Paving the way for CDCUs with CU Impact

Last fall, we shared a very exciting and meaningful, announcement: we forged a new partnership with the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation) to create CU Impact, a shared core banking platform designed specifically to help credit unions deliver affordable financial services to low-income members in underserved communities, which will have a massive impact on community development credit unions (CDCUs) and the communities in which they operate. We are now excited to announce that this partnership has been officially finalized, and we cannot wait to get the ball rolling. Not only is this an exciting new business venture for EPL, but also a great cause we were excited to get behind.  

Each year, 90 million Americans living in unbanked or underbanked households pay more than $90 billion in fees and interest to payday lenders and other lenders outside the financial mainstream. Most CDCUs, similar to other CUSOs and credit unions, have instilled within them the great desire to provide exceptional customer service. However, they are often strapped for resources, and therefore the advanced technology needed to provide a superior member experience. This is part of the reason we stepped in to help—EPL wanted to empower the Federation with the software solutions and services necessary to allow member CDCUs to expand access to safe, affordable banking products and services, and reach a greater number of underserved households.

Our core solution, i-POWER®, is known for its modern versatility, flexible integration capabilities and convenient plug-and-play functionality. This perfectly positioned us to work with the Federation, alongside our parent company, Dedagroup, to leverage the modern platform i-POWER® and develop CU Impact so that CDCUs have the opportunity to provide exceptional service, measure results, efficiently report and consolidate a number of essential tasks. By aggregating the accounting, compliance and processing functions across credit unions with a shared mission, CU Impact achieves economies of scale that allow credit unions to invest more in their members and communities.

Since our recent announcement, we have been working tirelessly to perfect the rollout of this product—after all, it will be serving more than 5 million residents of low-income urban, rural and reservation-based communities! We believe hearing from the people that will be using our software is most effective and influential, which is why a software advisory committee of leading community development credit unions will prioritize CU Impact software design and enhancements. CU Impact will be the first core platform that will support, deliver and measure the impact of credit union products and services that build the financial security of low-income members.

This initiative has been in development since 2013, when Citi Community Development provided financial support and expert insight to the Federation to determine the viability of building a dedicated core banking system to power the growth and impact of credit unions. Under the terms of the agreement, the Federation will purchase preferred stock in EPL, and we will match the Federation’s investment in CU Impact on an ongoing basis. Additionally, The W.K. Kellogg Foundation recently granted $559,500 for enhancements to CU Impact for the automation of small dollar loans and matched savings accounts.

Needless to say, we are thrilled to be a part of this meaningful and exciting venture, and look forward to our software having the opportunity to make a true difference for these CDCUs and the underserved, low-income individuals that they serve.

Robin Kolvek

Interim CEO

EPL, Inc.

2015 in review: An open letter from EPL’s CEO

The start of a new year affords me two unique opportunities—a chance to reflect in earnest on the successes and failures over the course of the past year, and to affirm strategic goals and areas of focus moving forward.

As easy as it is to get caught up in day-to-day issues, it’s imperative that we, as a team, take a step back and look at the big picture—to piece together the puzzle and appreciate where we stand today in comparison to one year ago. With great confidence, I can say that, to me, 2015 represented 365 days of unprecedented forward movement, growth and visibility for EPL, its customers and its industry partners.

2015 was the year that Dedagroup ICT network entered the U.S. market and identified our company as its first partner by making a multimillion dollar investment in our team. The effects of this have been overwhelmingly positive, providing our team with technological and capital resources that have propelled us from being a relatively small core solutions provider to an industry disruptor that is part of a global brand generating over $3 billion in gross revenue. EPL’s people have always been the driving force behind the successes we’ve enjoyed, and now our team is equipped better than ever to dominate the competition and capture significant new market share. 

EPL’s reputation for exceptional service is rooted in our brand’s identity—customers know it, and so do our competitors. That fact that 2015 marked the return of a former long-time customer, North Alabama Educators Credit Union (NAECU), speaks volumes about the incredible value we create by delivering industry-leading service and solutions. Customers like NAECU who have experienced the EPL difference find that big-box providers simply aren’t equipped to provide the responsiveness and attention that we give our customers every single day.

The warmth of the summer brought a contagious momentum that perforated the room at our 2015 Customer Conference in Orlando, Fla., where we introduced our Dedagroup partners and unveiled EPL’s new direction. We gathered feedback, socialized and together looked toward the future. As we reconvened in the fall at our Product Advisory Team meeting to finalize our new product roadmap, it became clear to me that this palpable momentum had not waivered, but instead gathered steam.

And gather steam we did! Soon after the Product Advisory Team meeting, a strategic partnership with the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions was announced to develop CU Impact, a  core banking platform designed to scale the delivery of innovative products and services offered by credit unions operating in low-income and underserved communities. Throughout 2015, our skilled team was able to  develop new proprietary solutions and deliver 12 releases, including four major product releases for i-POWER®, with areas of focus in accounts payable and lending, as well compliance, security and technology enhancements.

Also, in the fall, our team was thrilled to announce that EPL’s board approved a measure to eliminate the TRiP charge from our customers’ invoices, saving the collective group approximately $1 million per year. TRiP highlighted six specific areas of technology development—security, client platform support, application architecture, database and database architecture, integration services, and hardware and operations—and many key milestones have already been reached. EPL’s continued focus on technology development will ensure the long-term sustainability and viability of i-POWER®.

Internally, we recalibrated our leadership hierarchy, assigning new roles and responsibilities designed to increase growth through an intensified concentration on product and business development. With open arms, the EPL team welcomed our Dedagroup NA colleagues and their wealth of expertise into our offices as additional resources to help us achieve the strategic goals set forth by our Product Advisory Team. The progress we’ve made thus far led us to a consensus that in 2016, in lieu of holding our annual Customer Conference, we will double down on our Product Advisory Team meetings and initiatives, incorporating regional meetings as requested.

Looking back over these tremendous accomplishments, it would not be a stretch to say that perhaps 2015 was our best year to-date. What I can say with certainty is that this past year was only a glimmer of what is to come for our team and our partners at Dedagoup NA.

2016 will see the integration of a real-time general ledger, a new in-house credit card module, improved batch credit card interfaces, new relationship pricing functionality and a few other exciting surprises for our loyal customers.

I’ll leave you with this—none of this would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our entire team.

Together we solve problems, develop innovative solutions, support one another’s creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, and constantly challenge the status quo. Ordinary efforts don’t produce extraordinary results, and it’s evident to me that nothing about EPL is ordinary. So today, I express my sincerest gratitude to each member of the EPL team for your tremendous efforts, and to each of our customers and partners for traveling the road to greatness with us. I assure you the best is yet to come.



EPL Staff

EPL, Inc.