Conversations Platform Provider Eltropy Unveils Voice+

Conversations Platform Provider Eltropy Unveils Voice+
  • Unified Conversations Platform company Eltropy has introduced a range of new enhancements to its offering.
  • The enhancements include Skill-Based Routing, new Lobby Management features, and a voice and contact center solution, Voice+
  • A Finovate alum for more than seven years, Eltropy most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2022.

Unified Conversations platform provider Eltropy recently unveiled a set of new enhancements to its offering. The upgrades include Skill-Based Routing (SBR 2.0), new Lobby Management features, and a modern voice and contact center solution, Voice+.

“These enhancements reaffirm our commitment to quality and mark one of our most significant engineering efforts to date,” Eltropy CEO and Co-founder Ashish Garg said. “We’re excited about the opportunities these improvements will create for credit unions and community banks to elevate their overall member, customer, and employee experience in banking.”

Eltropy Voice+ brings voice functionality to digital channels such as text, video, and chat. Enhanced by an AI layer, Voice+ provides a unified contact center solution for voice, digital, and AI interactions, and gives agents a single interface to support greater efficiency. Skill-Based Routing (SBR 2.0) provides users with several features including the ability to prioritize high-value interactions, match agent proficiency based on language skills, and identify simultaneous channel handling via cross-channel concurrency. Lobby Management, first introduced earlier this year, now combines the best of digital banking with traditional branch services with efficient check-ins, queue management, branch traffic analytics, and resource planning tools.

Howie Meller, President and CEO of People First Federal Credit Union — which was among the early adopters of Eltropy’s Voice+ — praised the enhancements as a benefit for members and credit union employees alike. “Voice+ will make a big difference in how we serve our members,” Meller said. “Our agents can now use voice alongside text, video, co-browsing, and AI help. This means we can solve problems faster and better, all in one place. It’s a real improvement for our members.”

Eltropy made its first Finovate appearance in 2017, and most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall 2022. In the years since then, the company has partnered with several community financial institutions such as Cyprus Credit Union, InRoads Credit Union, and Magnifi Financial, as well as fellow Finovate alums Jack Henry, Fiserv, and Alkami. In fact, Eltropy began the year celebrating its 600 customer milestone. The company opened the doors to its new headquarters in Santa Clara, California, in May.


Photo by Alex Andrews

Digital Conversations Platform Eltropy Enhances In-Branch Experience with Lobby Management

Digital Conversations Platform Eltropy Enhances In-Branch Experience with Lobby Management
  • Digital conversations platform Eltropy has unveiled its Lobby Management solution.
  • The offering will help community financial institutions (CFIs) create better branch lobby experiences for customers and members.
  • Eltropy made its Finovate debut in 2017. The company most recently demoed at FinovateFall in 2022.

Digital conversations platform Eltropy launched its Lobby Management solution last week. The new capability will enable community financial institutions (CFIs) to offer a better branch lobby experience for their customers.

“The branch remains an essential member and customer touchpoint in community banks and credit unions, yet inefficient queues and resource allocation often undermine the experience for both visitors and employees,” Eltropy co-founder and CEO Ashish Garg said. “With Lobby Management, we can make every visit effortless while unlocking many operational efficiencies and equipping staff to serve members better.”

Lobby Management is a part of Eltropy’s Branch Management solution portfolio within its Unified Digital Conversations Platform. The new offering gives branch managers the ability to manage walk-in customer flow, and to enhance convenience with tools such as virtual queuing. Integrated with Eltropy’s Appointment Management, Lobby Management also enables members and customers to use a check-in kiosk to check-in for scheduled appointments or to book new ones. Lobby Management also provides lobby traffic analytics to help branch managers best allocate staff and service offerings.

“Lobby Management, powered by the Eltropy Unified Platform, allows CFIs to tie their branch operations with digital operations, thereby holistically serving their members and customers in physical and digital channels seamlessly and simultaneously,” Eltropy VP of Products Jack Chawla said. “With our unique approach to resource management in physical and digital channels, we can help CFIs efficiently service the members in the channel of their choice, including the branch lobby.”

