​Digital banking provider Bankjoy announced today the addition of André Jones as Vice President of Operations. In his role, Jones will plan, direct, coordinate and oversee operations activities, including client support, client success and implementations, supporting growing demand for its seamless end-to-end digital service ecosystem.
 
Jones joins Bankjoy with over 17 years of management experience, including strategic direction, budget preparation, planning and operation of large support and technical teams. Previously the Senior Vice President of Client Operations for Health Recovery Solutions, Jones was responsible for the management of all client queries and issues within the organization. He partnered with the COO and other leadership team members to identify opportunities for client support process improvements and design. Prior to that, Jones was the Chief Operating Officer for Synthesio, where he strategically led the operation teams responsible for client implementation, service delivery, client retention and upsell, and technical support. His responsibilities also included creating and managing strategic partnerships.
 
“As a high growth startup, Bankjoy is transforming digital banking and creating incredible value for banks and credit unions,” said Jones. “Joining their team was an easy and exciting decision, and I look forward to working alongside such a talented and committed group.” Jones earned his M.Sc. from Southern New Hampshire University. 
 
Engineered by executives from financial institutions, Bankjoy delivers modern banking technology, including mobile, online, e-statements, online account opening, online loan origination, and conversational AI to banks and credit unions of all sizes. The platform features cutting-edge integrations to quickly upgrade the digital baking experience and provide beautiful products with advanced features, simple navigation, and a modern look and feel. As a result, more financial institutions are choosing Bankjoy to drive their digital transformation. 
 
According to Michael Duncan, CEO of Bankjoy, “SoFi recently reported a strong increase in digital preferences, finding that consumers keep nearly half (43%) of their funds in non-traditional accounts, with more than one third (35%) in digital-only banks and stand-alone accounts. In response, traditional financial institutions are heavily investing in digital to not only meet consumer expectations, but deliver an intuitive, exceptional experience to better compete with digital disrupters. Bankjoy is experiencing these trends firsthand, as more banks and credit unions partner with us for digital solutions that make a meaningful impact in the lives of their customers.”
 
Duncan added, “As we continue to grow, it is essential that we expand our team, adding the industry’s very best, including André. With his deep expertise and strategic vision, together, we will drive the industry forward and continue to provide outstanding digital solutions and excellent care to our clients.”

​Leading global AI-powered credit decision platform provider Scienaptic AI announced today that Forest Area Federal Credit Union has selected its platform for faster credit decisioning.
 
Established in 1983, Forest Area Federal Credit Union began with a nominal asset size of $4,049.42 and their first office in Fife Lake, Mich. The credit union now stands at more than $180 million in assets, with over 15,000 members and six branches located across Michigan. For the last 38 years, the credit union’s mission has been to serve its members with quality financial services tailored to each member’s requirement. Scienaptic’s AI-powered credit decisioning platform will enable the credit union to automate its credit underwriting process and make personalised loan decisions.
 
“For 38 years, we have provided assistance to those who are living on the fringes of the community and provide a wholesome financial experience to our members,” said Justin Wolf, Vice President of Lending at Forest Area Federal Credit Union. “Our partnership with Scienaptic AI’s credit underwriting platform will help us create a more inclusive and efficient lending process and allow us to approve more loans and provide credit assistance to a wider category of people.”
 
Correspondingly, Pankaj Jain, President, Scienaptic AI, stated, “We are extremely thrilled to be chosen as the credit underwriting platform for Forest Area FCU and to assist them in faster and more efficient loan decisioning. Our state-of-the-art AI technology will help the credit union serve more unbanked and underbanked individuals and provide a member-centric service, at reduced risk.”

Genisys Credit Union has renewed its partnership with Co-op Solutions, adding access to Zelle® and Co-op Insights Center to existing services provided by Co-op, including debit and credit processing, fraud and risk management, and ATM terminal driving.
 
“Bringing value to our members is always at the forefront of our vendor partnership decisions,” said Michelle Mattson, SVP, Delivery Strategy for Genisys CU. “In partnering with Co-op, our goal is to deliver the best possible payment experience to our members now and in the future. Our members have loved having the ability to do travel notifications in mobile banking using an API integration and we know that they will also quickly adopt Zelle once it is launched. Any partner we consider today needs to have a strong focus on future enhancements and Co-op continues to do this through innovative API integrations.”
 
