Xtend, Inc. a multi-owned cooperative CUSO based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, recently started a project to migrate the online chat service within its Xtension Call Center to a new platform. Xtension’s LiveChat service, which was rolled out to more than a dozen of its CUSO and credit union clients throughout the past year, is being migrated from an in-house solution to Webex’s WebACD service.

CUSO President Scott Collins says, “Our early beta deployments have validated that online chat is an integral component of a credit union’s overall member support strategy, as well as for CUSO customer service. And it was clear early on that we would need to identify a platform that was able to scale to meet the demand we anticipate. The team evaluated several good solutions, but we felt that WebACD offered us the most long-term flexibility and ability to grow.”

Collins noted that Xtend worked closely with the technical teams from sister CUSO CU*Answers to ensure WebACD could be integrated into its core It’s Me 247 online banking solution. “The CU*Answers client base is approaching 200 credit unions,” says Collins, “and we wanted to make sure our solution would be turnkey for that key market segment. We anticipate demand for each of our three planned offerings: full-shift Xtension agents, CU agents supplemented by overflow/after-hour Xtension agents, and a CU-staffed deployment. WebACD gives us the capability to deploy each of these as we grow.”

Collins closes by noting that when it becomes generally available later this year, Xtend’s online chat would be delivered “at the aggressive price point that our credit union partners expect from their CUSO.”