Fifty loans in four hours.
That’s what one AmFirst Federal Credit Union funder pulled off using Saris, beating her previous best full-day total of 45.
Saris, an agentic workflow platform for banks and credit unions (think AI that carries out multi-step tasks, not just answers questions), announced that AmFirst is using it to automate document validation for indirect auto loans. Indirect loans are the ones that arrive through car dealers. The payoff: roughly 75% less processing time per deal, and more room to court new dealers without hiring.
A Record Year With a Paper Problem
AmFirst, a $2.7 billion-asset credit union, hit record indirect lending volumes. Good news, except it landed on the funding team’s desk. Staff spent much of every day matching vehicle identification numbers, borrower details and other fields across stacks of loan documents, making sure each requirement was met before money went out the door.
Hiring more people was the obvious fix. It was also the one leadership didn’t want. Auto lending rises and falls, and payroll tends to stay put after the surge fades. They wanted capacity that could flex with the market.
What the AI Agents Actually Do
Saris agents check required fields across loan documents and system records against AmFirst’s own policies. When something doesn’t line up, they flag it and cite the source, so a person can chase down the discrepancy before it turns into rework or a title headache for a member.
The agents operate inside the existing lending workflow. Nobody has to learn a new system, and humans still make every final funding call.
The results at the desk speak for themselves. AmFirst’s fastest funder now handles a deal in about four minutes. That pace let her fund 50 loans in four hours, topping her old single-day best of 45.
Faster Funding, Stronger Dealer Ties
With time freed up, employees can resolve exceptions, build dealer relationships and train colleagues. AmFirst is now aiming for funding turnaround of 60 to 90 minutes from deal receipt, a speed that helps it win new dealer business.
“Growing our indirect lending business cannot mean adding another funder every time volume spikes,” said Patrick Wiginton, director of lending services at AmFirst. “We needed a way to support more business while managing the fluctuations that come with auto lending. Saris has far exceeded the vision I had from our first conversation, giving us great confidence that we can grow our dealer network and deliver the service those relationships depend on.”
Saris sees AmFirst as a model for turning strong demand into sustainable growth. When document review takes a fraction of the usual time, experienced staff can spend their hours on the decisions and relationships that move the business forward.
For AmFirst, the math is simple: more loans, faster funding, same team.