Zelle enables fast, safe and easy person-to-person (P2P) payments and is available in mobile banking apps. Co-op incorporates access to Zelle in its technology ecosystem, allowing credit unions to efficiently implement the service and offer it to their members. Co-op Insights Center is a web-based business intelligence and reporting platform that gives credit unions the ability to quickly understand portfolio behavior and make decisions to grow their credit and debit programs. 
 
“Our partnership with Co-op allows us to offer Zelle and to work on several other integrations that will allow members more flexibility in how and when they complete financial transactions,” said Mattson. “Putting as much control in our members’ hands as possible is our ultimate goal. To be the payment method our members select each day, we need to bring them continual innovations.”  
 
Looking to the future of the relationship, Mattson said, “As a technology partner, we expect that Co-op will continually strive to bring new innovations to our members. The past two years have shifted even more traffic to our remote channels and our hope is that our partnership with Co-op will allow us to continue to be successful in exceeding member expectations with new innovative payment products.”  
 
Based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Genisys CU (www.genisyscu.org) was found in 1936. Today, the credit union is the fourth largest in the state, with $4 billion in assets, 246,000 members and 33 branch locations.
 
“We definitely share the emphasis Genisys places on providing members with a smooth digital payments experience – we believe it is the path to primary financial relationships and credit union growth,” said Matt Kardell, Chief Revenue Officer for Co-op. “The renewal of our partnership adds an important new member service like Zelle, while Co-op Insights Center will help Genisys to better understand and thus better serve their members.”
 
For more information, visit Co-op Solutions at coop.org.

​Finalytics.ai powers segment-of-one digital experiences for credit unions. The company has announced results from its 2022 Credit Union Digital Maturity Index survey which investigates the current state of digital in the credit union industry. Credit unions ranging in asset size from $133 million to $31 billion participated in the survey.
 
The survey found that 86% of credit unions agree that their competitive strategy is reliant on digital, however, most are not sufficiently prepared to leverage it. For example:

• Only 14% of credit unions completely agree that they have the appropriate flexible, iterative, and collaborative approach to execute a digital strategy.
• Respondents scored their capability to use modern technology (like APIs, cloud, artificial intelligence (AI)) higher than other abilities, but only 14% completely agree that they have those technologies in place.
• Although internal and external data drive outcomes, only 12% of respondents had this capability, amongst the lowest score of all the areas measured.

The survey also revealed that a surprisingly low number of credit unions had the proper focus on members when building a digital strategy. For example, only 36% of credit unions indicated they use member journeys to drive the business, while 17% of respondents completely agreed their credit union prioritizes decisions on digital based on member experience.
 
“Our survey showcases a significant gap between the value that credit unions assign to digital and their ability to successfully leverage a digital-first strategy. Technology spending has increased during the pandemic, but it is evident that credit unions still lack preparedness in technological and cultural areas”, said Craig McLaughlin, co-founder, and CEO, Finalytics.ai. “What it means to focus on the member now must stretch from the focus of the organizational structure to how data sources and advanced technology are applied. By directing attention to the users and leveraging internal and external data, credit unions will be able to offer digital experiences that go beyond personalization to create segment-of-one digital experiences addressed to meet the needs of their members.” 
 
Leadership was identified as the area where credit unions felt the most prepared to execute their digital strategy. However, only 26% of respondents agreed they had the right leaders to carry out their day-to-day digital strategies. McLaughlin adds, “Digital transformation must be led from the top down rather than being a project that is delegated down the organizational chart. Otherwise, business as usual will remain firmly entrenched.”
 
The full report is available to download here.

Ncontracts, the leading provider of integrated risk management and lending compliance solutions for the financial services industry, announced the annual Connect Conference, previously organized by OnSemble for its customers, which is being held this year on March 9th and 10th.

“We’re thrilled to host our newest customers from OnSemble at the Connect Conference this year,” said Michael Berman, CEO of Ncontracts. “We’ve received tremendous feedback and strong early adoption of our solutions from OnSemble customers, and we’re excited to share our roadmap and vision to help them leverage their ongoing investments in their intranet technology.”

Ncontracts acquired the OnSemble intranet business in November 2021 and has been working to further integrate the intranet customer base and business into the Ncontracts solutions. The Connect conference provides a perfect opportunity for OnSemble customers to learn how to get the most of out their intranet product while leveraging the intranet as a platform for a risk and compliance framework in their financial institution.

