Member Access Processing (MAP), the nation’s leading provider of the Visa DPS Debit, Credit, ATM, Prepaid, and Mobile Processing platform to credit unions, announced today that Robert Spector, one of America's leading experts on customer experience and employee experience, will keynote the company’s annual client conference August 16-17, 2023, uConference23, at its Seattle headquarters in the city’s historic Pioneer Square neighborhood. “In Seattle’s historically egalitarian culture, providing outstanding service is a noble calling," states Spector. “Seattle retail is built around taking care of the customer; and Seattle companies influence each other.” Great customer service has become part of the Seattle cultural landscape. From Nordstrom, Eddie Bauer, Costco, Amazon, Starbucks and Member Access Processing, employees are encouraged to act as if their name is on the door -- to live the brand. Robert Spector is recognized worldwide as the ultimate authority on The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence. His best-selling business classic The Nordstrom Way: The Inside Story of America's #1 Customer Service Company is the first and only up-close and personal look at how this company became the national standard of customer service. Robert is the author of 28 books and has been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, among others. MAP hosts this small conference every year for credit unions where we bring together industry experts to meet in a relaxed setting to learn and explore what is happening in the payments industry and how it will impact our members. MAP’s conference includes detailed discussions on how to maximize our current investments, as well as insight on new payment solutions available to help clients achieve our business goals. Topical sessions will also provide education on industry trends, regulatory changes and new market opportunities. For more about MAP’s Annual Conference, please visit https://www.uconference23.com/.
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SECU Foundation has provided a $40,000 grant to Southern Pines Land and Housing Trust (the Trust), a non-profit established to preserve and enhance the historic African American community of West Southern Pines. The grant will help reinforce the Trust’s organizational development and assist with revitalization plans to repurpose the 1924 Rosenwald School into a community center. “Southern Pines Land and Housing Trust’s dedication to maintain traditions and create opportunities of economic growth for the West Southern Pines community is inspiring,” said Jama Campbell, SECU Foundation executive director. “SECU Foundation is pleased to help further the Trust’s mission to improve the quality of life of African American residents in their community.” “The funds from the SECU Foundation will greatly enhance our ability to hire the immediate staff positions required to transition from a purchase plan that was executed to a development and construction plan,” said Vincent Gordon, Trust board chair. “These funds will also allow the Trust to continue more of our board capacity building training that started in August with a nationally recognized consultant and coach.” CUNA GAC 2023 to Feature Eltropy’s Innovative Digital Conversations Platform for Credit Unions2/13/2023 Eltropy, the leading digital conversations platform for community financial institutions, is proud to announce its attendance at one of the year's key credit union events. Eltropy will be showcasing its latest innovations at the annual CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) in Washington, D.C., February 26 to March 2, 2023. With the climate of the credit union industry in a state of uncertainty due to the pending recession, GAC 2023 — the “credit union advocacy event of the year” — is more relevant than ever as top credit union professionals, industry leaders, and key decision-makers will gather for a week to discuss the latest trends and challenges in the evolving industry. As a fellow advocate of the credit union movement, proud partner, and supporter of CUNA and the GAC event, Eltropy will be in attendance in the exhibit hall throughout the multi-day event. Welcoming all visitors at booth #1430, Eltropy executives and product representatives will be showcasing its seamless digital conversations platform for the post-pandemic era — anytime, anywhere communications for today’s community financial institutions (CFIs). At a time when “recession” is top of mind for everyone, Eltropy’s digital platform saves CFIs valuable time, money, and resources to deliver the best experience for members and their families who regularly interact with their local credit union. In addition, Eltropy is excited to announce that Co-founder and CEO Ashish Garg will be a featured speaker at GAC. Garg will be presenting twice on Mon., Feb. 27 during the noon hour in the Exhibit Hall Solutions Theater One and Two, providing credit union executives with valuable insights and best practices about starting or expanding on their institution’s digital conversations platform. Building on a foundation of communication, automation and intelligence, Garg will explain how credit unions can drive growth through seamless digital and in-branch experiences 24/7, to deliver the services all members need. "We couldn’t be more excited about participating in the CUNA GAC once again, sharing our knowledge and expertise with the credit union community at such a critical turning point in the history of our industry," said Ashish Garg, Eltropy Co-founder and CEO. "We can’t wait to engage with attendees at the booth, to discuss their unique needs and provide information on successful solutions being deployed today by credit unions nationwide to deliver exceptional member experiences.” Interested credit unions can pre-schedule a meeting to discuss their unique challenges with Eltropy onsite at GAC 2023 (booth #1430). Ezra