The challenge
Tied up in manual cross border payments
The IDB Global Federal Credit Union is a not-for- profit, financial service cooperative owned by over 12,000 members and sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank community (IDB and IDB Invest). From humble beginnings over 60 years ago, IDB has grown into one of the top international payment credit unions in the United States, with a strong commitment to community and DEI.
IDB’s diverse member base, including 3,800 international members, means cross-border payments are a significant part of its offering. “At any given time, around 35% of our members are making regular international payments, whether they live overseas and have expenses back home, or have family in their home country that they send money too,” explains Kia Ware, Chief Information Officer at IDB Global Federal Credit Union.
In the past, IDB relied on an outdated international payment solution that required manual processing, which was inefficient and complex. “To make a cross-border payment, our members had to log into our online banking platform, and enter their wire information into a form, and then our staff would manually transfer that information over to our international payment solution,” says Ware. “This double entry process consumed resources and left the door open for human error that could impact customer service.”
In an increasingly globalized world, IDB needed to empower its international members to self-serve and initiate fast, simple, and cost- effective cross border payments through digital banking (24/7), without entering a branch or contacting a representative.
The solution
Custom, digital self-service international payments
IDB’s previous international wire processor was unable to meet its ambitions for a more efficient solution, and other vendors it spoke to required complex and lengthy integrations. Convera was already processing the outbound cross border payments that were manually created by the IDB team and stepped in with a solution.
“Convera came to us with the perfect strategy, because it would overlay with the systems we already had in place. We didn’t have to worry about the time and expense of full conversion to a completely new system,” said Ware.
“The team were very committed to understanding our business objectives and members’ needs. They conducted multiple workshops to gather insights so they could design a customized solution for us,” Ware continued. “Now, we have this powerful platform that allows members to initiate cross border payments through our mobile app and online banking.”
The new solution integrates with their digital banking platform, Candescent (NCR), and leverages Convera’s hosted platform, GlobalPay for Financial Institutions (GPFI). IDB’s members can now log in to the credit union’s online banking platform and easily initiate a cross-border transaction (GPFI), which IDB’s wire team can review and approve for release. No more manual processes.
To deliver an efficient end-to-end solution, Convera integrated GPFI with IDB’s core banking provider. Users also get a more seamless experience via new features like balance look-up and debit funds functionality. This means a member’s account can be debited upon payment creation/approval, removing the manual debiting of accounts and ensuring members have sufficient cleared funds for the transaction.
The results
Staff efficiencies and improved customer service
IDB highlights three key benefits to the new solution: increased efficiency, improved customer service, and empowering members to make cross-border payments in local currency.
“Convera’s customized solution has removed manual intervention from the payment process, freeing up staff to focus on strategic tasks and minimizing the potential for human error,” said Ware.
“We are a very lean credit union, just 55 people, with assets under management of
$850 million, so creating that extra capacity for our staff is super important. It might not sound like much, but it means a lot in a business where the Board is very reluctant to increase staffing numbers.”
“Our members are experiencing efficiencies too. And, with the majority of our members making recurring payments to the same people and country, we’ve had lots of positive feedback about the ability to save a template in the platform they can easily pull up and reuse. It’s been a real value-add from a customer service perspective.”
Where IDB members were previously limited to sending US dollars only, now they also benefit from the ability to make international payments in the beneficiary’s local currency.
This means there are no exchange rate surprises; the sender knows exactly how much the transaction will cost them, and the beneficiary receives the full amount in their local currency.
Looking to the future, IDB has ambitions to create a one-stop, self-serve, payments hub on its website. “We view international payments as a promising and important service for our member base, and the dream is to provide members with a payment hub where they choose from a variety of international transaction methods. We’re working towards that with the Convera team now and feel confident that their expertise can help us achieve our goal.”
Where 90% of vendors want to nickel and dime us, Convera have been a true advisor. Our partnership doesn’t feel transactional. It’s been very consultative and collaborative as we work together towards a common goal.”
Kia Ware
Chief Information Officer at IDB Global Federal Credit Union
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