evolve FCU added Signature Debit and In-House Credit processing services from Co-op (coop.org), along with the fintech’s Insights Center self-service business intelligence and reporting platform for analysis of portfolio data. The reason? “This is simple: Greater efficiency and reduced costs,” said Ken Walters, President/CEO of evolve FCU. “When those two things are combined we free up staff, reduce operating expenses and improve the bottom line.”

 A long-standing Co-op client, Walters said “evolve FCU is utilizing technology to become more efficient in pursuing our goal of people helping people. With this new agreement, we are seeking a faster, more convenient experience for both our cardholders and our evolve FCU team with debit and credit processing. Additional services from Co-op will help us with a quicker turnaround on plastic card development.”

 Awarding its Signature Debit and In-House Credit business to Co-op entailed changing transaction processing providers. “Since we have been a part of Co-op for several years, we know what to expect – great service, and that is what motivated us to undertake this project,” said Walters. “When you move from one processor to another it is not always an easy transition, but after working with Co-op we knew that this was going to be a smart economic move for us.”

 The credit union opened its doors in 1936 as El Paso Employees FCU before rebranding as evolve FCU in 2012. Today, evolve FCU (evolvefcu.org) has more than 18,000 members and $363 million in assets. “evolve FCU is turning back the clock to when co-ops were true co-ops,” said Walters. “We are proud of the fact that we have given back more than $12 million to our members since 2015 in the form of patronage dividends. This is another reason why it is incumbent upon us to operate efficiently and cost-effectively.”

 Prior to the agreement, evolve FCU was already a participant in the nationwide Co-op ATM and Co-op Shared Branch networks. Co-op Debit provides a single platform for PIN and Signature processing to streamline transaction management as well as helping to prevent and manage fraud with minimal disruption to both member and institution. Co-op In-House Credit processing incorporates services such as card fulfillment, fraud prevention, loyalty programs and business intelligence.

 “Along with its name change in 2012, evolve FCU adopted a truly progressive approach to interacting with the modern member,” said Matt Kardell, Chief Revenue Officer, Co-op. “Their decision to work with us to meet their debit and credit processing needs is an entry point to the entire ecosystem of Co-op advanced payments technology. We look forward to helping them serve their members even more holistically in the future.”