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Adopting a Loan Payments Solution: Lessons Learned from Tech CU (Webinar Recap)

Posted by Peggy Olson and Lee Shappell on 13 Jan 2020

Making payment options easier for members is the goal of every credit union, especially the small, perhaps single-branch operations that might not have the research and development budgets of megabanks to remain at the forefront of the newest technology in the payments space. 

There are fintech vendors that specialize in providing cutting-edge payment technology to credit unions, among them Alacriti with its cloud-based software platform. Orbipay® EBPP is an electronic bill presentment and payment solution that gives credit union members the flexibility and convenience of making payments anywhere, any way and at any time of day or night. Members have the option to pay using their preferred payment method (credit, debit, check, ACH and more), giving them complete control over the payments process. Features such as autopay and a frictionless user interface help improve credit union cash flow and reduce loan delinquency.

San Jose, California-based Technology Credit Union (Tech CU) found Orbipay EBPP to be the perfect loan payments solution. 

WesPay featured Alacriti and Tech CU in their ongoing fintech webinar series held on December 16th. The companies discussed Tech CU’s selection process for their new loan payments solution, as well as the advantages of Orbipay EBPP, steps and time requirements in its implementation, and the results.

Here’s some background on Tech CU and key webinar takeaways. 

Tech CU supports the high-tech industry and its employee base in Silicon Valley, boasting more than $3 billion in assets with more than 120,000 members. True to its mission to deliver education and empower members to succeed financially, it chooses to partner with companies like Alacriti to provide innovative solutions.

Nathan Carman, Tech CU’s Assistant Vice President and Central Operations Manager for Payments, said a key to selecting Orbipay EBPP was that its platform is intuitive. Keeping the payment experience simple and straightforward is what Tech CU strives for. He likes that members are now able to pay their bills up to 6 p.m. on the due date with no fee charged for the service. He’s always on the lookout to partner with a fintech like Alacriti to keep Tech CU on the leading edge and to drive superior user experiences.

Both Carman and Ivy Widman, Senior Business Systems Analyst at Tech CU, lauded Alacriti for being agile, willing to collaborate to customize a solution to their needs, plus offer responsive, knowledgeable and pleasant customer support.

Eric Ngan, Tech CU’s Vice President of Enterprise Applications and Integrations, pointed out that the Orbipay EBPP’s user interface provides a wealth of information about the member and their loan, including minimum payment due, payment due date, late charges, and payoff information. He was impressed that the interface is customizable, allowing features and functions to be easily added, changed or removed, and that Alacriti set up a test environment for Tech CU before it went live with Orbipay EBPP in February 2019.

Once live, Carman said Tech CU was able to process more loan payments digitally and faster while improving delinquency rates. Members were happy – especially those making payments with debit cards, and that the number of checks arriving in envelopes and phone payments diminished significantly enabling existing staff to be redeployed to other business activities. 

The Bottom Line: With Orbipay EBPP, Tech CU has been able to rapidly increase the number of digital payments they process while enhancing the borrower experience, improving cash flow, reducing delinquencies and streamlining operations. They are thrilled Orbipay EBPP supports the credit union’s mission of delivering experiences that wow their technology-based members. 

Peggy Olson Blog Contributor Peggy Bekavac Olson is the payments industry’s go-to marketing expert. She is president and CEO of Strategic Marketing, providing fractional CMO and marketing department services for financial services and electronic payments companies. Previously, Olson was Vice President of Marketing and Communications for TSYS (now Global Payments).
Lee Shappell Blog Contributor Lee Shappell, senior copywriter for Strategic Marketing, is an award-winning news reporter and executive editor for mass media newspapers and magazines, including Gannett Co., Times Media Group, Sports Illustrated and more. Over the years, he has covered a wide variety of business, professional sports and local, regional and national news stories. Semi-retired, Shappell keeps his writing skills sharp dabbling in marketing copywriting for the payments industry and various community organizations. He is a prolific and witty social media poster.