Premier America Credit Union on Tuesday said it is converting to Symitar EASE, the outsourced delivery model of the Episys core processing platform.
Symitar is a division of Jack Henry & Associates, Inc., a Monett, Mo.-based provider of technology solutions and payment processing services, primarily for the financial services industry.
Management at the Chatsworth, Calif.-based credit union said the $2.5 billion-asset institution had "developed concerns” with its existing core provider’s innovation strategy, as well as its reliability with system responsiveness and support. The credit union said it chose Symitar EASE as the replacement system that would provide an “immediate positive impact” and a “full range of already developed interfaces and integrations.”
Rudy Pereira, CEO of Premier America CU, said in a statement, “The vote for Symitar was unanimous across our management and non-management, 18 people strong. The Episys platform is agile, allowing us to meet our members’ needs today and tomorrow, and there is an ease that comes with modifying the system to our fit. And with Symitar’s outsourcing offering, we are strengthening the performance of our core across all key areas of measurement – efficiency, cost, compliance and resiliency.”
Premier America reported it opted to outsource its core via EASE to “relieve its staff from performing day-to-day tasks that do not provide tangible value to the member experience.” Instead, the credit union said team members can focus on delivering on the promises of improved ease of banking, member engagement and financial success. According to Pereira, “Episys is good for everyone.”
Disaster recovery and business continuity planning also factored into Premier America’s decision to outsource. The credit union noted its location brings the possibility that natural disasters – including earthquakes or wildfires – might impact operations during any season.
“The core is a financial institution’s lifeblood,” Pereira said. “We need the assurance it can be recovered and accessible quickly. With EASE, we are in a constant state of disaster recovery preparedness and are assured our members can get to us, to their accounts, whenever they need.”
The credit union said it is engaging Symitar for a number of other new solutions to complement the core, including jhaEnterprise Workflow to automate multi-step business processes and Advanced Reporting for Credit Unions for business intelligence and analytics.
Competitive core takeaways
Symitar reported its new business relationship with Premier America CU was one of 27 competitive core takeaways the company recorded during its latest fiscal year, which ended June 30.
Ted Bilke, president of Symitar, said, “Each new partnership is important to the Symitar family, and we were excited to help close out another strong year with the addition of Premier America Credit Union. This organization has its eyes on tomorrow by incorporating technologies that benefit its members today and will prepare them for the future. Outsourcing continues to grow as the preferred approach for deploying services for credit unions of all sizes.”
