Introduction:
Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union (FMFCU) prides itself on being personal, local and unique. A member-owned, federally insured, full-service financial institution, FMFCU strives to secure the positive affirmation by their members that FMFCU is the correct choice for their financial needs. Constantly motivated by the satisfaction of their members they offer numerous ways to conduct financial business by offering 18 branch locations, 29 ATM sites, a Member Service Center with extended hours, 24-hour Home Banking, Bill Payer Loans-By-Phone and online loan applications.

FMFCU, having previously implemented a document archive system, sought to move to a truly electronic document management system. The goal was to eliminate paper forms, standardize electronic documents, cut processing time, cut cost and improve internal controls. FMFCU desired ultimately to enhance their members’ experience. The key to such a system is capturing legally binding employee and member signatures on electronic documents. The documents need to appear on a computer screen exactly as they do when printed. CIC’s electronic signature software integrated with Adobe forms proved to be the most effective solution.

The Need:
FMFCU employees use many forms throughout their workday. Forms stored at the individual branches and departments are not always the most current versions. In addition, forms filled out by hand do not provide the best quality images after scanning and archiving.

The Solution:
The initial phase was to eliminate the paper and, “electronify” the forms, making the paperwork available on FMFCU’s Intranet. Thus, when an employee printed a form it was always the correct version. Phase two made the forms interactive so the pertinent fields could be filled out online. While the forms still needed to be printed during this phase, the quality of the documents was greatly improved for purposes of subsequent scanning.

Phase three brought the introduction of CIC’s electronic signatures. Signature pads, placed at crucial desks allow the employees to apply biometric e-signatures to the forms. Documents are no longer printed but rather routed to individuals and departments for processing. Once notes are added and processing is completed, index data is applied and the documents are automatically loaded to the document archive.

FMFCU plans to extend CIC’s electronic signatures to member documents. Testing has begun on requests to replace a lost/stolen debit card. Currently this process can take up to 3-4 days. The goal is to reduce the process to one day supporting their commitment to “speed, service and convenience”.

The Result:
“CIC Signature Software has enabled FMFCU to make dramatic reductions in the time taken to process internal forms. We plan to extend the capability to member forms. We always look for opportunities to exceed the expectations of our membership. If a member comes in today to request a new debit card and we have a new one in their mailbox tomorrow, we haven’t just exceeded their expectations, we have “wowed” them.” said John Hargrove, Vice President of Information Services.

As FMFCU fully implements the electronic document and signature program, it expects substantial savings in processing tens of thousands electronic signature cards, loan applications and membership forms annually. The error rate in electronically captured applications and forms is almost non-existent, and processing time and cost have been cut dramatically. John Hargrove continues, “While we are committed to member service, the bottom line is really about the bottom line.”