Tower Federal Credit Union is the largest federal credit union in Maryland, serving over 220,000 members across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. Founded in 1953 to serve military and government employees, Tower has grown into a $4.7+ billion institution known for its member-centric services and innovation. The credit union prides itself on embracing technology to improve operational efficiency. But until recently, Tower’s mortgage operations were held back by disconnected systems that made even simple tasks frustratingly slow.
Picture this: A loan officer finalizes a member’s mortgage in Mortgage Cadence Loan Fulfillment Center (LFC), only to spend the next hour re-keying the same details into Tower’s Fiserv DNA core banking system. Meanwhile, in another department, an employee manually transfers that loan data into FICS MortgageServicer for servicing. Every mortgage meant duplicate (even triplicate) data entry, introducing delays and the risk of typos along the way. Even as a tech-forward institution, Tower faced an ironic roadblock: critical systems that couldn’t automatically talk to each other, making staff act as go-betweens.
Tower’s mortgage team dealt with two major integration gaps. First, the LOS (Mortgage Cadence LFC) wasn’t integrated with the core banking platform (Fiserv DNA). Every new loan or update had to be manually entered into the core, slowing down loan boarding and occasionally leading to mismatches or errors. Second, the LOS wasn’t linked to the mortgage servicing system (FICS MortgageServicer), meaning servicing staff had to re-enter loan data to set up payment schedules, escrow accounts, and reports.
The consequences of this disconnect were clear:
Tower’s leadership recognized that solving these integration gaps was mission-critical. In a fast-paced lending market, they could not afford back-office bottlenecks. The credit union set out to find a solution that would eliminate manual re-entry and unify their mortgage data flow from origination through servicing.
To tackle the issue, Tower Federal Credit Union turned to MortgageExchange® by Access Business Technologies (Mortgage Workspace). MortgageExchange is specifically designed to bridge disparate systems – connecting loan origination, core banking, and servicing software with real-time, rules-based data syncing. For Tower, it was the perfect fit: a managed service to automate data flow between Mortgage Cadence LFC, Fiserv DNA, and FICS MortgageServicer.
MortgageExchange Deployment at Tower FCU: Mortgage Workspace’s team worked with Tower to configure connectors between all three systems. Once in place, the platform began shuttling data seamlessly among the LOS, core, and servicing environments. Here’s how it works behind the scenes:
In short, MortgageExchange became the integration “glue” holding Tower’s mortgage systems together. What once were isolated platforms now operate as one cohesive mortgage ecosystem. Data now travels instantly from the point of origination all the way through to servicing and core accounting. Tower’s ethos of innovation truly came to life with this project, as they leveraged technology to solve a long-standing operational headache.
For Tower Federal Credit Union, fixing these integration gaps wasn’t just an IT upgrade – it was a strategic transformation. By connecting its LOS, core, and servicing systems, Tower eliminated a source of friction that had quietly been dragging down efficiency and increasing operational risk. Now, employees are no longer bogged down by redundant work and can devote their energy to members and strategic initiatives. Members, in turn, enjoy faster account updates and a more seamless mortgage experience, reinforcing Tower’s reputation for excellent service. Compliance and reporting are stronger, as data is uniform and readily available across the organization. Importantly, Tower has positioned itself to scale its mortgage operations without a commensurate rise in back-office workload. In a competitive lending market, that agility is a game-changer.
Tower’s journey underscores a powerful point: integration can be innovation. By investing in MortgageExchange to unify systems, Tower FCU turned a behind-the-scenes bottleneck into a source of strength and speed. The credit union can confidently pursue growth, knowing its technology foundation will support the mission every step of the way.
MortgageExchange gave Tower Federal Credit Union a seamless, secure way to keep its mortgage origination, core banking, and servicing platforms in lockstep. What was once a slow, error-prone process is now a fast, automated workflow. Tower gained accuracy, efficiency and scalability – all while freeing its staff to focus on what matters most: serving members and building a stronger financial future.
Explore more MortgageExchange case studies to see how financial institutions nationwide are streamlining post-closing and eliminating manual re-entry.