Member Driven, Technology Focused

If you’ve noticed a few changes around Fort Financial Credit Union, it was intentional. The company completed several initiatives to maintain focus on the overall experience it provides to its members, including rebranding in 2021, adding Jessica Davis as vice president of member experience to its leadership team, and recently welcoming the community into its new headquarters on Lima Road.

Fort Financial’s emphasis on serving its members goes even further than that, says Rob Anderson, Vice President of Information Technology. From a technological standpoint, the credit union has revamped or replaced all its systems over the past four years. This includes the overhaul of its core processing system and online and mobile banking platform, adding online account opening and online loan applications. 

“There has been a drive to move in a more technology-focused direction as our industry grows,” Anderson says. “We’ve been able to leverage new technological resources to simplify processes for people, both internally and externally, to provide the best member experience possible.”

The response to the new online banking platforms and two new mobile apps, one for consumers and one dedicated to business banking customers, has been overwhelmingly positive. Since its launch, the mobile app has seen a 45% increase in member usage and is garnering much higher ratings in the app store.

The new app was designed with users in mind, with an easy and intuitive layout and interface. There are more self-service tools including card management features, such as blocking your card if it’s lost or stolen, disputing charges and ordering replacement cards. 

The digital banking platform currently has the fastest response time in the industry and has experienced no downtime since it launched.

“We’ve worked to make online and mobile banking simpler to use and easier to navigate,” Anderson says. “The neat thing about launching this new online banking platform is that we have the flexibility to add features and functionalities without changing or interrupting the customer experience.”

Two upgrades members have noticed since the digital rebrand include the introduction of geolocation-based alerts and blocks, activated when a transaction takes place outside of a customer’s home radius, and real-time payments, which remove the two- to three-day waiting period with ACH transactions.

Other improvements are non-member facing, but still have a direct impact on the quality of customer service the credit union can provide its members; improvements such as its network infrastructure to all nine credit union branch locations. This allows for a much faster and more stable experience so members can get more time back in their busy day. 

While there have been loads of tech upgrades, the credit union doesn’t deploy something just because it’s new and shiny. Fort Financial’s leadership works hard to ensure all improvements made are in the best interest of its members. 

“We are a member-owned institution — we don’t deploy a new technology just to say we have it,” Anderson says. “There has to be real value to our members.” 

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