Eltropy made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring in 2017. In its most recent appearance on the Finovate stage two years ago, the company demoed its Eltropy One solution. Eltropy One is the company’s all-in-one omni-channel solution that enables FIs to manage both in- and outbound communications from a universal console. With Eltropy One, FIs can leverage text, secure chat, video, audio, cobrowsing, and conversational bots to handle both simple and complex customer communication.

Founded in 2014, Eltropy is headquartered in Milpitas, California. The company began the year surpassing the 600th customer milestone. In a statement, Eltropy noted that it was the fastest CFI-focused fintech to achieve this accomplishment. The new milestone announcement came with news that the company was increasing its investment in Generative AI and product R&D by 36% this year.


Photo by micheile henderson on Unsplash

Digital Conversations Platform Eltropy Teams Up with Magnifi Financial

Digital Conversations Platform Eltropy Teams Up with Magnifi Financial
  • Digital conversations platform Eltropy announced a partnership with Magnifi Financial.
  • The two companies will work to build and launch Generative AI-based solutions for employees, customers, and members of community financial institutions.
  • Eltropy most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2022 in New York.

Digital conversations platform Eltropy and Magnifi Financial are working together to launch Generative AI solutions to enhance employee training and improve the customer/member experience. Eltropy’s Generative AI tools are powered by large language models (LLMs) that are specifically designed for community financial institutions (CFIs). These tools have enabled CFIs to bring new efficiency to their operations and greater personalization to the products and services they offer. Speaking about the partnership in a statement, Magnifi Financial SVP for IT and Digital Brad Shafton highlighted the fact that Eltropy’s technology is especially geared toward the needs of community financial institutions.

“What sets Eltropy apart is not just their technology but also their dedication to understanding the credit union industry and their commitment to community financial institutions like ours,” Shafton said. “They continue to evolve, and that’s why we consider them a long-term partner, including for AI.”

Magnifi will deploy Eltropy’s technology in a number of ways, including enhancing the firm’s mortgage and lending operations. Additionally, Eltropy’s ChatGRT-style Employee Assistants enable customer-facing financial services workers – from contact center agents to tellers – to access vetted, verified customer data. The technology also automates tasks like e-mail response generation, using natural conversational language.

To this end, Eltropy co-founder and CEO Ashish Garg said that solutions based on Generative AI have the potential to provide credit unions and community banks with new “innovative ways to thrive.” Garg added, “Eltrophy’s generative AI tools are empowering forward-thinking CFIs to achieve this by accelerating and enhancing employee knowledge training, improving the member experience and ultimately fueling growth.”

Eltropy made its most recent Finovate appearance last year at FinovateFall 2022. The company’s partnership with Magnifi Financial follows news of a collaboration with fellow Finovate alum Jack Henry from earlier this month, and an integration with Fiserv’s full-service account processing platform Portico in November. In August, Eltropy teamed up with yet another Finovate alum, Alkami, to enhance digital conversations for financial institutions.

Headquartered in Milpitas, California, Eltropy has raised $25 million in funding. The company includes K1 Investment Management and Curql among its investors.


Photo by Shane Aldendorff

Digital Conversations Platform Eltropy Integrates with Fiserv’s Portico

Digital Conversations Platform Eltropy Integrates with Fiserv’s Portico
  • Digital conversations platform Eltropy has integrated with Fiserv’s account processing platform Portico.
  • The integration will enable credit unions using Portico to use Eltropy solutions such as advanced Text, Video, and co-browsing.
  • Eltropy most recently demoed its technology last year at FinovateFall.

Digital conversations platform for community financial institutions (CFIs) Eltropy announced an integration with Fiserv’s full-service account processing platform Portico today. The integration will enable credit unions using Portico to leverage a variety of Eltropy communications solutions. These include advanced Text, Video, Secure Chat, co-browsing, screen sharing, and chatbots. And all of this functionality is contained within a single platform.

“This partnership with Fiserv allows us to boost efficiency and improve communications capabilities and security – including two-factor authentication – for even more community financial institutions,” Eltropy VP of Strategic Partnerships Jason Smith said. “This integration has the potential to elevate member engagement across all channels, equipping credit unions with the tools they need to thrive in today’s competitive landscape.”

