Industry Reports: Corelation Lands a Transformational Win with SECU

The nation’s second-largest financial cooperative chooses one-time startup to blend its branch-focused service with top-shelf digital tools.

By Marc Rapport
Contributing Editor

Key Points

• SECU's conversion to Corelation KeyStone is a landmark move for the credit union industry.
• The transformation will unify member service across digital, phone and branch channels.
• The partnership speaks to modern technology strengthening traditional relationship banking.

For credit unions, no technology decision carries more weight than choosing a core processing system. The core is the foundation that touches virtually every member interaction, every transaction, every loan, every deposit, and every digital service.

Replacing a core is one of the most complex projects a financial institution can undertake, typically taking years of planning and implementation to make the most out of the functionality and integrations the new platforms promise.

That's why State Employees' Credit Union's decision to select Corelation's KeyStone platform is perhaps one of the most significant technology stories the credit union industry has seen in some time.

For Corelation, the recent announcement represents the culmination of a growth story that began in 2009 when Symitar co-founder John Landis and his team launched a San Diego-based startup they said would rethink credit union core processing.

Now it has signed SECU, the nation's second-largest credit union, with more than $59 billion in assets and about three million members.

Rob Landis

"Our partnership with SECU represents a landmark milestone that is the result of a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication to our clients," said Rob Landis, John Landis’s son who succeeded Theresa Benavidez as Corelation CEO in January 2025. "From its inception, KeyStone's architecture was designed for scalability to support credit unions of any size."

Rob Landis, who has been with Corelation since its launch 17 years ago, views the agreement as far more than a routine signing.

"It's wonderful. It's a lot of hard work in the making. It was a personal career highlight of mine," he said in a May interview on CUbroadcast.com.

"It represents the culmination of everything we've done to get to this point. From a technology perspective, John's vision for KeyStone was to make the best possible platform for credit unions, and to see that recognized at this scale is incredibly meaningful."

Building the next generation of member service
SECU's selection was driven by more than replacing aging technology. The credit union has relied on a collection of legacy systems that served it well for many years, but leadership recognized that meeting future member expectations required a modern foundation capable of evolving alongside the organization.

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Leigh Brady

"This will be a multi-year transformation plan that will carry us into the future, helping us enhance the service experience for our members and employees," said SECU President and CEO Leigh Brady.

For an organization with 275 branches – one of the largest brick-and-mortar networks in the credit union industry – the goal isn't to replace the branch experience. It's to make every interaction, whether it begins online, over the phone or in person, feel like part of one continuous relationship.

The evaluation process itself reflected SECU's culture. More than 1,000 employees contributed input as cross-functional teams identified the capabilities needed to strengthen service across the organization, Brady said.

Conversations with peer credit unions repeatedly pointed toward Corelation, Brady said, while consulting partner Engage fi helped define the roadmap for the transformation. Throughout the selection, the emphasis remained on supporting employees so they could deliver even stronger relationships with members, the longtime SECU executive said.

"As a member-owned financial cooperative, we have a longstanding commitment to providing exceptional service, value, and support for our membership," Brady said. "After a thoughtful and thorough evaluation of core solutions, we selected Corelation. We're confident we've selected the right partner to carry us into the future, not only from a technology standpoint, but as a trusted business partner."

Technology that strengthens relationships
For SECU, the transformation is not about becoming a digital-only institution. With nearly 300 location serving communities across North Carolina, the credit union has long differentiated itself through face-to-face relationships and a commitment to community and brick-and-mortar banking.

The challenge is making that same high-touch experience seamless regardless of how members choose to interact.

As Brady explained, expectations are rising because member experiences everywhere are becoming faster, more connected and more convenient.

"Our members expect to be able to move seamlessly between channels, for instance chatting online with a SECU representative then deciding they want to continue the conversation over the phone or at the branch," she said.

"We're focusing on integrating that service experience across channels, allowing us to be more responsive to members' needs." Brady added that KeyStone will allow SECU to integrate more quickly with best-in-class financial solutions supporting real-time payments, enhanced security, digital capabilities and future innovation.

That philosophy aligns closely with Corelation's own view of technology. Landis believes software succeeds only when it helps people build stronger relationships rather than replacing them.

"Our pillars are right in our company name. Relationships are at the core of what we do. We believe KeyStone is the best core system available from an architecture perspective, future-proofing against technology changes, functionality and usability. But it's really the relationships we build that have driven our success."

SECU expects faster service, better information for frontline employees, and more opportunities to deepen member relationships.

By providing a holistic view of member relationships and real-time account information, the platform enables greater automation behind the scenes while giving employees more time to focus on personalized financial guidance instead of manual processes. That balance between technology and human connection remains central to SECU's vision for the future.

A milestone for Corelation and the industry
Corelation's rise has been one of the more compelling technology success stories in the credit union movement. Since launching in 2009, the company has steadily expanded through referrals and client advocacy rather than rapid acquisition.

Approaching 500 clients while continuing to attract some of the industry's largest institutions suggests the strategy has resonated throughout the market.

Landis credits much of that success to collaboration, both inside the company and across the broader credit union community.

"One of the best things we can do is bring credit unions together as peers," the Corelation CEO said. "They support each other, share lessons learned and proactively help one another."

He called that willingness to collaborate "our industry's superpower," noting that while credit unions cannot always match the big banks dollar-for-dollar in research and development spending, they benefit from a unique culture of shared learning.

Brady sees a similar competitive advantage inside SECU.

"I have always said our people are our secret sauce," she said. "We listen to member feedback. We also listen to our branch and support teams all across the state who have those relationships with our members. We always ground any technology change in how it enables and improves the service to our members."

Ultimately, that shared philosophy may explain why this partnership matters beyond a single implementation. The most important technology partner a credit union will ever choose is its core provider, in no small part because every future innovation depends on that relationship.

With Corelation securing the largest state-chartered credit union in the country, this agreement represents not only a defining milestone for the company, but also signals that modern core technology and traditional, branch-based and relationship-driven service can advance together.

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