PLEASANTON, Calif. -
Among those making the move is 1st United Services CU here, which has switched to PMSC from Digital Insight, according to Troy Warman, VP-information systems at the $713-million CU. Warman said the CU had some concerns about customer service at Digital Insight and was worried that situation would not improve following DI's recent acquisition by Intuit.
Those concerns were echoed by Joanna Boedecker, VP-information technology at the $850-million Operating Engineers FCU (OEFCU) in Livermore, Calif. "The No. 1 reason we left DI was because customer service was lacking.
"We were already feeling like small fries before the Intuit buyout," continued Boedecker. "The buyout scared us a bit because we realized that credit unions would not be a focus for DI."
A Little Too Little, A Little Too Late
The DI products were "one-size-fits-all," added Warman. The three credit unions that spoke with the Credit Union Journal said they had switched to Internet banking, bill payment, loan application and decisioning platforms at PMSC from similar platforms at DI. DI was a little too little, a little too late, Warman went on. "It wasn't until we told DI we were leaving that they said they could have brought down our costs."
"We were paying an awful lot of money with DI," said David Merritt, director, information technology, at $100-million cPort CU in Portland, Maine. "With PM Systems, we're offering more features and services to our members for about half of what we were paying to DI."
cPort was then able to take the savings and add online statement and check viewing through PMSC, services it couldn't afford to offer through DI, Merritt said. But Digital Insight said the decision made by the three credit unions is not reflective of a larger migration.
At DI, credit union complaints are "not common," said Martha Deevy, Digital Insight senior VP-marketing and customer delivery and support. "There is no disturbing trend. Our position in the credit union community is very strong."
CU A 'Terrific Asset'
Deevy maintained that credit unions are a "terrific asset that needs to be cultivated. "We certainly try to work through the occasional complaint, but we're not perfect."
Cost to credit unions will not change as a result of the acquisition, she added. CUs comprise about half of DI's nearly 2,000 clients, according to the Calabasas, Calif.-based company. All in all, the grass is greener at PMSC, Merritt said. "Without even considering cost, PM was the more attractive vendor. The service and people are tremendous.
PMSC quickly responds to requests for customization, said the CUs. "Or we can modify certain things ourselves, such as the FAQs I'm adding now."
OEFCU looks forward to the APEX application programming interface that PMSC is developing to allow its products to easily pass data back and forth to the CU's core system, Boedecker said.
In addition to enjoying the APEX interface, these CUs will now be able to offer online account opening and funding. 1st United Services had bought DI's deposit from home offering, but the CU ended up dumping the product because it was "too complex," Warman said. The PMSC implementation of remote deposits will be comparatively smooth, he added. "That's money coming into the credit union at a convenience to the members."
PMSC has provided services to CUs for 20 years and doesn't partner with third parties to deliver its suite of products. The company has added six CUs to its client base this year.
DI's current End-to-End Customer Experience Project, initiated by Intuit, will help the company improve relations with clients and understand them in "brand new ways," said Deevy.
"We live with our customers and use cameras and notepads to understand a day in the life, which leads to a lot of product innovation," she said.
For More Resources
Read related stories at cujournal.com and search the following bolded terms in the archive:
Investment In Tech CUSO, to learn how CUs switched to a DP CUSO to gain power and share systems.
Small Biz, Online Banking for DI's perspective on the future of CUs at the company
'Quicken-lite' for a story about CUs that will use DI's new Personal FinanceWorks online banking.
For more info on this story:
* 1st United Services CU, www.1stuscu.org
* cPort CU, www.cportcu.org
* Operating Engineers FCU, www.oefcu.org
* PM Systems Corporation, www.pmsyscorp.com