Eltropy’s technology empowers credit unions to sync contacts, send promotional texts, and offer personalized, one-on-one conversations with members. The Portico integration will support communications between departments, facilitating secure and efficient interactions between lending, collections, sales, marketing and other internal sources.

The ability to sync contacts was a particular highlight of the integration. Eltropy’s sync-up feature enables credit unions to integrate member data with Eltropy’s Digital Conversations Platform. Unveiled last month, the Digital Conversations Platform unifies Eltropy’s Video Banking, Enterprise Texting, and Digital Contact Center solutions, and adds AI capabilities, as well. This integration will give credit unions comprehensive member insights that can drive member segmentation and make more personalized products and services possible.

“Integrating Eltropy’s innovative messaging capabilities into our Portico core banking platform allows credit unions to streamline communication and enhance member engagement,” Fiserv VP of Product Management & Strategy for Credit Union Solutions Vanessa Stock said. “Messages can now be sent directly from the application, cutting call center wait times and building stronger member relationships.”

A Finovate alum since 2017, Eltropy made its most recent Finovate appearance last September at FinovateFall. At the event, the company demoed Eltropy One, the firm’s all-in-one omni-channel solution that enables FIs to manage both inbound and outbound communications from a universal console. Eltropy has forged a number of new credit union partnerships this year, including alliances with InRoads Credit Union and Cyprus Credit Union. The company has also partnered with a number of fintechs, including fellow Finovate alums Akuvo, Q2, and Alkami.


Photo by Alex Andrews

AKUVO Partners with Eltropy to Help Credit Unions Leverage Text to Improve Collections

AKUVO Partners with Eltropy to Help Credit Unions Leverage Text to Improve Collections
  • Digital communications platform Eltropy and collections platform provider AKUVO announced a new partnership, integrating Eltropy’s texting functionality into AKUVO’s Aperture solution.
  • The integration will enhance the collections process for community financial institutions (CFIs).
  • Eltropy made its Finovate debut in 2017 and returned to the Finovate stage last year for FinovateFall in New York.

A newly-announced partnership between digital communications platform Eltropy and cloud-based collections platform provider AKUVO will enable credit unions to leverage the texting capabilities of Eltropy’s platform to enhance collections operations. Now, credit unions, community banks, and other community financial institutions (CFIs) will be able to access Eltropy’s texting communications platform from AKUVO’s Aperture solution.

“Integration between Eltropy and AKUVO’s Aperture will provide collectors with a powerful texting platform to guide their account holders through a proactive, effective collections experience,” AKUVO Chief Revenue and Operating Officer Steve Castagna said.

Headquartered in California and founded in 2014, Eltropy made its Finovate debut in 2017 and most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2022 last September. At the conference, Eltropy demoed its Eltropy One offering, an all-in-one omni channel solution that lets financial institutions manage both inbound and outbound member and customer communications from a single console. Text, secure chat, video, voice, co-browse, chatbot, and secure file exchange are among the functionalities Eltropy provides – all in a secure and compliant fashion.

In addition to facilitating the delivering of seamless omnichannel customer experiences, Eltropy’s platform leverages AI to help CFIs better resolve issues and consumer inquiries. The technology detects both subjective conditions like consumer sentiment and mood as well as objective data like specific relevant keywords and phrases to provide real-time guidance and personalized recommendations. The company’s partnership with AKUVO, according to Castagna, underscores a shared “visionary approach” to using both data and analytics to help enhance the financial wellness of members and customers.

“One of our primary goals in 2023 is to build stronger integrations with vendors who have strengths in areas of need from our CFI customers, so we look forward to partnering with AKUVO who is making waves in the collection industry with their Aperture platform,” Eltropy VP of Strategic Partnerships Jason Smith said.

With $25 million in funding, Eltropy closed out 2022 with new partnership announcements with digital banking solutions provider Tyfone and credit union lending technology company Origence. Also last year, Eltropy acquired both video banking company POPi/o and AI conversational intelligence platform Marsview.ai. Ashish Garg is Eltropy’s founder and CEO.

Learn more about Eltropy in its upcoming Finovate webinar, 7 trends for community financial services in 2023.


