearly three decades.
“From the technology standpoint, we were impressed that instead of attempting to modernize an outdated legacy system John Landis built KeyStone from the ground up using a modern technology stack,” explained Palmetto Citizens FCU President & CEO Nick Wodogaza. “We are excited that Corelation includes so many ‘More in the Core’ features that just fit and make sense. Our staff found KeyStone to be very intuitive, which will reduce the time spent in training.”
Palmetto Citizens FCU identified the feature highlights that contributed to their decision to sign with Corelation, including the built-in dashboards, open API [KeyBridge] with the ability to access existing vendor interfaces, and KeyStone’s lending platform. “The loan system is a big plus: a lot of processes we’re currently doing manually, such as loan decisioning, will be streamlined in KeyStone,” elaborated Wodogaza.
Extensive due diligence in the core selection process led Palmetto Citizens FCU to in-depth discussions with their vendors, as well as several large South Carolina credit unions that are using the KeyStone platform or are in the process of converting to the system.
“It’s rare that you hear exclusively positive remarks; the fact that there was an abundance of vendors, trades, and credit unions who spoke so highly of Corelation was a key factor in our decision,” commented Wodogaza. “We are not a credit union that has had many core conversions, so it was important for us to select the best-in-class platform to serve us well into the future. We truly believe KeyStone is the best core processor on the market.”
Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union is scheduled to convert in February 2022.
“From humble beginnings serving a handful public school employees in Columbia, SC, Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union has grown to be one of South Carolina’s largest credit unions while holding steady to their commitment to helping members achieve their financial goals,” stated Corelation President & CEO Theresa Benavidez. “We are grateful to Palmetto Citizens FCU for placing their trust in Corelation, and we look forward to a successful partnership for years to come.”

Nick Wodogaza