When Synergy Credit Union asked us to help them improve their account opening process in 2008, we found a solution so thorough and innovative that it has garnered the 2012 National Credit Union Innovation Award. This Innovation Award, presented annually by Credit Union Central of Canada, acknowledges credit unions that break new ground with creative new products, services, practices or programs. The Account Opening Tool that we developed for Synergy Credit Union was recognized as the most innovative new financial services product in the industry.

Developing a product of this caliber meant truly understanding the benefits of the account opening for Synergy CU. As our CTO Keith Ginter says, ‘The account opening is such an invaluable touch point for a credit union. Creating a tool that would empower staff to get the most possible value out of those first important moments with a member was our end goal.’

Working closely with key members of the Synergy CU team, we were able to exceed that end goal, developing a comprehensive Account Opening Tool that:

• reduces the account opening process to 20 minutes
• puts members’ needs at the core of the account opening process
• puts account opening staff at ease
• automatically offers product suggestions based on members’ profiles
• increases sales from 7 products per member to 8.5 products per member
• saves Synergy CU $100,000 in operational costs per year

On top of that, it allows credit unions to integrate every product through one sales process and to truly place its focus on meeting members’ needs. As Ginter remarked, ‘Receiving this award affirms that we have achieved our core objectives.’

As with everything we do, we continue to ask ourselves how we can make this award-winning product even better. Our answer to that question is that we will continue to enhance the Account Opening Tool with additional products, services and technology partners.

Our partnership with Synergy CU led us to the development of a groundbreaking product that credit unions across the country are adopting at a rapid rate. Our CEO Christian Clapton says, ‘We are very grateful for the opportunity to work with such great partners like Wayne Zubiak, Joanne Freeman and their team from Synergy CU.’

As for what’s next, Clapton says, ‘Developing this Account Opening Tool has given us tremendous insight into how we can leverage experiences, relationships and interfaces to make credit unions unquestionable leaders in the financial industry in our country. To that end, we are very excited to offer Canadian credit unions cumulus – your branch in the cloud – a fully-integrated virtual branch that will take your credit union to entirely new heights.’

2012 National Credit Union Innovation Award – Synergy Credit Union

WEBINAR: Discover how your credit union can experience the same money-saving, efficiency-boosting results by using the Account Opening Tool. Join our free webinar on Wednesday, May 16th at 10 am MDT.