Denver, CO
- Best Innovation Group
(BIG), a credit union innovation catalyst, today announced the certification of another Amazon Alexa voice banking skill: this one for Numerica Credit Union. The $2 billion financial institution serving Washington and Idaho has rolled out the skill to its 137,000 members via BIG's partnership with Symitar® for the Financial Innovations Voice Experience (FIVE) platform.
BIG created the first Amazon Alexa skill specifically designed to allow credit union members to perform transaction-based functions. Members can transfer between accounts, make loan payments, and access balances and account histories for checking, savings, and loans. All of this is done using voice commands secured by a single sign on and integrated to the Episys® core processing platform.
The transaction options available through BIG's skill, which is integrated to Numerica's Episys® core, provide members full access to their credit union accounts using FIVE's intuitive voice interface. Other offerings allow members to query for general information, such as loan rates or credit card balances.
Through the certified Alexa skill, BIG's FIVE platform enables users to access all of their credit union accounts, spanning checking, savings, car loans, mortgages, and credit cards. It also offers member engagement capabilities, including educational audio clips on critical topics such as security and financial literacy.
"The one-on-one member relationship has long been a key credit union difference," explained BIG CEO 
and Co-founder John Best. "As credit unions evolve to provide the technology solutions members value and expect, it becomes more challenging to retain that personal touch. FIVE was built with the goal of preserving that unique relationship. From the beginning of our project, we knew that the experience was important. We put a lot of effort into learning what members want to accomplish and how they speak about these activities. The objective is to optimize the member experience and enable credit unions to expand their unique branding across voice interactions."
BIG's FIVE platform currently supports Amazon Alexa Voice Services but is extensible to allow financial institutions to easily expand to future voice-based products. As technology evolves, FIVE positions financial institutions to rapidly add new capabilities and additional voice services.
"We take a lot of pride in the technology we offer our members," said KayCee Murray, Numerica's Vice President of Information Technology. "We strive to make everyday banking easier for our members, whether in person, over the phone, or remotely. An Alexa skill gives our members yet another way to access their accounts at their convenience, allowing them to make transfers and payments, block lost debit and credit cards, and check account balances."
The rapid growth of Amazon Alexa devices and skills is impressive. Access to financial accounts is a sensitive area, however, and only a handful of skills have been certified for these tasks. BIG is among a select group of companies to create an extensible skill specifically for financial institutions, which enables Alexa access for their clients.
For more information on BIG's solutions, please contact Elizabeth Robins, Product Director at 469.516.4693 or email [email protected].
About Best Innovation Group
Founded in 2014, Best Innovation Group (BIG) is an innovation catalyst created to provide clients with the insights and resources to quickly implement digital solutions and adopt cutting edge technologies. BIG provides research and development services in the form of written research and prototypes, and is constantly searching for new technological solutions to help credit unions grow. BIG leverages the aggregate scale of its clients to create relationships with large entities that would not otherwise engage in the credit union market. For more information, visit: www.big-fintech.com,
About Numerica
Numerica Credit Union currently has over 137,000 members throughout Central and Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho and $1.9 billion in assets. It offers a full line of financial products and services, including mortgages and business products, and is committed to giving back five percent of their earnings to the community each year. Numerica is federally insured by NCUA and an Equal Housing Opportunity Lender. Membership is open to anyone who lives or works in the state of Washington or the Idaho Panhandle.
About Symitar
Symitar, a division of Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: JKHY), is a leading provider of integrated computer systems for credit unions of all sizes. Symitar has been selected as the primary technology partner by more than 800 credit unions, serving as a single source for integrated, enterprise-wide automation and as a single point of contact and support. Additional information is available at www.symitar.com.roduct Director at 469.458.6386 or email [email protected].
