State Employees’ Credit Union puts people first with MuleSoft

Simplifying integration to accelerate development

As the second largest credit union in the United States, State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) serves nearly 2.9 million members, including one in four North Carolina residents. As a not-for-profit cooperative, SECU is dedicated to helping its member-owners achieve a better quality of life and make a meaningful impact in the communities it serves. SECU employees are often well-known and recognized in their communities, and the organization strives to offer products and services that make a real difference in its members’ lives. For example, its Salary Advance Loans are designed to provide an alternative option to members who need access to cash prior to payday, helping qualifying members avoid the predatory nature of payday loans.

However, to get new services to market quickly, SECU needed a more nimble and adaptable IT architecture. “We built individual connectors to integrate our systems, which meant the same data was being pulled multiple ways. That was inconsistent, difficult to support, and less secure than taking a standard approach,” explains Rammesh Rajagopal, Head of Application Development and Support at SECU. “It also slowed down development and limited the number of projects we could run concurrently.”

Adopting an agile, future-proof environment

Following a change of leadership, SECU wanted to turn technology into an enabler to provide more digital services to customers. The team outlined the objectives for the transformation:

• Build trust and value for members
• Make real-time data accessible and actionable
• Speed up time to market

Implementing an enterprise API platform with support from MuleSoft Professional Services

SECU implemented MuleSoft Anypoint Platform and adopted new ways of working, focusing on simplifying the environment and reusing APIs. The organization augmented its internal team with MuleSoft Professional Services, which was critical in the early stages of the adoption.

“MuleSoft Professional Services was like part of our team. Without their guidance, there would have been missteps or missed opportunities, and we wouldn’t have realized the same amount of value,” says David Redd, IT Team Manager and SVP of Enterprise Applications at SECU. “They brought the experience and depth of knowledge across business lines to help us have more productive conversations without needing technical expertise.”

By taking a holistic viewpoint, the Professional Services team provided practical advice around processes and use cases that aligned with SECU’s roadmap. For example, proposing 15 ways MuleSoft could be used to improve the credit card journey.

Automating identity and access management

While business teams were heavily invested in the transformation, the IT team was slower to adapt. SECU won staff over by introducing small changes that had a big impact on daily life.

Following an audit of internal processes, the team identified a lag between revoking user access when someone leaves the organization and systems updating, which posed a potential security risk. They used MuleSoft APIs to connect Workday, the active directory, and the badge provisioning system. Now, user access can be revoked in real time, which enhances security while automating a slow, manual process.

In the next quarter, SECU is also releasing an update to make it easier to identify members when they come into a branch. Using an existing API will enable staff to look up members and view all their open cases, proactively helping those with recurring issues. This will replace a free-text form that members currently use to access support and address a common pain point. If the member makes a spelling mistake while filling in their details, the system can’t match their case to their record.

Empowering members to lock and unlock their cards

Another way SECU makes life easier for members is by empowering them to lock and unlock their cards from their mobile app. Previously, they had to call the contact center, which caused a high volume of cases. Now, an API enables them to lock, unlock, and check the status of their cards from anywhere. This 12-week project involved connecting multiple internal systems and aligning with credit card providers. The feature was a huge success from the moment it went live.

“We saw an immediate uptick in use before we’d even announced the feature. There were close to a million transactions per month, and call volumes dropped significantly,” explains Redd. “It also triggered a shift in behavior – members use the feature as a toggle to keep their cards secure when they’re not using them.”

Consolidating processes to improve efficiency

As part of the Member Identification Program (MIP), SECU is required to collect and verify new member information such as name, address, date of birth, and taxpayer identification number (TIN).

Additionally, new members must also be screened against Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) watchlists prior to issuing new insurance products. OFAC watchlists are used to ensure SECU does not violate existing US-based sanctions.

To improve efficiencies with the help of MuleSoft APIs, new member files are combined with the existing member file for screening purposes.

Keeping customer data secure during third-party operations

During processes such as paying bills, taxes, or escrow, SECU needs to work with third parties. However, with MuleSoft, it can ensure member data – including personal identifiable information (PII) – never leaves the organization. Data can be merged into files from SECU’s source documents and sent directly to the third party without giving them direct access to member records.

Using MuleSoft Accelerators to speed up new projects

The credit union is currently implementing Financial Services Cloud for its insurance business and using a MuleSoft Accelerator to quickly integrate DocuSign. This enables near real-time data flow, so that when a document is signed, the Salesforce record is updated, and the team can issue a policy on the same day. Without MuleSoft, SECU would have had to pay a partner to write a batch process to pull signed contracts from DocuSign to complete this process.

Reliable, reusable APIs support parallel project delivery

Since adopting MuleSoft, SECU has seen a significant culture shift. Staff are more future-focused and invested in long-term success. Development is faster, taking just four weeks from idea to creation, and reusable APIs make it much easier to deliver multiple projects in parallel.

SECU has also saved money by managing more processes in-house. For example, one partner had a cap on monthly API calls to pull mortgage data. By using an in-house copy of this data, throttling isn’t required, and the team can control usage to prevent spiraling costs.

“Using our own APIs instead of relying on external vendors is a huge win. We can save costs by doing things in-house,” says Keith Woodie, Vice President of Enterprise Integration at SECU. “MuleSoft empowers us with a level of freedom and flexibility that you don’t get with other platforms.”

The team has also had great feedback from its members – particularly around self-service capabilities which empower them to complete tasks in seconds rather than minutes. As Rajagopal recalls, “A member told us she got locked out of her credit card at a grocery store, which was really stressful. She had a line of people waiting behind her at the checkout. Then she realized she could unlock her card in just a few taps using her app. Now, when she goes shopping, she unlocks her card at the checkout and keeps it locked the rest of the time to keep her account secure. Hearing the impact we’ve had on a member’s life was really powerful.”

And that’s just one example of how MuleSoft has streamlined the member experience. Next, the team plans to implement real-time events on the mainframe to eliminate an issue with batch processing. If a customer has changed their phone number and wants to sign into the mobile app, this lag means the one-time passcode may be sent to their old phone number. By enabling members to update their information in real time, issues like this will be a thing of the past, and SECU can continue delivering on its ethos of ‘people helping people’ with a smoother, more member-centric experience.