IBS Journal February 2015
WHO? Neighbors FCU WHAT? Fiserv’s DNA core system
Fiserv has picked up a deal with Neigh- bors Federal Credit Union for its DNA core system and auxiliary solutions, such as DNAweb (consumer and busi- ness online banking), Mobiliti (mobile banking with mobile capture), Popmon- ey (personal payments), and Checkfree RXP (bill payments). The credit union is replacing its in-house legacy Cube sys- tem, also from Fiserv, that has been in place since 1997. The in-house set-up will be kept with the new system, says Kathie Gill, president and CEO at Neigh- bors FCU, ‘due to the skillset of our team, flexibility offered by the DNA platform, and the increased control we’d have over our technology environment’. The DNA system and the vast majority of its ancillary services are set to go live on 31 October 2015, with a few additional products going live within 60 days of the main conversion. Although the credit union had pri-
or experience with Fiserv, other vendors were evaluated. Symitar (a subsidiary of Jack Henry) with its Episys core system and D+H with Phoenix were the main contenders, with in-depth reference
checks, site visits and meetings with key staff being carried out before a decision was made. Gill says that the credit union wanted a platform that would allow it to ‘service its members on a single core system’, and to minimise the number of vendors. The organisation currently has member data stored on a number of dif- ferent platforms from a host of suppli- ers. Integration was also preferred over interfacing, with Gill commenting that the credit union believed Fiserv’s DNA and its accompanying auxiliary products were the best fit for its requirements in this regard. Another reason for the choice, she
adds, was that Fiserv had done a good job in designing and developing its data- base, not only for the growth of Neigh- bors FCU but also ‘for the future growth of the DNA product itself’. The open architecture of DNA will also allow the credit union to interface it to non-Fiserv solutions if needed, she says. The project is currently entering
the conversion process, with product codes being established and work on the set-up portion of the project being
carried out. The first milestone will take place shortly with a first data cut. Four data cuts are planned in total, with a mock conversion pencilled in prior to the go-live date. The multiple data cuts are intended to minimise the chances of issues cropping up once the system goes live, as it is not possible ‘to uncover all issues regarding settings until you begin to operate the system in a live environ- ment’, says Gill. Ultimately, the cred- it union is striving to ensure minimum negative impact on its members, and is relying on Fiserv’s experience to ensure a smooth transition, she states. Overall Gill believes that ‘DNA will
create great efficiencies in the organi- sation’, with ‘numerous opportunities to improve internal procedures and pro- cesses’ already being identified in the early stages of the project. Neighbors FCU, established in 1954,
is a not-for-profit financial cooperative headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisi- ana. It is the largest community-char- tered credit union in Louisiana and has $704 million in assets and a member base of 73,185.
WHO? Alpha Capital WHAT? Oracle FSS’s Flexcube core system
Alpha Capital, a greenfield bank in Ghana, is gearing up for launch in the first week of February. The operations will be underpinned by Oracle FSS’s Flexcube core banking system (version 12). It has been a swift implementation, says Manas- seh Afoh, CIO of the bank, having started in mid-November and now being in the UAT stage. The implementation has been car- ried out by JMR Infotech, with a lot of the work done remote- ly, says Afoh. ‘We made JMR Infotech aware from the outset that we could not afford a lengthy implementation or to have many people onsite and flying people in.’ He compliments the integrator on its work: ‘it has been done with minimal mistakes and the minimum number of people. It has been a refreshing approach.’ Alpha Capital wanted a system that was already established in Ghana, with adequate local support, resources and knowl- edge among banking staff, Afoh says. The bank reached out to a number of international suppliers and also talked to a region- al vendor, Kenya-based Craft Silicon. Of the international offer- ings, Temenos’ T24 and Oracle FSS’s Flexcube were shortlisted. Afoh comments that the bank was also interested in Infosys’
Finacle, but felt that the vendor was not keen, perhaps deeming Alpha Capital to be too small. System adaptability was an important factor in the selec- tion. Changes needed to be able to be introduced by parame- terisation and business processes should be modified without turning to a third party, Afoh comments. Another criterion was the availability of the documentation. ‘We wanted to be able to download the system and test it
before we committed,’ says Afoh. ‘We felt that a product walk- through would not be enough.’ Whilst this was possible with Flexcube, Temenos’ local partner, Global Solutions, whom Alpha Capital contacted, could not offer the same with T24. ‘We are small but forward-thinking,’ Afoh states. ‘We wanted
to be sure that we have a package in place that can support our current and future requirements.’ Alpha Capital is ‘a communi- ty bank’, he explains, focused on retail customers with middle to lower income, and also SMEs. It will open for business with two branches, an agency banking network and ATMs, as well as internet and mobile banking services, including digital wallets (also underpinned by Oracle).
© IBS Intelligence 2015
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