Photo by Lukas

Finovate Webinar: 7 Trends for Community Financial Services in 2023

Finovate Webinar: 7 Trends for Community Financial Services in 2023

Recession. Widespread staffing shortages. Increasing fraud. Customer demands — and advancements in technology like we’ve never seen. We’ve learned a lot about the current industry landscape so far in this first quarter alone, but there are still questions that loom large. Such as:

  • Will the threat of fraud ever go away?
  • Can my call center really become a revenue generator?
  • How will pending legislation around real-time payments and open finance affect our customers?
  • Should we really consider using TikTok?

Watch this Finovate webinar, in collaboration with Eltropy, on demand, and find out the top seven trends that CFIs like you should be focusing on in the coming year. You’ll discover:

  • Which trends are the most crucial to ensure success for your CFI this year
  • How the right digital strategies and tools can make or break your institution
  • Examples of what’s working and what’s not in financial services

You’ll hear from Jonny Manousaridis, social media & customer marketing manager, Eltropy, and banking strategy expert David Hall.

FinovateFall 2022 Sneak Peek: Eltropy

FinovateFall 2022 Sneak Peek: Eltropy

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall in New York on September 12 and 13. Register today and save your spot.

Eltropy enables Community Financial Institutions to digitally engage in a secure and compliant way via text, video, audio, secure chat, and social messaging. With Eltropy’s world-class digital communications platform, financial institutions can improve operations, engagement, and productivity.

Features

  • Only credit-union-focused inbound and outbound omni-channel digital communication solution
  • Rated as Best Text and Omni-Channel Solution by CUNA Strategic Services
  • 300+ credit unions

Why it’s great

Eltropy has the only all-in-one inbound and outbound omni-channel solution designed for enterprise wide use across lending, collection, marketing, and contact centers.

Presenter

Dave Norton, CRO
Norton has spent his career building and selling SaaS solutions, big data analytics, AI and BI, data aggregation, and data platforms to Fortune 100 & 500 companies in the following sectors: Financial Services, Insurance, Property Management, Retail, Construction, Education, Government, and Restaurant/Hospitality.
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 Eltropy Acquires Video Banking Startup POPi/o

 Eltropy Acquires Video Banking Startup POPi/o
  • Digital communications platform Eltropy has acquired video banking company POPi/o.
  • Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
  • With today’s acquisition, Eltropy now helps more than 400 Credit Unions reach their members via digital channels.

Digital communications platform Eltropy announced it has acquired video banking expert POPi/o. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Eltropy expects the purchase will strengthen its digital communications platform which enables financial institutions to engage in digital channels, such as social media, in a compliant manner. Today’s acquisition adds 100 credit union clients to Eltropy’s roster. The company now helps more than 400 credit unions reach their members via digital channels.

POPi/o offers banks a range of communication technologies ranging from high-tech to high-touch. The Utah-based company offers automated chatbot technology, video support from an in-branch specialist, and collaboration tools such as co-browse, video check deposit, identity verification, document sharing, and e-sign.

“By joining forces with POPi/o, we’re empowering credit unions to build robust virtual branch capabilities and serve members anytime, anywhere, in the channel of their choice,” Eltropy Co-Founder and CEO Ashish Garg. “Our world-class digital communications platform helps credit unions deliver on the promise of digital transformation — improving online and in-branch experiences for members and allowing for more rapid expansion in new markets without the need for a physical presence.”

Founded in 2013, Eltropy offers credit unions to help them reach their customers where they are. Leveraging POPi/o’s technology, Eltropy will offer clients automated, AI-driven text messaging, video banking, secure chat and chatbots, co-browsing, screen sharing, video check deposit, and more. In addition to providing compliance in these digital capabilities, Eltropy also offers communication analytics that provide insights into member engagement.

“Throughout my career, I have been focused on the consumer experience while creating enormous value to financial institutions,” said POPi/o Founder and Chairman Gene Pranger. “Through the merger of POPio’s Video Banking and Eltropy’s sophisticated digital communications platform, we will be able to fulfill both objectives.”

