CASPER, Wyo. - Step-by-step, the paperless office is takingshape at Reliant Federal Credit Union. The $55 million institutionis among the first of the more than 700 credit unions served bycore technology provider IntegraSys to deploy the Fiserv unit'sWeb-based document storage systems. Two of the software platformsthat Reliant has been using for about a year now are the LoanAdvantage lending system - which includes digital signature captureand storage - and the e-fichency document archiving and storagesystem, which CEO Steve Higginson calls "one of the greatestproducts that's come out in the past few years." He says, "We useit for everything we scan and store electronically, and we're eventrying to catch up with our old loan documents now stored on paperin our file room. We're also trying to do the same with boardpackets. "Basically, our intention is essentially to take any paperwe use in the credit union and instead create and store itelectronically off site." Besides saving physical space, theWeb-based storage and archival system also provides disasterrecovery backup "in case we have a fire or tornado or some othermajor problem in our own facility," Higginson says. "The LoanAdvantage and e-fichency systems also both really help us improveefficiency between our three branches in two cities, one of them 50miles away in Douglas," Higginson says. "Because it's accessibleover the Web, we can share documents and pull up a lot of documentswherever and whenever we need them. "How much paper are we actuallysaving? It's still a little early for us to say yet, but we doanticipate with the other enhancements coming along, we'll start tosee hundreds of dollars a month in savings," he says. "It's comingin steps." The step-by-step process works for both cultural andtechnical reasons, says Sara Brooks, senior vice president forstrategy and offerings development at Texas-based IntegraSys."Electronic, paperless processing is really new to a lot of ourclients, so we talk to them about implementing it in steps," shesays. "Sometimes they just want one feature, such as capturing IDs,and then not use anything else until they absorb that and see howthey want to use it. Then they can think about moving onto the nextstep, perhaps loan documents." As Tim Watson, who heads upIntegraSys' imaging systems, says, "It's like with any new approachto how you do your work. The key with paperless processing is tomake your life easier, not more complicated." That said, theprocess has not been without hiccups at Reliant FCU. "We knew whenwe went with this program as one of the first adapters that therewould be some problems," Higginson says. "But we have a great ITadministrator here who really enjoys these kinds of challenges."And we also knew IntegraSys would be willing to work with us andresolve them to our satisfaction, and so far there has been nothingto discourage us from wanting to go forward," he says. Higginsonalso has this to say about being among the first to go first:"We've discovered that if we're out there on the leading edge,we're in a good position to get the enhancements that areparticularly valuable to us. That's because we're still in the timeframe where IntegraSys is adapting and correcting things. "If wecome along later, it can limit the options." Many of the optionscoming along now will center on integration points, with the focuson automating more of the document creation and storage processes,the company says. For instance, Brook says, coming up soon is theability to capture receipts at the teller line without having toscan them into the e-fichency system. "That's something we're veryinterested in," says Higginson at 8,600-member Reliant FCU. "Rightnow we're scanning teller receipts and then keeping the paper copyfor a few months. Soon, we'll be able to print the receipt for themember but our copy will be automatically converted electronicallyand stored instantly." Other integration points in the works,IntegraSys says, are share draft and ACH notices, exceptionsreports for share draft, ATM and ACH functions, ACH originationactivity and accounting reports. "The good news is that thetechnology is here now. We can do all these things today," Brookssays. "Now it's just as much about making sure everyone'scomfortable with how they're applied." -

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