Case Study: UMe Credit Union Extends its Distinct Brand Across Digital Channels for an Improved Member Experience with Bankjoy

Background: 

UMe Credit Union, headquartered in Burbank, California with over $320 million in assets, was originally established in 1940 by a group of Burbank Unified School District teachers, under the name Burbank Teachers Federal Credit Union. Today, UMe has evolved into much more than a traditional financial institution.

With a dedicated team of 40 employees and 17,000 members, UMe goes above and beyond the role of a typical financial institution, focusing on delivering exceptional service and support that wows their members. With a solid brand reputation and success grounded in its genuine dedication to its community, UMe strives to create a superior experience each time members walk into the branch or log into online banking. 

Problem: 

In its continuous pursuit of providing exceptional service, and maintaining its commitment to its brand and members, UMe embarked on a search for a new digital banking provider. The credit union sought a partner that could deliver a modern digital banking experience that aligned with UMe’s brand and made it easy for members to engage digitally. 

UMe’s previous digital banking platform had an outdated look and feel, causing a noticeable brand disconnect, as UMe's fun and distinct branding did not align with its legacy banking technology. App reviews for the previous digital banking platform were also low, indicating a lackluster digital experience for members. 

Given the ever-evolving technology landscape and shifting member expectations, UMe wanted to embrace a more innovative, progressive digital banking solution that would elevate the member experience, match its distinct brand identity, and propel its future growth. UMe began evaluating vendors who could not only help the credit union bridge its current technology gap, but could also grow and adapt long-term as member needs evolve.

Solution:

As part of the selection process, UMe initially assessed five digital banking vendors. The credit union carefully considered multiple factors to find the ideal digital banking provider that would align with its growth plans and cultural values. Among its requirements, UMe sought a provider that shared a similar culture as their own and would help them deploy a platform that served as an extension of the credit union’s brand. The credit union’s leadership team is deeply invested in providing the best experience possible for members and they wanted a digital banking partner that would be equally invested in their success. UMe also needed a digital platform that would easily connect with other third-party systems and their existing vendors.  

After thoroughly vetting multiple vendors, UMe ultimately selected Bankjoy in a unanimous decision. UMe selected Bankjoy over other digital banking vendors because of Bankjoy’s ability to customize the platform to align with UMe’s fun and distinct brand that sets the credit union apart from other financial institutions. 

Bankjoy also stood out because of the company’s future vision for its digital banking platform and the strong relationships built between the two organizations and their executive leadership teams. UMe was particularly impressed by Mike Duncan, Bankjoy’s CEO, who was personally involved in the sales process. Duncan, who has experience managing software development for credit unions and is now the founder and CEO of Bankjoy, demonstrated his dedication to helping UMe with its digital banking early on. 

“UMe unanimously selected Bankjoy as our partner because of their innovative online and mobile banking tools, visionary product roadmap, the cultural alignment between our teams and their commitment to meeting UMe’s unique needs and vision for digital banking,” said Anita Hutchinson, CMO and Vice President of Marketing at UMe Credit Union. “Our team also appreciated the support and attention from Bankjoy’s leaders, including their CEO, Mike Duncan and COO, Weiwei Duncan. It impressed us to see that their leadership cared so much about our success.”

Results:

Since partnering with Bankjoy, UMe has been able to further its mission and empower members to easily manage their finances digitally with the new mobile and online banking platform. Bankjoy’s platform integrates directly with UMe Credit Union’s core banking system, Jack Henry’s Symitar. Thanks to Bankjoy’s seamless integration capabilities, UMe is able to provide a feature-rich and consistent digital banking experience across multiple channels. 

Bankjoy’s digital banking platform truly embodies the UMe brand. Not only does the platform align with the brand’s look and feel, it also serves as a natural extension of it and UMe’s team proudly feels a sense of ownership, as if they designed the platform. 

UMe has already witnessed remarkable results following the implementation of Bankjoy’s platform. With Bankjoy’s support, UMe was able to engage members before and after the transition using blog posts, emails and social media to build enthusiasm and adoption of the new digital services. In those communications, UMe was able to clearly explain the new features and updated functionalities that were going to be available in the new mobile banking app. 

Additionally, because of Bankjoy’s integration with Symitar, each member’s login and password for digital banking remained the same, which minimized any disruptions for members. Within the first week of going live with Bankjoy, UMe had about 40 percent of members successfully log into the new digital banking platform and the credit union expects logins to continue to grow over time.

“From day one, we have enjoyed working with Bankjoy and the UMe team is proud to offer an enhanced digital banking experience for our members. Bankjoy has been able to translate UMe’s brand and carry it through the digital channels our members engage with each and every day. Bankjoy has done this exceptionally well and they have continued to be attentive to our needs as a credit union,” said Hutchinson. 

Robert Einstein, UMe’s CEO and President, believes in the importance of providing great digital options for the UMe membership and was involved in the project every step of the way, adding “We have been very impressed with Bankjoy’s dedication to the future, including a roadmap that is full of new and exciting features. Bankjoy’s platforms continuously improve, and for the first time in working with a digital vendor, we truly feel like we have a partner. Bankjoy really listens to their clients and have already rolled out several enhancements that we requested that are new to Bankjoy and will benefit their existing clients.”