Earlier this spring, Eltropy celebrated the milestone of partnering with more than 300 credit unions across the U.S. And in April, Eltropy integrated with financial services software provider MeridianLink to help the company provide text messaging capabilities, secure document collection and sync, and instant notifications from within its platform. Eltropy most recently demoed at FinovateSpring 2018.


Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash

Eltropy and Prisma Campaigns Help Credit Unions Better Engage Members

Eltropy and Prisma Campaigns Help Credit Unions Better Engage Members
Photo by Sam Nam from Pexels

Text messaging platform Eltropy and omnichannel marketing innovator Prisma Campaigns have teamed up to help credit unions communicate more effectively with their customers. The new solution, which integrates technologies from both companies, will enable credit unions to leverage online banking, mobile banking, text, and SMS channels to launch targeted marketing campaigns.

“Increasingly, credit unions are hearing from members that they want (to use) text messaging to communicate,” Global Solution Manager at Prisma Campaigns Gastón Vizziano said. “Prisma Campaign’s omnichannel approach and ease-of-use of Eltropy’s platform make this new partnership a powerful value proposition for credit unions.”

Eltropy offers financial services companies a secure and compliant way to engage with their customers on the messaging platforms they prefer such as iMessage, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat. Demonstrating its technology at FinovateSpring (now FinovateWest) in 2018, Eltropy leverages AI to analyze 24 data points within message conversations in order to provide behavioral analytics that can guide institutions when marketing products and services to their customers.

Prisma Campaigns CEO Felipe Gil praised Eltropy’s ability to “give credit unions exactly what they want – personalized communications capabilities, in a way that is uncomplicated, secure, and compliant.” Founded in 2017, Prisma Campaigns leverages customer data to enable financial services companies to build and launch targeted, personalized marketing campaigns on both digital and non-digital channels. The Boston, Massachusetts-based company, which made its Finovate debut in 2018, partnered with fellow Finovate alum Jumio last month to empower credit unions to adopt automated digital ID verification technology.

Eltropy was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Milpitas, California. Last month, the company announced that it had inked agreements with 12 credit unions ranging in size from $11 million Paducah Teachers Federal Credit Union to $3.92 billion BCU. Company CEO and co-founder Ashish Garg credited Eltropy’s relationship with the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) for its ability to secure the trust of these smaller, community-oriented financial institutions.

“We have been signing an average of two credit unions a week for the last seven weeks,” Garg said. “Team Eltropy is thankful for its partnership with CUNA and state leagues across the country who have helped accelerate our business by spreading awareness of our product throughout the industry.”

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • SigFig Launches CoPilot, a Digital Wealth Platform for Financial Advisors.
  • Fiserv Finalizes Acquisition of Elan Financial Services’ Debit Processing Solutions.

Around the web

  • Eltropy partners with NWCUA to Bring Text Messaging to More than 180 Northwest Credit Unions.
  • CashStar named one of the best places to work in Maine for 8th consecutive year.
  • Lighter Capital appoints Anthea Louie as Chief Marketing Officer.
  • CCN names Crypterium among top 5 coins to watch in 2018.
  • Fenergo Launches Client Lifecycle Management Solution for Natixis.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • CardFlight Launches SwipeSimple Customers to Support Card Data Management.
  • Roostify Teams Up with Ellie Mae to Boost Efficiency in Mortgage Lending.

Around the web

  • Experian and Close Brothers Retail Finance pilot Mobile for Credit service for U.K. gamers.
  • New Penn Financial goes live with Portfolio Underwriter from Loan Scorecard.
  • PasswordPing earns finalist spot in 2018 “Innovation Quotient” IQ Awards.
  • Ukraine’s Akhmetov Bank leverages Corezoid’s cloud-based operating system.
  • ebankIT and Enterprise Engineering forge strategic partnership for the North American market.
  • Bambu, Eltropy, Moxtra, and Onfido are among the startups selected for Plug and Play Singapore’s inaugural fintech and insurtech program.
  • TECHdotMN profiles Sezzle founder and CEO, Charlie Youakim.
  • Forbes Middle East highlights Ayasdi and ThetaRay in look at how AI is helping solve financial crime.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

How Fintech is Disrupting the Modern Workplace

How Fintech is Disrupting the Modern Workplace

From the way payroll and benefits are administered to the nature of work itself, fintech innovation is helping build the 21st century workplace.

