WASHINGTON – Symitar Systems has landed its largest credit union client ever in U.S. Central. Credit Union Times first reported last August (CU Times, Aug. 21) that U.S. Central had selected Symitar for its core processing, and the two parties made it official at CUNA's GAC. Symitar President/CEO Bruce Cormode said many of the commercial services Symitar has developed in recent years are a perfect fit for U.S. Central, which has a system more commercial-oriented than the typical credit union. U.S. Central will move to Symitar's Episys system. U.S. Central and six corporates were involved in the decision. It's a decision that affects not just U.S. Central, but 24 corporates because U.S. Central's core system, currently known as the Corporate Credit Union Network, is the core system for those 24 corporates. The CCUN system is driven by EDS. EDS has served U.S. Central for more than 20 years. According to Carol McLaury, U.S. Central's VP of Payment Technology Services, there are seven corporates, mostly large that weren't using CCUN, but she says the move to Symitar may make them reconsider. "For the big boys, one of the things they were looking for is open architecture and control," said McLaury. She said Symitar's "robust, open database" may lure some big corporates back. "There's a very high level of enthusiasm. We're in the sales process right now and there are some written and verbal commitments (from other corporates)," she said. McLaury said the EDS system was stable and reliable, but the technology is outdated, and the new Symitar system will allow corporates to give their member credit unions better access to their accounts. For more seamless integration, Cormode hopes that the 24 corporates will all convert to Symitar, but for those that don't they will still be able to access their U.S. Central accounts through a Web-based front end. The CCUN aspect means there will be some additional development, development Credit Union Times has learned kept some credit union data processors from seriously pursuing U.S. Central. "There will be additional development required that will take us into 2004 and probably 2005," said Cormode The conversion process will be long and gradual according to Roger Dick, U.S. Central's Director of Public Affairs/Communications. "It's going to be a fairly long-term, carefully managed process in converting people over. I know it will go well into 2004 and maybe even 2005 before it's all said and done," said Dick. Dick would not disclose what other processors were in the running. With $30 billion in assets, U.S. Central becomes Symitar's largest credit union client. Symitar, a Jack Henry subsidiary, has traditionally served some of the nation's largest credit unions, but has developed an online solution to move down the asset scale. Jack Henry has also acquired CU Solutions, which serves small CUs. "This contract will not only provide a solid long-term revenue stream, but also delvers a strong endorsement of our technology to the credit union community," said Michael Henry, Chairman and CEO of Jack Henry. [email protected]