SOUTH PORTLAND, ME (November 15, 2024) |
TruChoice Federal Credit Union increased assets more than 60% over five years by moving in-house systems to one consolidated external platform. Like many other credit unions, the challenge they faced in 2019 was how to increase asset size without increasing headcount.
After converting to CU* Answers, TruChoice eliminated most daily after-hours work and gained greater consistency through working with one vendor partner. The collaborative nature of the relationship has allowed TruChoice to add products or services sooner and take advantage of opportunities to beta-test new features.
TruChoice’s Manager of Business Intelligence and Optimization, Adam Pomerleau, finds the range of services the CU*Answers core offers “truly eye-opening.” He notes that the credit union has implemented a rewards checking account using built-in capabilities of the core software without engaging an outside vendor.
Trusted data guides strategic direction
Access to transaction-level data allows TruChoice to uncover utilization trends and ensure they offer members the right products and services. By taking advantage of management-level data, leadership has considerably more information to inform decision-making than they had with their in-house system. That includes dashboards tracking numerous data points, from membership and transaction trends to balances and financial ratios.
Consolidating an array of services, including online banking, mobile banking, remote deposit capture, bill pay, document processing, plus auditing, contact center, and marketing support, into one contract created considerable efficiencies for TruChoice. The move to one CU*Answers contract has meant no after-hours upgrades, seamless month end processing and no early morning or nighttime work to run manual processes. TruChoice has also been able to leverage outside integrations by connecting to an outside Loan Origination Software vendor to maximize efficiencies in lending.
Leveraging collective credit union expertise
TruChoice’s President and CEO, Ken Acker, shared the value of working with CU*Answers. “Our leadership team has developed a well-established foundation that we’re building upon through our partnership,” he explains. “When we have a specific need or see an opportunity, we discuss it with CU*Answers. Our open and constructive conversations give us important feedback and sometimes open up possibilities for the other credit unions they work with.”
Pomerleau agrees, identifying functionality and features that helped drive TruChoice’s growth. “One Click Offers, instant loan offers to members with no application or credit check needed, have given us a real boost, and the unique loan offers we can couple with the Integration with Meridian Link help us stay on the leading edge of lending.” Similar to the growth TruChoice has seen in its asset growth, loan volume has grown by more than 60% in the past five years.
Another considerable benefit TruChoice has found with the consolidated platform is access to experts and a high level of information sharing and transparency. Conversations On offers an insider’s look at new features and the opportunity to have open discussions with CU*Answers subject-matter experts and other credit unions. Localized user groups, leadership conferences, and virtual conversations open to all credit unions provide networking and other opportunities for more credit union voices to be heard.