Will “pay day” be a thing of the past? How long until companies across the country are competing on the basis of their ability to help you pay off your student loans?

Technology has done much to change the nature of work in recent years. The same can be said for specific areas like financial technology. Here’s a look at how fintech innovations are making their own contributions to the 21st century “office”.

Getting Paid

Many of us work because we enjoy what we do. But whether you consider getting paid a top priority or just a perk, who wouldn’t love the flexibility of being able to get income when you need the money most – rather than on an arbitrary, twice a month schedule?

Companies like Gusto are among those making this possibility a reality. This summer, the payroll, benefits, and HR technology company introduced Flexible Pay, a new solution that enables employees to get paid on a date other than their employer’s standard pay date. Calling bi-weekly pay schedules a “relic” of the days when payroll taxes were calculated manually, Gusto co-founder and CEO Joshua Reeves has set out to prove that “with modern technology, employees shouldn’t have to wait weeks to get paid.”

The New Workspace

Even the word “telecommute” sounds more like something from a bygone time rather than the way a growing number of Americans are “going to work”. But the reality of remote employment for a growing number of people is here and fintech companies have both encouraged and participated in this trend. “Millennials simply don’t feel they need to be in the office, or at their desk, to get a job done — especially since the evolution of technology has made portability very possible,” Demetrios Gianniris, a director at MG Engineering, wrote for Forbes.com earlier this year in a post called The Millennial Arrival and the Evolution of the Modern Workplace.

To this end, innovations in mobile technology and messaging (consider Eltropy’s innovations in providing secure, compliant communications via popular messaging apps) have helped accelerate the revolution in remote work. There are also fintechs removing friction from some of the more mundane aspects of working outside the office. Expensify, for example, has partnered with Uber to make it easier for workers who use the ride-sharing service to separate business from personal expenses. And speaking of expenses, the tools offered by companies like Ondot empower workers to make necessary purchases while ensuring control and accountability for managers and employers.

Doing the Work

The flip side of the convenience that technologies like chatbots and IVR provide is that, for a growing number of financial professionals, these technologies are virtually co-workers. As machine learning and AI become increasingly commonplace, workers are more likely to rely on interacting with processes than communicating with people when it comes to getting their daily tasks done.

For financial advisors, fintechs are developing a wide variety of tools to make it easier for them to communicate with customers, and build highly personalized investment portfolios and financial plans. Onist, which announced a partnership with Quovo this summer, enables financial advisors to set up a virtual family office to facilitate collaboration between advisors and clients.

Technology also promises to make it easier for workers to leverage the work of other workers more effectively. One of the key insights of New York-based WorkFusion was the way a combination of machine learning and crowdsourcing of human talent could enable smaller businesses to “punch above their weight” when it comes to managing data. The company has since leveraged this technology to produce the first integrated RPA (robot process automation) and cognitive automation platform: Smart Process Automation (SPA) currently deployed in verticals including financial services, healthcare, and insurance.

Managing the Gains

Fintechs are in the lead when it comes to helping workers make better financial decisions. A firm like DoubleNet Pay helps employees manage cash flow by automating their billpay and savings obligations and coordinating payouts around paydays. Wealthucate, a financial wellness specialist out of San Jose, California, provides an automated financial wellness program that helps businesses enhance their own offerings. Wealthucate’s solution leverages gamification and personalization to increase the participation rate in benefit programs and help companies better explain their benefit offerings.

Among the more interesting ways that fintechs are helping workers manage their money is the approach by Student Loan Genius. This company enlists employers in the fight to help Millennial workers in particular pay off their student loans while simultaneously investing in their own employer-based retirement plan as soon as possible.

Fintech and the Work of the Future

It may be only a matter of time before we are able to watch the real-time flow of micropayments into our accounts or a be a part of a workforce in which most of us have both a robot supervisor and a robot subordinate. In any event, it is clear that whatever innovations the workplace of the future holds, fintech companies will be very much a part of making them happen.

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