Open Third-Party Integration: A Key to a Credit Union's Success
Your success depends on your ability to serve your members. One way to accomplish this is to provide members with innovative products and services that meet their needs. Credit unions need a reliable core processor that can offer choices with third-party integrations. Choices allow you to work with trusted vendors who can help provide the best possible experience for staff and members. With the flexibility to select vendor partners, you can better meet the needs of members and thrive in today's competitive market.
Why does choice matter?
Many credit union core processors tout themselves as a "turnkey solution." This means they offer a complete package with everything a credit union needs to get up and running. However, this one-size-fits-all approach can be limiting for many credit unions.
Many larger core systems are often part of a large conglomeration of mergers and acquisitions within the banking and fintech industries. These cores are bundled with services like digital banking, account processing platforms, insurance, and card processing services from within the same umbrella group. That does not mean your support calls and requests are handled under that umbrella! And if you're asking, the reason is to increase overall revenue, not provide the best possible solutions and integrations at the best price.
On the plus side, credit unions that choose this direction do not have to worry about anything except using the core. All decisions have already been made. Signed, sealed, and delivered. Also, these vendor services might be directly integrated into the core's interface and not accessed through a company portal which minimizes complexity.
One size doesn't fit all.
The problem with turnkey solutions is that every credit union is unique. Credit unions vary in size, seg groups, geographies, and member needs. What ultimately differentiates credit unions is their goals. Your core processor should always be helping you achieve your credit union's specific goals. Also, what works for a $10 billion credit union may not work for a $20 million one. A large community credit union has a much different mission than one associated with a business or trade union. As a result, the one-size-fits-all model isn't a fit for many credit unions.
Continuing Business Relationships
One thing that's becoming rare in the information age is long-term business relationships (ESP's average is 15 years). The internet has fundamentally transformed the way we do business. We can now search for the lowest price on any product or service with a few clicks of a button. This has led to a race to the bottom in many industries, where companies are constantly looking for ways to cut costs and increase profits.
The race to the bottom strives to squeeze out as many persons on the payroll as possible. This means relying on automated systems instead of human customer service. These companies believe wikis and chatbots can supplant a live human on the end of the phone. Automated customer service may be just fine for the ten-dollar widget you purchased off of Amazon but not when you need immediate attention to your end-of-day or other critical times.
In the credit union industry, creating and maintaining personal business relationships with your longtime vendors is critical in continuing to provide superior service to your members. Questions you should ask:
Are you on a first-name basis with your rep?
Do you have their personal phone number in your contacts?
Do they answer your calls personally?
Do they get back to you with answers quickly?
Is there a simple process for you to go "up the pole" with a request?
These are all the signs of a vendor you can count on in a pinch. Why wouldn't you want to continue the business relationship when converting to a new core system if you trust them?
Ever the Same.
When looking to undergo a core conversion, look for one that permits you to keep those vendors you have come to trust instead of shoehorning you into a solution that best fits themselves. You should be in control of who you choose to partner with, not the core. Another item to consider is if they have multiple vendors for any given solution class; for example, how many ACH vendors can you choose from? The more, the better.
In Summary
In today's world, credit unions need to be able to make choices with third-party vendors to meet the needs of their members. They can't afford to be bogged down by inflexible systems that pigeonhole them into their in-house solutions. By working with a processor that offers choice, credit unions can be responsive to the ever-changing needs of their members.