PLANO, Texas–A CUSO here is citing more than 150-million examples of how it has been able to sustain vendor support for a mature service that remains critical to credit union business operations.
The CUSO, TranzCapture, LLC, was formed by Catalyst Corporate and Alloya Corporate to support credit unions’ continued need for remote deposit services (RDS). The TranzCapture service suite of “next-generation” RDS software includes branch, teller (no core integration), mobile, merchant and ATM/ITM/intelligent kiosk capture.
“With check volumes on the decline, some provider commitments to deposit processing, understandably, have waned in favor of pursuing new revenue streams,” said Brad Ganey, SVP/COO of Catalyst Corporate FCU. “RDS licensing revenues have dried up, and business models no longer support much-needed system enhancements. And yet, billions of checks each year still need to be processed. The CUSO provides a modern, cost effective solution that significantly reduces reliance on third-party vendors. TranzCapture was built from the ground up with credit unions in mind. It incorporates many features requested by credit unions over the years, including some unique to the industry.”
Catalyst Corporate said that innovation, in this case, is in the delivery of the services.
“Replacing software installations at individual workstations with a web-based application substantially reduces or eliminates credit union resources required for implementation and ongoing product updates,” the company said. “Another key advantage is the integration of services into corporates’ online account management systems. This allows credit unions to manage RDS transactions in the same hub they manage ACH, wires and other corporate services.”
Among the other innovative features: real-time duplicate detection (item and batch) across all TranzCapture channels, connectivity to real-time or batch Early Warning Services LLC’s deposit fraud protection, shared branching returns routed to the proper credit union, flexible workflow management settings for deposit review and approvals and MICR correction by Catalyst Corporate staff.
Catalyst added that a core-integrated teller capture solution is on the roadmap for 2018.
Rapid Deployment
Catalyst Corporate established TranzCapture, LLC in November 2015. In 2016, Alloya Corporate became a co-owner of the CUSO, and the first credit unions went live. In 2017, Catalyst Corporate and Alloya Corporate transitioned most of their member credit unions from legacy RDS systems to TranzCapture. Deployment has been rapid, and the CUSO processed more than 150 million deposits from 1,309 credit unions with multiple branches and multiple products in its first full year of operation, Catalyst reported.
At the same time, the company noted TranzCapture also successfully integrated with several ATM/ITM/intelligent kiosk vendors, offering member credit unions greater deposit capture and branch automation options.
Collaboration for Mutual Benefit
“The TranzCapture CUSO is a welcome addition to the industry,” said Catalyst Corporate CEO Kathy Garner. “Shared ownership gives the corporates and their member credit unions greater control over product design, time-to-market, future enhancements and costs. It also potentially enables smaller credit unions to employ the same services as their larger peers to remain competitive.”
Alloya Corporate CEO Todd Adams agreed. “When services like check processing move into the ‘mature’ phase of their lifecycle, companies raise prices, lose good staff and forego reinvesting in those services. Boards of both corporates, comprised of credit union leaders nationwide, recognized this strategic risk. Checks are not going away yet, and by forming this CUSO, we turned a strategic risk into a competitive advantage for the credit union movement. Credit unions have access to efficient check processing that is based on current technologies and supported by the volumes of these two corporate credit unions.
“During 2017, Alloya converted over two billion check images to this new platform and installed 1,557 versions of TranzCapture’s branch capture software across its membership base,” Adams continued. “This was one of the most complex operational projects we have ever undertaken and represents an investment that will provide credit unions great value well into the future,” said Adams. “This project was successful thanks to a talented team of professionals that always has the best interests of credit unions in mind. The power of cooperation works, and this CUSO is a great example!”
Multi-Tiered Design
Catalyst Corporate added that although it handles infrastructure and deposit processing functions, the CUSO’s multi-tiered design enables both corporates – and any future CUSO partners – to support and maintain direct relationships with their own member credit unions, including implementations and member service.
Both corporate credit unions said they envision forging additional partnerships within TranzCapture, LLC.
For info: contactus@catalystcorp.org or 800.442.5763.