GRAY, Tenn.–Appalachian Community FCU here has selected IMM eSign from IMM, a provider of eSignature and digital transaction solutions, to assist it in providing modern financial tools and services to underserved individuals and small businesses in rural areas of its community where traditional brick and mortar locations are not easily accessible.
The credit union, a socially responsible financial cooperative, serves communities in northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia and eastern Kentucky.
“Our partnership with IMM has been instrumental in advancing our mission to improve the financial health of our community, particularly the vast number of individuals and businesses in Southeast Kentucky, Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia that lack adequate access to quality, financial services,” ACFCU’s Vice President of Technology and Electronic Services Joe Jackson, “We view IMM as an extension of our team and have found their in-depth knowledge of the credit union industry and the continued collaboration between our teams to be invaluable.”
According to IMM, ACFCU’s community includes a service area of approximately 260,000 residents, of which 26% live below the poverty line, and 28% are unbanked or underbanked. Many major banks have left the area due to a lack of population and the high cost of providing adequate bank services.
“With IMM eSign, the credit union can now deliver mainstream financial services and banking capabilities to this underserved market,” the company said. “Members can complete end-to-end transactions in a digital, self-service environment at a time and place that is most convenient to their schedule regardless of the branch’s operating hours.”
Additionally, the lack of viable brick and mortar banking services had left many residents in this area vulnerable to predatory lending, the company added.
Reaching Remote Locations
“Together with IMM, the credit union now provides traditional loan products to members in even the most remote locations,” the company said. “IMM eSign works seamlessly with the credit union’s online loan application and loan origination systems enabling users to complete and submit new account forms, loan applications or loan closing documents from anywhere that is convenient for the user. In 2015, ACFCU originated $62MM in loans 95% of which ($60.2MM) were to underserved communities.
“IMM’s unique ability to interface with our existing systems ensured the digital tools and services were quickly adopted by our employees and our members,” said Jackson. “The feedback we’ve received has been tremendous – the intuitive design ensures it is easy to navigate for all users, regardless of previous technical experience. This is pivotal to ensuring we are able to sustain our momentum and meet the long-term needs of our current members, while continuing to reach underserved individuals and small business owners in our community.”
Easing Conversion
Appalachian Community FCU is also in the midst of converting to Corelation’s Keystone core platform, and cited IMM’s ability to easily and quickly integrate with existing business applications across the organization as a key advantage of IMM eSign.
“ACFCU is truly a leader in its community and is committed to innovation and leveraging technology to provide modern banking tools to a market that would otherwise not have access,” said Michael Ball, VP-Markets & Strategy for IMM. “The credit union can expand its geographic reach without adding new branches or resources. ACFCU is an excellent example of how digital technology can positively impact members, enabling them to quickly complete transactions at their convenience. Not only has the credit union been able to boost productivity across the entire organization, but it also has enriched the overall financial health of an entire region by providing innovative solutions to ensure members have access to modern banking tools and services even in the most rural communities. We are proud to partner with such a forward-thinking credit union – it is this type of innovative approach that propels the entire industry and makes a lasting impact.”
IMM said with eSign for Credit Unions, institutions can deliver a complete end-to-end digital processing environment and eliminate virtually all cumbersome, paper-based procedures in favor of electronic transaction handling.