Gather FCU has expanded its partnership with CO-OP Financial Services to include contact center services, as the credit union seeks to make itself always immediately available to members, during busy office hours and after-hours.
Gather FCU (www.gatherfcu.org), is a nearly 36,000-member credit union based on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, with $520 million total assets under its control. The credit union is contracting with CO-OP Contact Center for member, card and cardholder dispute resolution services.
“We primarily needed a contact center solution during business hours,” said Justin Ganaden, EVP for Gather FCU. “We often get a heavy influx of calls that we can’t get to right away. We have used call-back services, but we were accumulating about 1,000 per month, so we wanted to ensure a live voice available to our members right away. In addition to overflow services, we plan to have contact center services available after-hours and weekends – eventually 24×7 coverage.”
Gather FCU has been a CO-OP client credit union since 2005. The institution participates in CO-OP ATM and CO-OP Shared Branch networks, uses CO-OP for PIN/Debit Processing and ATM Terminal Driving, and offers CardNav by CO-OP, a card controls and alerts mobile application, to its members.
“We went with CO-OP because we know they do a good job, based on the other services we use them for,” said Ganaden. “During our due diligence, the CO-OP people also gave us a very good sense of the process of how they will work with us and our members. We are confident they will provide excellent service to our members and represent us in the way we want to be represented. And, there is their experience with us – they know our business.
“We are looking for CO-OP to serve as a seamless extension of our credit union, with members able to reach a live agent conveniently during busy times, weekends and after-hours,” Ganaden continued. “We anticipate that our enlarged partnership with CO-OP will also, very importantly, relieve the current pressures on our own call center staff.”
The CO-OP Contact Center, celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2019 as a CO-OP credit union solution, is a 24/7, 365 credit union member, card and lending service organization. The unit includes more than 400 employees in three campuses, serving 400-plus credit union clients. CO-OP Contact Center processes 15,000 loan applications month, and underwrites 10,000 loans. More than 750,000 live agent and IVR calls are handled monthly, of which approximately are 16,000 are Spanish language calls.
“Our team of contact center agents are armed with the most sophisticated technology and training to meet the needs of today’s ‘always-on’ member and provide personalized, empathetic and effortless experiences anywhere and anytime they call,” said Dr. Kathy Snider, SVP, Engage Group Leader, for CO-OP Financial Services. “We are proud to serve Gather FCU members on behalf of their credit union.”
For more on the CO-OP Contact Center, visit www.co-opfs.org/Solutions/Engage/Contact-Center.
About CO-OP Financial Services
CO-OP Financial Services is a payments and financial technology company whose mission is ensuring the success of the credit union movement. CO-OP payments solutions, engagement services and strategic counsel help credit unions optimize member experiences to consistently provide seamless, personalized multi-channel offerings, while delivering secure, sophisticated fraud mitigation service. For more information, visit www.co-opfs.org.
Contact:
Bill Prichard, APR
Director, Public Relations
CO-OP Financial Services
800.782.9042, ext. 3450