Eckhardt, President/CEO of STCU of Spokane, Washington, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Co-op Solutions by a unanimous vote of the directors. “I want to congratulate and welcome Ezra on his appointment to the Co-op Board,” said Joan Opp, Chairperson of Co-op, and President/CEO of Stanford FCU. “Ezra has a unique record of service to our country, the credit union movement and the Spokane Community. We are looking forward to his contributions to the oversight of Co-op, where he will be a strong advocate not only for the credit unions and members of the Northwest, but in every market the company serves.” Eckhardt is a native of Spokane and became President/CEO of STCU in January 2018. A Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Ezra served six years in the U.S. Army, including supporting operations in Rwanda, Bosnia and Liberia, and as a Company Commander at Fort Benning, Georgia. Following his military service, Ezra held management posts for Honeywell and Microsoft. He was President and Chief Operating Officer of Sterling Bank when it merged in 2014 with Umpqua Bank, where he became Executive Vice President of Operations. STCU (stcu.org) has been a long-term partner of Co-op, utilizing a wide variety of the tools, technology and services available within the Co-op digital payments ecosystem. The credit union also has been closely associated with the development of Co-op fintech innovations as a frequent beta tester and participant in the Co-op Co-creation Council client program. “It is an honor to join the distinguished group of credit union leaders on the Co-op Board,” said Eckhardt. “This is a great opportunity to help further Co-op’s vision of creating world-class digital payment capabilities that enable credit unions to compete now and in the future.” In addition to Opp and Eckhardt, Co-op’s Board includes Jackie Buchanan, Genisys FCU; Bob Falk, Purdue FCU; Theresa Mann, NASA FCU; Todd Marksberry, Canvas CU; Greg Mitchell, First Tech FCU; Ricky Otey, Partners FCU; Rudy Pereira, Premier America CU; and Harold Roundtree, UNCLE CU. For more information, visit coop.org. Sequoir, a leading provider of digital asset (cryptocurrency) solutions, announces a partnership Alkami, a leading provider of cloud-based digital banking solutions for banks and credit unions in the U.S. Cryptocurrency assets are increasingly mainstream. This means more financial institutions want to seamlessly integrate digital asset solutions with traditional financial products and services. Financial institutions who provide strong integrated digital asset opportunities will do an excellent job meeting user expectations. Until recently, financial institutions had limited options when they wanted to offer a way to buy and sell digital assets. They could painstakingly develop a one-off solution from scratch or they could gamble with an off-the-shelf product which might not offer the flexibility they desire. Sequoir's structure allows for a seamless integration using Alkami’s SDK to integrate their digital asset management solution quickly and easily. Financial institutions can offer the benefits of traditional financial products and services combined with the ability to buy, hold, and sell digital assets. "We start with a foundation built to evolve along with the rapidly growing digital asset industry. Our team bridges the gap between traditional banking technology and emerging digital asset technology. Now, financial institutions don’t have to build one-off solutions from scratch," said Justin Seidl, CEO of Sequoir. Financial institutions everywhere can take advantage of Sequoir's unique conversion and custody capabilities. This step will create a safe and easy way for consumers to buy, hold, and sell digital assets, all within their primary financial relationship. Achieva Credit Union is proud to partner with QCash Financial to increase its digital lending platform and provide loans to its members in under 60 seconds without requiring a credit score. This partnership is one of four credit unions around the country, and as a result, members will have the speed, accessibility, and security to gain digital access to funds when unexpected emergencies arise. “We understand life is full of costly and unexpected challenges, and we want our members to feel fully supported overcoming these financial situations quickly and efficiently,” says President and CEO of Achieva Credit Union, Gary Regoli. “This technology will allow our members to borrow money instantaneously for unexpected emergencies, so they can get back to what’s important in life.” QCash’s platform hosts an automated, fully configurable mobile life event loan program featuring their “six clicks in 60 seconds” application process. Using its relational underwriting algorithm, the QCash platform allows for a more in-depth and detailed 360-degree evaluation process that accounts for more than the applicant’s simple credit score. “Consumer credit grew by $11.6 billion in December, a figure less than half of what analysts expected. Revolving debt growth decelerated during the month, consistent with a 1.8 percent dip in retail sales during the month. Credit card delinquencies are climbing quickly, and a recent survey of banks found that ‘a significant share’ of banks tightened standards on credit cards in the fourth quarter. The decline in the non-revolving segment tracks with modest vehicle sales in December, but sales spiked in January. Consumer credit is likely to be supply-constrained in 2023 as lenders adjust to volatile and uncertain economic conditions.” - NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long Exceptional Leadership and Results-Driven Change Earn Darius Wise CEO Spot at Red Rocks Credit Union2/8/2023 Red Rocks Credit Union is officially placing the organization in the trusted and capable hands of Darius Wise as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Prior to the