A 90-year-old financial institution just crushed it with AI technology.
Baton Rouge Telco Federal Credit Union rolled out Appli‘s AI-powered financial calculators and watched $4 million in loan conversions roll in within the first month. Not bad for a tool that took just a couple of implementation calls to get up and running.
Founded back in 1936 to serve telephone company workers in Louisiana, Baton Rouge Telco has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Today, the credit union serves anyone living, working, or studying across 10 parishes in the Baton Rouge area. But even as they’ve grown into a community institution, they’ve kept their original members close—and now they’re proving that legacy doesn’t mean you can’t innovate.
When Your Old Calculator Just Isn’t Cutting It
Kristin Romero, Chief Experience Officer at Baton Rouge Telco, had a problem. Their existing calculator was basically a black box. Sure, she could see that people were landing on the calculator page, but that’s where the insights ended. Were members actually using the tools? Were they moving forward with loan applications? Cricket sounds.
“It just seemed like a really technology-forward tool,” Romero said about Appli. “It had a great user interface and user experience, and once I saw some of the other credit unions using it, I went to their websites and tried the tools myself. It was easy to navigate and it was on brand.”
Translation: She did her homework, kicked the tires herself, and liked what she saw.
Implementation That Doesn’t Make You Want to Scream
Here’s where things get interesting. Appli didn’t just hand over some generic calculator and wish them luck. The team built and configured custom calculators based on Baton Rouge Telco’s specific rates, loan policies, and branding. The entire process required just a couple of implementation calls before the finished product was ready to plug into the website.
“The Appli team really took care of it for us,” Romero said. “It was a super easy lift.”
If you’ve ever dealt with fintech implementation projects that drag on for months, you know this is basically the unicorn scenario. No endless email chains. No six-month integration timeline. Just a straightforward process that actually worked.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
So what happened once the calculators went live? The results came fast:
- Over $4 million in loan conversion value in just over a month
- 17.7% conversion rate (already hitting Appli’s target range of 15-20%)
- 150 loan applications started and counting
For context, that conversion rate means nearly one in five people who used the calculators took the next step toward actually getting a loan. That’s not just window shopping—that’s real momentum through the lending funnel.
“Appli makes it easy for you. I can get all of my metrics, I can see how they’re helping us convert and drive our funnel,” Romero said. “I mean, why wouldn’t you?”
What’s Next?
Baton Rouge Telco isn’t resting on these early wins. They’re planning to give the calculators more real estate across their website and integrate them into marketing campaigns. Think mobile app push notifications that send members straight to the calculator they actually need, not just generic “check out our loans” messages.
Romero is also curious to see how members will use the calculators’ lead capture feature alongside their existing forms. Since members already use those forms regularly, adding another easy entry point could open up even more opportunities.
Tim Pranger, CEO of Appli, summed it up perfectly: “This is what we want implementation to look like. Baton Rouge Telco gave us their rates and their branding, we built it, and it was on their site. No long back and forth, no heavy lift on their end. That’s the whole point.”
Sometimes the best tech stories aren’t about the flashiest features or the most complex systems. They’re about tools that actually work, implementations that don’t require a PhD to manage, and results that show up fast. This is one of those stories.