"We are excited to host this event for our OnSemble Intranet customers. It brings together a community of users that are looking for ways to create and enhance their employee's engagement," said Melissa Outlaw, EVP of Client Services. “From new employees seeking to learn best practices to advanced users wanting to take it to the next level, we’re excited for everyone to come, learn, and enjoy over the course of our two days together.”

This year’s Connect conference will be held virtually and feature over 15 different sessions, speakers, and topics of interest to OnSemble users. A highlight of the conference is the “Bestie” Customer Awards, which are awarded to customers demonstrating unique and impactful uses of intranet technology in their organizations. The awards are user-generated and voted on by the OnSemble customers.

​For more information on the Connect conference please visit the conference web page at www.ncontracts.com/2022-connect-conference-home-home.

The CUNA/League-supported Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act (H.R. 7003) was introduced by House Financial Services Committee Chair Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Wednesday. The bill would be the first significant overhaul of the Federal Credit Union Act since 1998 and would make several updates to credit union field of membership and member business lending requirements, including addressing credit unions’ ability to serve underserved and marginalized communities. 

“This bill will allow credit unions to further fulfill their congressional mandate by being there for consumers left un- and underbanked by companies putting profit ahead of people,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “Thank you to Chairwoman Waters for introducing this bill that would help increase access to safe and affordable credit union services to underserved communities across the country."

Specifically, H.R. 7003 would: 

• Allow all federal credit unions to add underserved areas to their field of membership 
• Exempt business loans made by credit unions in low-income areas from the credit union member business lending cap. 
• Expand the definition of a low-income credit union to include any area that is more than 10 miles from the nearest branch of a financial institution. 

The landmark legislation was introduced on the heels of the 2022 CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference, where nearly 4,500 credit union advocates shared with lawmakers how they improve their members’ financial well-being and advance their communities, and is the product of continued CUNA, League, and credit union advocacy.  
​
Chairwoman Waters has flagged the Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act for markup by the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, March 16.  ​

​WEOKIE Federal Credit Union has made a donation of $5,000 in support of the Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund. This donation will help mitigate both short and long-term impacts to Ukraine’s credit union system and those looking to it for support, including both employees and members.
 
"WEOKIE is pleased to join our fellow 5,200+ U.S. credit unions, along with over 81,000 credit unions worldwide in support of the members and employees of 322 Ukrainian Credit Unions with this donation," Jeff Carpenter, President, and CEO of WEOKIE, said. "We are honored to have this opportunity to support them as they fight for their freedom and to maintain the cooperative credit union movement. We will continue to send our thoughts and prayers for their safety and ultimate victory in this war."
 
The Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund will direct support towards the impacts on Ukraine’s credit union system. The Worldwide Foundation for Credit Union’s (WFCU) in partnership with the World Council (WOCCU), is leveraging its global network to identify the immediate priority areas where funding can be used to support displaced credit union members and staff. The WFCU is launching this fund to send support to Ukraine’s credit unions where it is needed in the short-term, as well as the challenges Ukraine’s credit union system faces for the long-term.

​First Financial Federal Credit Union continues to strengthen the local community with generous sponsorships to their partners, specifically within the school and education systems.
 
First Financial provided a $25,000 sponsorship to support Baltimore County Public School students through the Outstanding Young Women Leaders program at Towson University. This program allows select young women from Baltimore County high schools to have the opportunity to develop leadership skills and gain experience throughout their academic and professional lives while networking with professional women in the area. Additionally, some First Financial employees volunteer and serve as mentors to the young women.
 
The credit union also donated $5,000 to its long-term partner, the Maryland School for the Blind. The donation helps to support costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on their school community and operating budget. Maryland School for the Blind has been a long-standing partner with First Financial for 45 years.
 
“As an education-based credit union, First Financial is committed to giving back to the local school systems that are paving the way for future generations,” said First Financial President/CEO Eric Church. “It is an honor to support our community and partners in any way that we can.”

Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company (NYSE:  HPE), today announced that Alabama ONE, the full-service financial institution based in  Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has deployed an Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform) wired and wireless network to provide reliable, high-performing Wi-Fi and new, technology-enabled experiences throughout their branch locations. Ranked Best-in-State Credit Union in 2020 by  Forbes Magazine, Alabama ONE is a member-owned organization serving 22 counties across  the state. The organization was also voted Tuscaloosa’s Best Place to Work (2020-2021),  Tuscaloosa’s Best Investment Firm (2019-2021), Tuscaloosa’s Best Mortgage Lender (2018- 2021), and Tuscaloosa’s Best Insurance Agent (2019-2021). 

