The VISION unit of Fiserv, Inc. (Nasdaq:FISV) signed 76 new client contracts last year for core account processing as financial institutions responded favorably to Fiserv VISION's new technology direction.
The client tally included financial institutions that were new to Fiserv and many that migrated from two other Fiserv products - the StarCOM solution acquired through Fiserv's 2002 acquisition of the account processing operations of NCR Corporation, and a regional processing solution operated out of Cleveland, Ohio.
"In this competitive world, financial institutions have many choices in technology providers," said Mike Rigney, President of Fiserv VISION. "All of these 76 institutions - whether new to our company or migrating from another Fiserv solution - moved to Fiserv VISION after looking at many different options. This dramatic growth in clients is a strong endorsement that Fiserv VISION is moving in the right direction."
Fiserv VISION in 2003 moved to a new technology platform - the Unisys ClearPath Libra Enterprise Server - as part of a broader strategy to offer a more dynamic core banking system.
Fiserv VISION offers a browser-based solution that provides several benefits to financial institutions. They include dynamic scalability; the ability to more simply integrate products into the system; intuitive look, feel and navigation; easier distribution for software upgrades; and increased security.
Fiserv VISION continues to evolve with each client addition, Rigney said. That's because the Fiserv VISION core banking system typically incorporates the best of other solutions as clients convert to the new platform, Rigney said.
"Fiserv VISION offers more features and more technological elegance each time a client converts - and that benefits our entire client base," Rigney said.
All of that client focus is important to new clients, who say they chose Fiserv VISION because of its advanced technology, as well as the company's strong reputation for client service.
"We are excited about upgrading to Fiserv VISION because it's on the cutting edge of banking technology," said Michael T. Cross, President of First Federal Savings and Loan, a $109 million-asset institution in Van Wert, Ohio. "Fiserv VISION is a user-friendly system that will allow our employees to take better care of our customers and do it in a more timely manner."
Larry LeBon, President of Bank of New Orleans, a $240 million-asset bank in Metairie, Louisiana, said his bank expects great things from its new affiliation.
"We look forward to broadening our horizons in terms of the products and services we can provide our customers, and with more ease," LeBon said. "With Fiserv VISION, we'll be able to expand our internal expertise, which will allow us to compete more effectively with the larger banks in our market."
The thought of a conversion is often cause for concern for many banks, but not for Bank of New Orleans, Le Bon said. "With Fiserv VISION's conversion expertise, we're confident everything will go smoothly," Le Bon said. "We anticipate it being almost transparent to our customers and us."
Tom Sharkey, Chief Financial Officer of Dukes County Savings Bank, a $255 million-asset savings bank in Edgartown, Massachusetts, said his institution wanted to partner with "one of the major players in the business.
"We wanted someone with a strong presence both locally and nationally, someone that would provide a good product and good service at the right price," Sharkey said. "The strength of the company was also a consideration for us. After narrowing our list of candidates, we saw demonstrations, made site visits and checked references. We then selected Fiserv VISION as the best alternative."