Wildfire Credit Union selects Backbase for its digital transformation

By Pavithra R

Michigan-based Wildfire Credit Union (Wildfire) has announced that the Credit Union (CU) has selected the Backbase Digital-First Banking platform to drive its digital innovation and unify the customer experience across all channels and touchpoints.

Through the technology integration, Wildfire will now be able to release new features on the Backbase platform with reduced time to market and enabling them to meet the need for personalized banking of all of their members.

Wildfire, with the vision to build life-long relations with its members and mission to offer truly personal services, considers it critical to optimize the member experience and provide personal and frictionless engagement.

“Going forward, digital-first is a huge part of our strategy. We partnered with Backbase as a way to expand throughout Michigan and into other states without adding more physical branches, something that’s been on our minds during the pandemic. The Backbase approach stood out to us because of their flexibility and the level of control we will have once our new systems are rolled out. We’re not locked into a relationship with a cookie-cutter system and a big black box that we can’t modify. Now, we are confident we will be able to provide our members with the fast, intuitive, and seamless digital access that we strive to achieve,” said Mark Schuiling, Chief Technology Officer at Wildfire Credit Union.

The CU was looking for a partner who can provide flexibility, agility, and provide the richness of the out-of-the-box journeys and ready to go apps. Wildfire found Backbase as a perfect fit to strengthen its services and assist the firm further in becoming an integrated part of their member’s daily lives. Backbase, running on a single platform with a unified architecture, provides Wildfire with the scalability it needed to cater to both retail and business members, their employees, and for both digital servicing and digital sales.

“Wildfire has a clear vision: create outstanding member engagements across all touchpoints. And they know that having the right technology will be pivotal to achieve this, both now and into their future. Our modular architecture gives Wildfire a chance to operate free of any restrictions that come with legacy infrastructure and allows them to start their digital transformation journey that is core to their growth. This partnership really brings cutting edge technology to community credit union members, and provides tailored solutions for their needs. It underscores the forward-looking marriage between technology and customer service,” said Jouk Pleiter, CEO of Backbase.

Recently, Addition Financial & Backbase partnered to provide personalized experiences for clients.

Founded in 2003, Backbase is a fast-growing FinTech software provider that empowers financial institutions to accelerate their digital transformation and effectively compete in a digital-first world. Its platform is being used by financials including ABN AMRO, AIB, Barclays, Banamex, Bank United, BNP Paribas, Citi bank, Citizens Bank, CheBanca!, HDFC, Hiscox, Central1, KeyBank, Lloyds Banking Group, Metrobank, IDFC First, Navy Federal Credit Union, PostFinance, RBC, Societe Generale, and Westpac among others.