announcement, Wise was leading as President and Interim CEO. The announcement comes on the heels of an exhaustive eight-month search to fill the role with the $346,576,542 Denver-based organization, at which time the Board of Directors saw Wise rise to the top of an incredibly talented pool of candidates. Red Rocks’ Board Chair Joeri Carty noted, “Darius is a leader of leaders. He was thoughtful and diligent in stewarding our credit union not only out of the financial and emotional turmoil of a pandemic but led the way through a year-long core conversion to ensure a better experience for our more than 17,000 members. He successfully navigated the hurdles that come with significant leadership changes, and delivered a return to profitability in less than a year at the helm. To say we are excited to have him in the role, well that is an understatement.” Wise began his career with the credit union in 2019 as Chief Impact Officer. Before working in the financial services sector, he spent more than 17 years in pastoral ministry and leadership including key executive positions with Denver United Church and CrossPurpose, a nonprofit that seeks to help families in the Denver area escape poverty and pursue their dreams. In addition, he has served on several not-for-profit boards, including Denver Institute for Faith & Work and Young Life. Eltropy, the leading digital conversations platform for community financial institutions (CFIs), today announced an integration with Q2’s Digital Banking Platform, via the Q2 Partner Accelerator Program. Q2 Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: QTWO) is a leading provider of digital transformation solutions for banking and lending. This integration means that Eltropy can now offer its digital conversations solution via the Q2 Digital Banking Platform, giving community banks and credit unions (CFIs) the opportunity to use the channel of their choice — whether Text, Video, Secure Chat, co-browsing, screen sharing or chatbot. The Q2 Partner Accelerator is a program through the Q2 Innovation Studio that allows in-demand financial services companies who are leveraging the Q2 SDK to pre-integrate their technology to the Q2 Digital Banking Platform. This enables financial institutions to work with these partners, purchase their solutions and rapidly deploy their standardized integrations to their customers. Eltropy’s integration with the Q2 Digital Banking Platform means CFIs can now automate more than 40 percent of their front-line issues across all channels. This unlocks actionable insights from voice and digital data with the industry’s only AI and digital-first contact center solution designed for credit unions and community banks. “We’re excited about the integration with Q2’s Digital Banking Platform via the Q2 Partner Accelerator Program,” said Jason Smith, VP of Strategic Partnerships, Eltropy. “We look forward to many of our joint clients benefitting from these offerings, which will be followed by other game-changing products in the future.” Eltropy, combining all the best-in-class digital conversations capabilities into a single platform, now works with more than 550 community financial institutions with end-to-end virtual branch capabilities. CFIs interested in Eltropy and Q2 should reach out to Eltropy directly or through their account executive. To learn more about the Q2 Innovation Studio Partner Accelerator Program, please click here. Early-bird registration for ALM First’s 2023 Financial Institute will end on Friday, February 17, 2023. This must-attend event provides continuing education, financial analyst training, current market trends and industry updates to ensure everyone involved in managing or monitoring the balance sheet remains current with timely insights designed to have a direct impact on the success of your financial institution. The industry-leading workshop will be held in-person at The Las Colinas Resort (formerly the Four Seasons Resort and Club) in Dallas, TX on March 26-29, 2023. Board of directors, financial analysts, treasury staff, C-suite level executives, and others involved in managing, monitoring, or steering their financial institution’s balance sheet, are invited to attend. “The Institute is one of our most popular events, offering an opportunity for financial professionals of all levels to obtain pertinent information and enhance their understanding of finance and treasury functions that directly benefit current goals and enhance future strategies,” said Emily Hollis, CFA, CEO of ALM First. “The interactive format was designed to provide attendees with networking opportunities to engage directly with their peers and ALM First’s experienced team.” Online registration is open for the annual three-day educational conference and those interested in attending are encouraged to register before early-bird pricing ends the night of February 17, 2023. The 2023 Financial Institute’s three learning tracks, Board, Fundamental, and Funds Management, are specifically tailored to meet the knowledge level of attendees and best serve their role within the institution. In addition to the breakout tracks, general sessions will offer an economic overview and discussions on the latest hot topics impacting depository institutions. The conference will also feature several networking opportunities, including a welcome reception and a hosted dinner, as part of the registration fee. With no external sponsors or vendors, Institute attendees can enjoy a relaxed atmosphere and maximize their learning experiences and peer networking opportunities. Attendees may earn up to 16.2 CPE credits. Visit the 2023 Financial Institute web page for more information. |
Author: Mike LawsonMarried to a most gorgeous and wonderful wife, raising 5 kiddos (including twins!), enjoy helping others tell their stories, and love surfing SoCal waves. Keep it simple. Archives
May 2024
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