Connects Federal Credit Union in Richmond, Va., has selected Open Solutions Inc.'s (NASDAQ: OPEN) The Complete Credit Union Solution (TCCUS), a relational core data processing platform for credit unions, to address its enterprise-wide data processing needs.
Connects FCU, with $63 million in assets and more than 28,000 accounts, needed a more effective means of moving into a cross-selling environment.
"Our incumbent solution was not effectively allowing us to market to our membership," said Evelyn Dowdy, president and CEO of Connects FCU. "We needed the ability to track relationships and ensure our employees were cross-selling the right products to the right members. The credit union realized that to better understand our members' needs and deliver marketing pieces that inform them of the wide range of products we offer, we had to have a true relational database solution in place."
The Complete Credit Union Solution was designed to be an open architecture application, creating the flexibility necessary for running a service-oriented financial institution. In addition to the core platform, Connects FCU also selected Open Solutions' product offerings for consumer loan origination, general ledger, accounts payable, credit card interface, mortgage loan escrow accounting and asset collection. Open Solutions' voice response and document imaging applications were also selected as part of this technology upgrade.
Connects FCU also indicated it wanted tools to enable its employees to be even more productive. "We want our employees to be member-focused and to understand what their jobs entail while being able to provide a broader range of service capabilities. We believe Open Solutions' technology will enable us to offer many new products to meet the growing banking needs of our members," Dowdy said.
Dowdy also appreciates Open Solutions' hands-on approach to implementation. "We partnered with Open Solutions in part, because of the employees and its corporate culture. It's a young, innovative company doing new things and aggressively moving forward. The company has shown that it is excited to work with us to meet our goals and help us grow," Dowdy continued. "I really feel we will be well taken care of and if we have questions, extremely capable associates from Open Solutions will counsel us. I am looking forward to a long-term relationship with Open Solutions."
Louis Hernandez, Jr., Open Solutions chairman and CEO, said, "We believe Open Solutions provides credit unions with more choices as well as a full selection of industry-focused products, services and technology options currently available in the marketplace. We are honored that a member-focused credit union like Connects FCU has selected Open Solutions as a technology partner. We look forward to helping the credit union exceed its goals for increased member service capabilities and cross selling of products."