CA S E S T U DY ImageCenter™ Tools Give Alliant Credit Union Efficiency and Flexibility With more than 285,000 members to service, Alliant Credit Union needs to have check and payment processing down to a science. For members and staff, it pays to have maximum efficiency in both the front and back office. To that end, Alliant has used ProfitStars® ImageCenter products for more than two and a half years. George Rudolph, Senior Vice President of Operations and Technology at Alliant, describes how this has affected his credit union. F le x ibilit y a nd Compatibility “Workflow efficiencies and control were the primary drivers for moving away from our previous solution,” says Rudolph. “We wanted to streamline our existing process to provide a better member experience and to have the freedom to control our work environment and methods.” Switching to the ImageCenter Interactive Teller Capture™ module opened new opportunities in this area. “With our previous product, we were not afforded the opportunity to drive our own workflows and modify our processes based on the business need,” explains Rudolph. “One of our most compelling reasons to choose ImageCenter over other solutions,” Rudolph says, “was the near seamless integration with Symitar® Episys®, our core processor. Updates to the system, both for ProfitStars and Episys, are orchestrated efficiently and executed in a timely manner every time.” The original implementation of ImageCenter was equally smooth. “The ImageCenter install group was a pleasure to work with,” says Rudolph. “Very personable and available to answer any questions or to calm nerves.” F ea t ure s t hat Make Lif e Easier Rudolph noted that the teller capture module provided new capabilities regarding deposit review rules and alert management for fraud. As an enterprise platform, it added operating efficiencies across the institution. “With the ImageCenter solution,” Rudolph says, “we have a data consolidation store that houses all of Alliant’s deposits for review and ultimately for Federal Reserve collection.” He added, “Our end-of-day balancing process has improved as all teller work is contained and modified in-house, allowing us to quickly resolve any out-of-balance situations and minimize losses.” ■ ALLIANT CREDIT UNION This $8 billion Chicago-based credit union serves members throughout the United States. Free checking, high-yield savings accounts, and top-notch member service are among the many features that make Alliant an outstanding institution. ■ B U SIN ESS CHALLENG E The credit union’s check capture and payment processing system was not flexible enough to enable it to modify processes and workflows. There were also inefficiencies in the operation of the system. ■ SOL U TION Alliant acquired enterprise ImageCenter™ products from ProfitStars®. ImageCenter is fully integrated into the credit union’s Episys® core processor, and offers check scanning, remote deposit support, ATM deposit management, and more. ■ B EN EFITS ImageCenter™ provides the flexibility that Alliant needed. It improves the balancing process, helps create payment data consolidation, and adds valuable fraud prevention, search, and presentment features. CA S E S T U DY There were also benefits from the product’s near-real-time fraud detection. “It’s made it easier for our frontline employees,” says Rudolph. “The check is reviewed through the fraud detection feature at the time the deposit is scanned, and provides an immediate response. We were previously using a manual, antiquated method of fraud review. Having fraud detection as part of the deposit process allows our tellers more time to focus on the member.” Rudolph noted that ImageCenter easily works together with Alliant’s mobile payments. “We were able to integrate our mobile solution with the ImageCenter remote deposit processing with minimal effort. It was simply a matter of finalizing the file format requirements for proper ImageCenter ingestion. We are able to catch duplicate items presented as long as the items are deposited using a proprietary deposit method within Alliant.” ImageCenter’s research and reporting capabilities have also proven to be a significant asset. Alliant employees can research items according to the way they are imported into the ImageCenter system (ATM, teller, and so on). They can also search by teller name, location, dollar amount, or check number. Another benefit reported by the credit union is more control over the presentment process. “We have been able to adjust distribution times,” Rudolph says. “I would say the process is fairly flexible. We have one presentment time.” A dd ed Effic iency – B ringing Mail P a y m ent s I n- Ho use To add more efficiency to payment processing, Alliant brought all mail payments in house and uses ProfitStars RemitPlus® to manage the mail. This product is fully integrated with ImageCenter and supports deposits into the ImageCenter data store. “We were able to eliminate our relationship with a third-party service provider to process our remittance,” Rudolph says. “We send a posting file to the core and the images are handed off to ImageCenter, which in turn sends the consolidated items to the Federal Reserve on our behalf. We are now able to submit checks to the Fed directly at a lower rate. This has given us more visibility into the collection process which results in a smoother, faster process. The ease of use of the product and the ability to tailor it to our needs has enabled us to re-dedicate one fulltime position to different work area.” S um ming Up the Value “Overall, Alliant Credit Union is satisfied with our selection of ProfitStars ImageCenter solutions,” Rudolph says. “We received multiple demonstrations from competitors, but the better choice for Alliant was clear given our core processing system and our desire to have more control over our environment. We would recommend the solution to other companies.” Rudolph sums up the experience like this: “Alliant sought to have more control over the item process to improve our member deposit experience, while giving us a more comprehensive approach to back office deposit management. Nearly three years after selecting ProfitStars, we are still confident that we made the best decision.” Additional information is available at www.ProfitStars.com or by calling 877.827.7101 © 2014 Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.® ProfitStars is a registered trademark of Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. ■ IN STITU TION Alliant Credit Union ■ A DDRESS 11545 W. Touhy Ave. Chicago, IL 60666 ■ TEL EPH ON E 800-328-1935 ■ WEB SITE www.alliantcreditunion.org ■ B RA N CH ES 14 ■ A SSETS $8.1 billion ■ MEMB ERS 285,000 ■ PROFITSTA RS SO LUTI O N ImageCenter Interactive Teller Capture™ ImageCenter ATM Deposit Management™ RemitPlus®
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