LAWRENCE, Mass.-Prospects looked bleak when the core system crashed one day last year at Merrimack Valley FCU.
"The boot tape would not boot our Symitar system back up," explained Don Croteau, VP-finance at the $430-million CU here. "We called Symitar to get a new boot tape sent to us ASAP, but it would have been two days before we would have been able to have our system up."
Two days is too long to go without a core. But Merrimack Valley FCU had heard of a Westbrook, Maine-based credit union service provider called Synergent Technology Services.
"We called Synergent and told them of our predicament," Croteau continued. "Without hesitation, and without us being a client of theirs, Synergent drove the two hours down from Maine. Our system was up shortly thereafter."
The Synergent CUSO, run by the Maine CU League, this month celebrates 40 years of "knowing credit unions and how to serve them," according to Synergent's president and CEO, John Murphy, who is also president of the Maine Credit Union League.
Synergent provides products and services to more than 200 CUs in the New England states and New York. The CUs use Synergent to connect to third-party card and check processing and direct marketing solutions, and, of course, the Symitar Episys core processing platform.
After Synergent's rescue, Merrimack Valley FCU quickly signed on as a client, according to Peter Matthews, the credit union's president and CEO.
"We previously partnered directly with Symitar, a very good company with great software," Matthews said. "But we were seeking more timely and customized service. We have great software and customized service now with Synergent - the best of both worlds."
Enhancements to Symitar are delivered more quickly now that the CU is with Synergent, Matthews added.
As one of Synergent's largest clients, Merrimack Valley FCU apparently didn't choose Synergent to get a better price. "Synergent's value does not come from pricing," Matthews said. In fact, you might get better pricing on all of the products that Synergent provides by going with other service providers, he said.
"Many service providers offer the same products and services," said Matthews. "But in addition to those standard products, Synergent provides outstanding service."
Synergent delivers Episys in a service bureau environment, statement processing and statement printing to Merrimack Valley FCU, and will begin providing debit processing to the CU in November.
Cost Savings Not The Pitch
"We compete with all the major core vendors, but we don't try to present ourselves as the lowest cost provider," said Murphy. "Instead, we offer a level of sophistication and support that makes for a very good solution to credit unions."
Sometimes, outstanding service is as simple as quickly returning a client's phone call, Murphy suggested. "A lot of providers sing the service hymn, but we actually know credit unions and how to serve them."
Murphy added that he believes the combination of Synergent service and products presents a tempting offering, competitively priced. In fact, without Synergent, some smaller CUs wouldn't be able to afford the implementation and maintenance costs for some of the online, real-time solutions that Synergent provides, including shared branching and bill pay, he said.
"Synergent is a great example of CUs working together to gain access to technology tools," Murphy continued. "Add to that our advocacy role in regulations, and we're doing everything we can to make a better environment."
