The $2.5 billion Community First Credit Union has implemented customer service technology from Glia.

Glia’s digital customer service tools allow financial institutions to reach out to members and provide online guidance for loan applications. Service representatives can view the same screens as members and offer help with products like an auto loan, the companies said in a release.

The move to Glia has driven a 36% year-over-year increase in sales ― particularly for loans, where conversions have more than doubled in the first year of use, according to the vendor. Community First said it loaned “a record amount” to consumers, home buyers and businesses over the last 12 months.

Nekoosa Port Edwards State Bank uses Fiserv for Zelle payments

The $261.2 million Nekoosa Port Edwards State Bank is now the 1,000th financial institution to offer Zelle via global payments fintech Fiserv.

The Wisconsin-based community bank serves business and retail customers with a focus on customer service.

Fiserv’s turnkey service for person-to-person payment solution Zelle is designed to streamline the onboarding process for financial institutions, helping to decrease costs and accelerate implementation timelines, Fiserv said in a release. Approximately 65% of all financial institutions that offer Zelle enable the service through Fiserv, according to the company.

Zelle allows consumers to send and receive money directly from one U.S. bank account to another, “typically within minutes” when both parties are already enrolled, Fiserv said.

VersaBank buys Stearns Bank Holdingford

Digital banking and cybersecurity solutions provider VersaBank announced that it will acquire Minnesota-based Stearns Bank Holdingford (SBH), a subsidiary of Stearns Financial Services Inc. (SFSI), for an estimated $13.5 million.

The $94.8 million SBH is a national bank focused on small business lending. The acquisition is expected to add approximately $60 million in total assets to Ontario, Canada-based VersaBank.

SBH is slated to be renamed VersaBank USA National Association upon the transaction’s close, expected to come by Oct. 31. Other SFSI subsidiaries — Stearns Bank N.A. with $2.2 billion in assets and Stearns Bank Upsala with $75 million in assets — are unaffected by the transaction.

BankProv offers BaaS support for Etana

The $1.8 billion BankProv, formerly known as Provident Bank, announced banking-as-a-service (BaaS) support for fiat and digital assets custodian Etana Custody.

Amesbury, Mass.-based BankProv has been providing commercial digital asset deposit and lending products since 2019 and has now launched embedded institutional banking services with the build of an API programming suite, the bank stated in a release.

This relationship will enable Etana Custody access to payment rails and virtual ledger services to facilitate and track payments under sub-accounts for Etana Custody customers, according to the companies.

Bank Automation Summit Fall 2022, taking place Sept. 19-20 in Seattle, is a crucial event on automation and automation technology in banking. Learn more and register for Bank Automation Summit Fall 2022.