CHEYENNE, Wyo. – A holiday loan program here that became the most popular present and town before becoming an “operational nightmare” has returned from the North Pole after some fixes were made and is once again being unwrapped.
The $961-million Blue FCU introduced its holiday loan program several years ago with simple terms: no credit check, must be a member for at least 90 days, $1,200 maximum and a 12-month term.
“We greatly underestimated the popularity of this product,” said Blue FCU COO Andrew Shaw. “Members loved it, but it soon became an operational nightmare for us.”
The credit union reported that initially members were required to visit a branch to request the holiday loan, but the process was slow, often leaving unhappy members waiting in the branch for longer than expected. Seeking to improve the process, Blue FCU said it partnered with Aurora, Colo.-based DaLand Solutions to relieve the “pain points.”
The result of the collaboration is the loan remains in place, but the process for applying is now a completely automated, self-service process. Members request the loan while logged into online banking, so they’ve already been authenticated. Direct deposit serves as income verification, and all signatures are captured electronically, Blue FCU reported.
“The system we created with DaLand builds the loan, funds it, and deposits the money into the member’s account automatically,” Shaw said. “As long as the member has direct deposit, they could have the money in their account in as little as five to 10 minutes.”
Blue FCU has nearly 74,000 members.