Ukrainian Selfreliance New England FCU

For over forty years, Ukrainian Selfreliance New England Federal Credit Union (USNEFCU) has proudly served the Ukrainian Community in the New England region. They have provided lower rates on loans and higher rates on dividends than banks, and worked hard to provide a full range of products and services to their growing membership base. Just as they have established close working ties with their members, they have also looked for technology vendors they can trust and establish long term partnerships with. That is why they have a longstanding partnership with one of the best core data processing firms in the industry: Enhanced Software Products, Inc. (ESP).

As a long time ESP client, USNEFCU has seen many changes over the years. In 2003, the credit union upgraded to FORZA3™ which is ESP’s comprehensive core data processing solution based in the Windows environment. This system is unique in the credit union movement in that it is not a tiered solution, but includes virtually everything a credit union needs to serve their members well. In 2006, USNEFCU moved from an in-house system to one hosted at ESP’s world class data center in Spokane, WA. Eddie Rivera, IT Manager at USNEFCU, describes these events as “very good transitions with few headaches. Overall we have had excellent technical support over the years from ESP.”

Most recently, the Connecticut-based credit union turned to ESP for assistance with streamlining their receipts. Rivera recalls that “we had previously used 2-part forms printed on laser printers. This process was quite expensive – the paper, toner and maintenance all added up quickly.” The pre-printed forms were especially costly because they were perforated and had to be customized for each of the credit union’s three branches. According to Rivera, “we now enjoy significant cost savings with both paper and printers by using thermal printers. Not only do they cost a lot less for the initial purchase than laser printers, but they are low maintenance too.”

In addition to the significant savings with printers, supplies and maintenance, there is a real boost in staff productivity that comes with implementing ESP’s Paperless Receipts solution. Rivera explains that “since the images are automatically stored online, any employee can quickly lookup a receipt. Our tellers really like this system.” Previously, research involved tediously rummaging through boxes, and there were even times where the credit union would have to call the credit union’s storage vendor to have older receipts returned from offsite storage – a time consuming and costly process. Rivera points out that “receipts are now easily reprinted and we are also saving quite a bit of much needed storage space at the branches.”

Now that receipts are being captured digitally and thermal paper receipts provided to members, the next step for Ukrainian Selfreliance New England FCU is move forward with ESP’s Member Imaging and Digital Documents solutions. Member Imaging gives front line employees the ability to view a member’s picture, scanned image (i.e., driver’s license), signature, or all of the above. Meanwhile, Digital Documents allows credit union employees to attach documents to a Member Identity, Member Account, Member Suffix Account or a Note that has been applied to a member. Both solutions were built to work seamlessly within FORZA3™, and Rivera says that “our tellers and member service representatives are excited about using these new applications, and they will also be great for our disaster recovery efforts.” He concludes that “Enhanced Software Products is a really good company to work with, and they offer a very nice and affordable system.”