As Alabama ONE expands their footprint with new branch locations, they simultaneously  wanted to add services that would improve efficiency at branch sites for both members and  employees. “We were looking for a networking solution that could help us bring new branch  locations online quickly and easily,” said Bobby Umfress II, director of IT Infrastructure &  Operations at Alabama ONE. “We also needed a solution that could support new member focused services such as iPad usage for loan applications and cash withdrawals.” 

In collaboration with trusted technology partner Veristor, Alabama ONE selected and deployed a  future-ready wireless network comprised of Aruba Wi-Fi 6 indoor access points. For wired  networking, Alabama ONE implemented Aruba’s access switches at the edge and CX Series  switches for aggregation and in the data center. Aruba EdgeConnect was selected as their SD WAN solution. Additionally, Alabama ONE uses ClearPass for network access control (NAC)  and policy management, and Aruba Central for cloud-based network management and  operations. 

“One of the benefits of having Aruba’s EdgeConnect solution is that we're not reliant on a  specific provider to get connectivity into the branch site, which allows us to be more agile and  move faster,” said Umfress. “For example, we purchased a branch from another financial  institution, and less than five days later, we opened up as Alabama ONE. That was our fastest  turnaround for an acquisition.”  

Aruba ESP provided the foundational functionality to allow Alabama ONE to move to a more  proactive – rather than reactive – automated network. Aruba’s turnkey AI-powered solution  enables Alabama ONE to improve efficiency and overall end-user quality of experience, as well  as realize cost savings. “Once we started looking at deploying SD-WAN, the cost savings that  we were going to reap over that first year repaid the entire cost of the solution,” explained Umfress. 

Looking to the future, Alabama ONE is testing new member services, including a feature that  allows members to sit in a private waiting area where they can work productively instead of just  spending their time waiting in line. Branch employees equipped with iPads will proactively go to  the waiting member when it’s their turn. They can conduct business with the member from the  iPad, instead of being tethered to a workstation. Alabama ONE is also preparing to deploy video  solutions at branches that would allow customers to meet virtually with a loan officer who might  be physically located at another branch.  

“C-level management is always coming up with new ways to better serve our members and now  that we have the right infrastructure, we can support them,” said Umfress.  

To hear more about how Alabama ONE used Aruba ESP to bring new branch locations online in  record time, offer cutting-edge services to members, and achieve ROI in just one year, listen to  the Packet Pushers Tech Bytes podcast.  ​

Ascend Federal Credit Union, the largest credit union in Middle Tennessee, announced today that it has appointed Regina Johnson as vice president of internal audit. Johnson, who reports to Ascend’s Supervisory Committee and the President and CEO Caren Gabriel, is responsible for overseeing the credit union’s internal audit.
 
“We are excited to have a respected and proven leader like Regina on our team,” said Gabriel. “With her extensive audit experience and diverse skill set, she is exactly the executive we need to evaluate our internal controls to ensure Ascend remains a safe and sound financial institution.”
 
“I am grateful for this opportunity to be part of the exceptional leadership team that Caren has put together,” said Johnson. “Ascend epitomizes what it means to provide superior customer service to its members and the communities in which it serves. I look forward to ensuring that Ascend’s finances, processes and procedures are optimal, and our quality remains excellent.”
 
Johnson brings to Ascend more than 30 years of internal audit, risk management and budgeting experience with financial institutions and large corporations. Before joining Ascend, she was vice president-internal audit manager and senior consultant with ProBank Austin in Brentwood. She also spent more than a decade with Dollar General Corporation in Goodlettsville where she was promoted to director of internal audit.
 
Johnson received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Tennessee Technological University. She also has earned Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Risk Management Assurance designations from the Institute of Internal Auditors.
 
Outside of work, Johnson is active in many local civic and professional organizations. She is currently a Salvation Army volunteer and previously was treasurer and board member with the Wilson Central High School swim team, Pencil Partner Foundation volunteer at Hattie Cotton Elementary School, and President of the Bowling Green affiliate of the Nashville Chapter of Institute of Internal Auditors.