Partnering with Franklin Associate Solutions LLC, the credit union owned service provider now has a “manned” presence in the northwest US.

CU*Answers, with main headquarters in Michigan, has found a way to “reach out and touch” the underserved credit union market in the Northwest corner of the country. Today, CU*Answers announced a partnership with newly formed Franklin Associate Solutions LLC, (FAS) based in Liberty Lake, Washington, near Spokane. This partnership brings a local processing, support and development presence of the CU*Answers flagship CU*BASE® credit union data processing software and associated services to a five state area: Washington, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho.

Randy Karnes, CEO at CU*Answers says, “CU*Answers began looking for better ways to reach the credit union market in the northwest and found we didn’t have to look very hard. Roy Franklin and Rick Pisani, had recently formed FAS, an experienced team of programmer’s with a commitment to credit unions; a perfect partner to deliver the CU*BASE® solution as well as a rapid response to issues and specific enhancement requests targeted to the northwest market.”

“We are more than a re—marketer, franchise or a repackaging firm, say Roy Franklin, FAS CEO. We are a unique delivery and development channel for CU*BASE. Partnering with CU*Answers, FAS can now offer a premier data processing solution in tandem with our own unique approach to credit union service and technology development. Our focus is providing value added services and CU*Answers empowers credit unions to achieve new member service and staff productivity results.”

Spokane Media FCU has been running on the CU*Answers Midwest data center for more than 2 years. Debie Bauer has been the CEO for 7 years and knows her stuff. She came to the credit union with several years experience in the credit union data processing field. “I chose CU*Answers because their approach to data processing comes from a credit union perspective since they are a wholly owned CUSO. I feel we have a partnership, not just a contract. Keeping up with technology on our small credit union budget has always been a challenge but SMFCU has grown leaps and bounds forward from a technological standpoint. CU*Answers new partnership with FAS will be a great opportunity for Northwest credit unions.” say Bauer.

Spokane Firefighters Credit Union (SFCU) of Spokane signed with FAS in September for a conversion to the CU*Base processing system. According to Todd Powell, President of SFCU, “After looking at several different vendors, we’ve decided upon the CU*Answers solution. We expect that FAS will provide the software and service that will allow us to provide the best service for our members.”