For members, closing on a mortgage feels like the finish line. But inside Patelco Credit Union – a Northern California financial institution known for its member-centric service – closing day was often the start of a tedious data marathon. Loan officers and back-office staff found themselves entering the same loan information twice: once into the Empower® loan origination system (LOS) and again into Fiserv Spectrum, Patelco’s core banking platform. Two systems, duplicate data entry, and countless hours of “swivel-chair” work were bogging down the process.
Patelco’s mortgage operation is sizable, with more than 200 loan officers serving its members, reflecting its status as one of California’s top mortgage lenders. With nearly $10 billion in assets and over 500,000 members, Patelco has built a reputation on trust, efficiency, and innovation. Yet, like many credit unions, it faced a familiar challenge: critical systems that couldn’t talk to each other. After a loan closed in Empower (provided by Dark Matter Technologies), employees had to re-key all the details into Fiserv Spectrum for loan servicing and member account records. Not only did this redundant data entry slow down post-closing processes – it also opened the door to errors and inconsistencies. A single mistyped digit or missed field could throw accounts out of sync and delay onboarding the loan into the core system. Such delays meant members might not see their new mortgage reflected in their accounts promptly, and any discrepancy could become a compliance headache during audits. The very efficiency and accuracy that Patelco promised its members were at risk due to these behind-the-scenes bottlenecks.
Founded in 1936 and headquartered in Northern California, Patelco Credit Union has grown into a financial powerhouse with nearly $10 billion in assets and over 500,000 members. It serves communities across the Bay Area, Sacramento, and San Jose, ranking among the largest credit unions in the nation. Patelco prides itself on member service and a forward-looking digital strategy. In 2024, as part of its technology roadmap, Patelco selected Dark Matter’s Empower® LOS to modernize its mortgage lending – aiming for a more efficient, up-to-20%-faster loan process. However, achieving those gains required more than a new LOS; it demanded seamless integration with Patelco’s core system (Fiserv Spectrum) to eliminate the manual workload dragging the team down. Despite being an early adopter of advanced mortgage tech, Patelco’s core and LOS remained disconnected silos – a problem that had to be fixed to preserve its reputation for fast, accurate service.
To eliminate these pain points, Patelco turned to MortgageExchange® – a cloud-managed integration platform from Access Business Technologies (ABT) designed specifically for banking and mortgage systems. MortgageExchange acts as an intelligent data pipeline, instantly bridging the gap between Fiserv Spectrum (core) and Empower (LOS). The solution established a direct, real-time connection that allows the two systems to “talk” to each other and share data seamlessly, without manual intervention.
How it Works: When a mortgage loan closes in Empower, MortgageExchange automatically transfers all relevant loan data into Fiserv Spectrum – no duplicate typing required by staff. The integration was configured as a bi-directional, rules-based interface, meaning any updates needed in either system are synchronized according to business rules and validation checks. MortgageExchange’s rules engine ensures that only clean, accurate data passes through, catching inconsistencies or missing fields so they can be resolved upfront. This guarantees that the data entering Spectrum from the LOS is complete and correct, preserving data integrity across platforms.
Importantly, MortgageExchange is a cloud-managed service. It runs on a secure cloud (Microsoft Azure) with encryption in transit and at rest, ensuring sensitive member data is protected. Because ABT manages the interface, Patelco’s IT team doesn’t have to maintain additional servers or worry about software updates breaking the connection. If Empower or Fiserv release an update that could disrupt the data flow, the MortgageExchange team handles the adjustments proactively, so the integration keeps running smoothly. In short, the platform provided Patelco with a worry-free, “always-on” integration that is scalable and tailored to the credit union’s workflow. It’s a cloud-based, rules-driven architecture built for the mortgage industry’s needs, which meant Patelco could trust it to carry out complex data exchanges reliably and in compliance with industry standards.
By connecting its LOS and core systems through MortgageExchange, Patelco Credit Union turned a behind-the-scenes inefficiency into a strategic advantage. What was once a labor-intensive, error-prone process is now an automated, reliable workflow. This seamless data exchange hasn’t just saved time – it has empowered Patelco to scale its mortgage business without sacrificing accuracy or member satisfaction. In an era where digital efficiency is key, Patelco’s integration success shows how credit unions can leverage the right platform to remove internal friction and deliver better outcomes for their members.
The story of Patelco is about more than one credit union’s upgrade; it highlights a broader truth in the industry. Mortgage lenders no longer have to accept disconnected systems and manual work as “just part of the job.” With a purpose-built integration solution like MortgageExchange, credit unions can bridge their data silos and unlock new levels of productivity. Patelco’s experience positions MortgageExchange as a trusted integration partner for credit unions – a cloud-based backbone that reliably keeps critical systems in lockstep. This allows institutions to focus on serving members and growing their portfolios, rather than babysitting interfaces or patching data gaps.
For Patelco, closing the loop between Empower and Spectrum wasn’t just an IT project; it was a mission-critical initiative to uphold the credit union’s member-first promise. The result is a win-win: smoother internal operations and happier members. Patelco’s journey exemplifies how “when your core banking and mortgage systems work in unison, everyone – staff and members alike – benefits.” By breaking the mortgage data bottleneck, Patelco has set a new benchmark for efficiency and service that other credit unions can emulate.
Explore more MortgageExchange case studies to see how credit unions nationwide are streamlining post-closing and eliminating manual re-entry.