CU*Answers, the West Michigan CUSO known for providing its enterprise core data processing system, CU*BASE, has recently announced that Heartland Credit Union ($187M) of Springfield, IL, has signed a 7 year Agreement for data processing services. Heartland Credit Union has been serving the Springfield area since 1946, and now provides services to over 27,000 members from four (4) branch locations.
According to Ed Gvazdinskas, President/CEO of Heartland, the decision to upgrade to CU*BASE was approved by the Board of Directors in October, after more than two years of studying, reviewing and analyzing several different data processing vendors. “CU*Answers aligned best with Heartland CU in a number of ways. First and foremost is their unique business model. Being credit union-owned with a board of directors consisting of client/owner credit union CEOs was very appealing,” states Gvazdinskas.
According to the CUSO, much of its success stems from its CUSO model. Credit unions walk hand-in-hand with CU*Answers for software enhancements (which are provided free to CU*BASE clients), and its pricing strategy demonstrates that credit union models charge when they have to, and not just because they can. CU*Answers has also recently released its 2010 Pricing, and is waiving the COLA increase for the third year in a row.
“CU*Answers’ cooperative infrastructure mirrors that of credit unions and their track record of service and client retention speaks volumes to their service commitment,” he continues. “Everyone we encountered in the CU*Answers organization impressed us and treated us as if we were their only credit union client. CU*Answers CEO, Randy Karnes is one of the most impressive and knowledgeable individuals I have met in all my years of being in the credit union industry. Randy knows the CU*BASE system inside and out and his commitment to fairness and doing what is right for his credit unions and his CUSO is reflected in each and every CU*Answers employee we encountered in our many demos, meetings and site visits. CU*Answers definitely possesses all of the core values we expect in a business partner and we are extremely excited to become a CU*BASE user is May 2010.”