Grand Rapids, Michigan-based cooperative CUSO Xtend and Seattle, Washington-based Zipwhip announced a new partnership that enables the credit union customers of Xtend to use their existing landline, VoIP, and toll free phone numbers for two-way text messaging with their members. By giving members “Choice over Voice” and allowing them to engage with credit unions in any medium they prefer, Xtend and Zipwhip believe that this new partnership will further strengthen the credit unions’ already member first engagement strategies.

Xtend President Scott Collins said: “We are excited to introduce Zipwhip’s solutions to our network of credit unions. This service will help our credit unions leverage a new channel of communication for their members, and do so cost-effectively. We encourage our customer-owners to deploy as many communication channels as possible so the member can choose the one that best suits them, and I see Zipwhip filling a valuable gap for members that prefer interacting via text.”

Zipwhip, a two-way conversational and informational texting platform is designed for easy deployment in contact centers, collections departments, loan servicing/operations teams, and new accounts. With growing adoption in the credit union sector, two-way text messaging is seeing success reducing hold times, call abandonment, and improving member experiences.

Zipwhip CEO John Lauer added: “We are excited to partner with Xtend and complement their member retention strategies with two-way texting. Because our platform doesn’t require opt-in and is designed for conversational and informational messaging, we align with the engagement models and initiatives of credit unions of all asset sizes.”

“Combined, we now offer a suite of products and services enabling credit unions to implement a comprehensive omni-channel approach to member engagement.” said Lauer.