From Manual to Seamless: How Affinity Plus FCU Transformed Mortgage Operations

The Manual Data Dilemma in Mortgage Lending

Why, in an era of digital banking, are mortgage teams still re-keying data between systems? Picture a busy loan officer toggling between a core banking platform and a loan origination system, manually copying member information from one to the other. It’s tedious, error-prone, and frankly outdated. Yet this was daily life for many staff members at Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union – until they decided to put an end to it. The story of how Affinity Plus tackled this challenge offers a blueprint for any credit union leader tired of duplicate data entry and operational bottlenecks.

Meet Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union

Affinity Plus FCU is a member-focused credit union headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, serving roughly 240,000 members with nearly $4 billion in assets across 30 branches. As one of Minnesota’s largest credit unions, Affinity Plus has built a reputation for community-centered service and a forward-looking approach. But even a progressive institution of this size wasn’t immune to back-office friction. Behind the scenes, their mortgage operation was grappling with disconnected systems that didn’t play nicely together – a pain point all too familiar in the industry.

The Challenge: Disconnected Systems and Manual Work

Like many credit unions, Affinity Plus relied on two mission-critical systems that didn’t natively integrate: Jack Henry’s Symitar Episys core banking system and the ICE Encompass mortgage loan origination system (LOS). The problem? These platforms were essentially speaking different languages, with no automatic data exchange. Every time a member applied for a mortgage or a loan moved through the pipeline, staff had to manually re-enter data from one system into the other. This redundant process was not only slow – consuming valuable staff hours – but also introduced opportunities for human error and inconsistencies in member information. Keying the same borrower details multiple times increased the risk of typos or mismatches, which could lead to compliance headaches or frustrating corrections down the line. The operational friction was clear: disconnected systems were dragging down efficiency. The credit union’s team knew there had to be a better way than cutting-and-pasting their way through the workday.

The Solution: Seamless Integration with MortgageExchange

Affinity Plus found its answer in a cloud-based integration platform called MortgageExchange. Offered by Mortgage Workspace (a division of Access Business Technologies), MortgageExchange is designed to bridge disparate financial systems and automate the flow of data between them. Instead of building a costly custom interface from scratch, the credit union opted for this ready-made solution to connect Symitar and Encompass. MortgageExchange was deployed to effectively link the Symitar core with ICE Encompass, enabling automated, real-time data synchronization between the two systems. In practice, this meant that whenever a change or new entry was made in one platform, the data would flow seamlessly to the other – no manual rekeying required. The integration was rules-based and configured to follow Affinity Plus’s specific workflow, ensuring that only the necessary information transfers at the right time (in line with business rules and regulatory requirements). Because MortgageExchange is a cloud service, it also relieved the credit union’s IT burden. The provider (ABT) handles the heavy lifting – monitoring both endpoints for any software updates and updating the integration as needed to prevent breakdowns in data flow. In short, MortgageExchange created a real-time digital handshake between Symitar and Encompass, and the results were immediate.

Key Benefits Realized

With the Symitar–Encompass integration in place, Affinity Plus reaped several important benefits. These outcomes resonate not just for one credit union, but as common goals for any institution looking to streamline mortgage operations:

• No More Manual Re-Entry (No More Errors): The integration eliminated dual data entry entirely. Staff no longer have to type the same information twice, which has all but wiped out the keystroke errors and typos that plagued the manual process.

• Greater Accuracy and Compliance: With data automatically synchronized across systems, information stays consistent and up-to-date everywhere. This improved accuracy of member mortgage records and made it easier to maintain regulatory compliance, since reports and audits can trust a single source of truth. MortgageExchange’s design follows industry security and compliance standards – it even carries an SSAE16 Type II audit certification – so data transfers meet stringent regulations while staying encrypted and secure.

• Staff Freed for High-Value Work: Employees who once spent hours on low-value copy-paste tasks can now focus on what really matters – serving members. By saving considerable staff time and resources, the integration empowered the team to dedicate more attention to member consultations, loan advising, and other high-value activities that drive growth and satisfaction.

• Secure, Scalable Cloud Platform: MortgageExchange runs on a secure cloud platform. For Affinity Plus, this means no new hardware to maintain and no worrying about software version mismatches. The cloud-based service scales as the credit union grows and is monitored by the provider. If a vendor updates Symitar or Encompass, ABT ensures MortgageExchange adapts so the data keeps flowing without interruption. The integration operates with bank-grade security (encryption in transit and at rest) and reliability, giving peace of mind that sensitive member data is protected even as it moves between systems.

• Faster Service to Members: Perhaps most importantly, the member experience has improved. Eliminating back-end bottlenecks has a direct impact on service speed. Mortgage applications and updates now move faster through the process because there’s no waiting on duplicate data entry or correcting mistakes. Affinity Plus’s team reports operating with “newfound agility” as data now transfers instantly between the core and mortgage systems. In practice, this agility means members get answers and loan closings sooner, with fewer hiccups along the way.

Results: From Friction to “Newfound Agility”

Since implementing the MortgageExchange integration, Affinity Plus has transformed a once cumbersome process into a streamlined workflow. The credit union eliminated the redundant work that was weighing down its mortgage department and removed the risk of errors caused by manual input. They’re now operating “with newfound agility,” as one report put it, with data flowing effortlessly between systems and no one having to play middleman. The solution saved countless hours of staff time and improved the accuracy of member data, which ultimately enhances the institution’s ability to serve its members better. Employees can spend more time building relationships with members instead of typing and cross-checking, and that translates into smoother, faster mortgage experiences for those members. In short, less internal friction has yielded more external satisfaction.

The impact goes beyond just efficiency metrics – it’s also about reduced risk. With a single source of truth for mortgage data, there’s far less chance of something falling through the cracks or being inconsistently recorded. Compliance reporting is easier when your systems are in sync, and there’s confidence that what the core shows matches what the lending system shows. For Affinity Plus, this integration has de-risked a key part of their operations while also cutting weeks off processing times and boosting team morale (no one misses the drudgery of data re-entry).

Embracing Digital Transformation: A Path Forward for Credit Unions

Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union’s integration journey is not just a one-off success story – it’s a microcosm of the digital transformation sweeping through credit union land. It shows that even highly regarded, tech-savvy institutions can have blind spots where legacy processes linger. By boldly addressing their mortgage systems gap, Affinity Plus has positioned itself to be more responsive and member-centric than ever. Other credit unions are taking note. After all, the pain Affinity Plus felt – siloed systems and manual workarounds – is widespread in the industry. The good news is that solutions like MortgageExchange prove that it doesn’t have to be this way.

For credit union leaders considering integrations, the takeaway is clear: connecting your core banking system with your mortgage LOS (and other platforms) isn’t just an IT project, it’s a strategic imperative. It frees your people to do the work that technology can’t do – building relationships, advising members, and innovating services. It also fortifies your institution for the future, with clean data and agile processes that can adapt to new regulations and member expectations. In a competitive financial services landscape, the ability to move faster and serve better is a real differentiator. Affinity Plus’s story shows that eliminating “double-entry” isn’t a pipe dream; it’s a achievable reality with the right tools.

As credit unions continue to embrace digital transformation, those still weighed down by manual processes may find inspiration (and a tangible game plan) in what Affinity Plus accomplished. The message is inspiringly simple: integrate to innovate. By tearing down the walls between systems, credit unions can unlock new levels of efficiency, accuracy, and member satisfaction – writing the next chapter of growth with far less toil on the keyboard.