The largest credit union in the US Virgin Islands has selected CU*SOUTH as their new business partner to enhance member services and grow the credit union.
“The sky is the limit,” says Steven Mayers, CFO of St Thomas FCU. “There are no indigenous banks on St. Thomas, and our credit union is chartered to serve everyone on the island. What held us back was our old core software. Any time we wanted to add a service, we had to purchase additional software modules and pay higher fees – so our options were limited by having to worry about running a breakeven analysis on any new service we wanted to offer.”
CEO Keisha Prince recognized CU*SOUTH’s innovative core platform and forward thinking CUSO leadership as a key reason for hiring CU*SOUTH: “We chose CU*SOUTH as our core processor to bring us into the 21st century. CU*BASE offers an inviting, seamless banking experience that will help continue to diversify and develop our member base. CU*BASE allows for us to streamline processes to focus more on what matters: our Members!”
“Our CUSO was a perfect fit for St Thomas FCU,” says Leo Vaulin, CEO of CU*SOUTH. “We took software used by billion-dollar CU’s, and priced it to scale for any size credit union – so a CU with $57M in assets pays the same low per-member price, and has access to the same technology and resources. We’re delivering the highest tier software to St Thomas – at a fraction of what their old big-bank software vendor was charging.”
CU*SOUTH’s all-in-one approach to software and service was also important in this rapidly growing, service-first oriented credit union’s decision.
“In the fourth quarter of 2015, we started rebranding STFCU by renovating our branch and changing the staff dynamics by refocusing on first class customer service and becoming an active part of our community,” notes Ms. Prince. “The next phase of our rebranding includes offering our members an interactive technology platform that makes it easier to satisfy our member’s needs. STFCU is looking forward to connecting our members with the technological advancements that CU*SOUTH has to offer.”
“CU*SOUTH’s cloud-based software and managed services offers greater security for the members of St Thomas FCU,” adds Ms. Prince. “We are mindful of the risk that tropical storms and hurricanes pose to our island. With CU*SOUTH, we know that even if something happens to our credit union, our members will continue to have access to their accounts, electronic transactions will continue to post for ACH, debit and credit cards – and CU*SOUTH’s Member Service team will answer our member phone calls at a time when our members need their credit union the most.”
On October 1, 2016, CU*SOUTH converted a neighboring credit union on the island of St. Croix to the CU*BASE core platform. “We visited with Patrice Canton, the CEO of Frederiksted FCU as a key part of our due diligence,” notes Ms. Prince. “We also met with Steven Nazaruk, President of Ocala Community CU, and Thomas Flowers, CEO of Calhoun-Liberty CU. All three were very pleased with their experience in converting to CU*SOUTH.”
