TECHNOLOGY

Team MoPRO Active — With Flag CU on Board — Wins PSCU’s Annual KnockOut 

By W.B. King  CU JOURNAL  November 10, 2015  RELATED 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In PSCU’s fourth annual KnockOut Innovation Summit, 24 teams, comprised of approximately 200 people in four locations, spent 24 hours going toe-to-toe to develop the next greatest technology solution.

After eight semi-finalistswere chosen earlier this fall, the winner has been announced.

“When we walked in there, we didn’t know what to expect. It was our first time,” said Flag Credit Union’s Members Solutions Representative Beth Wheeler. “We knew it was going to be a great experience, but we definitely didn’t walk through the doors thinking we were going to win.”

Wheeler was joined by Flag CU colleague, Carrie Edgerson, a loan officer. Since they didn’t have a complete team upon arrival, they were assigned three PSCU employees: Heidi Thomas, collections supervisor, Elizabeth Rowe, financial services strategist; and Ed Warren, debit service account manager.

Together, they became Team MoPRO Active and won this year’s KnockOut.

“The evening before the KnockOut, I met my team and we began talking about ideas,” said Warren who has participated in all the previous KnockOut competitions. “A lot of the time judges will ask teams, ‘How do we get from here to there?’ It gives me goosebumps thinking about how our idea came about.”

KnockOut judges included representatives from PSCU, First Data, Filene, Solstice, IBM, Projekt202, Oceanit, Blue Startups, Arizona State CU, Vantage CU, Consumers CU, Lake Trust CU and Hawaiian Airlines CU.

Participating teams in St. Petersburg, Phoenix, Honolulu and Allen Park, Mich., were charged with presenting ideas that fell into three categories: member experience, credit union experience and growth.

Better Way to Collect

Over the 24-hour period -- which included little sleep, a lot of energy drinks and a professional boxing lesson -- Team MoPRO Active developed its winning pop-up feature application that eliminates collections calls in early delinquency stages, offers multiple payment options and enhances member experience.

“We hit on something where there was an unspoken demand for it,” said Wheeler. “Now that we have said it out loud, people really want it.”

With $36 million in assets, 15 employees, 5,400 members and one branch, the Tallahassee, Fla.-based Flag CU is one of the smallest CU’s to win KnockOut.

“Our team represented the smallest participating credit union, but it had big ideas,” said Sue Massa, chief executive officer of Flag CU. “We are so proud of their innovation and creativity and their ability to go head-to-head with some of the smartest people around the country. Their prototype is something that could revolutionize the way credit unions do business.”

When it came to judging, PSCU SVP Marketing Kristin Scharf explained that the MoPRO Active team presented detailed research as to why there is an urgent and compelling need to solve collection problems. “They showed that a credit union could move the needle on collecting, which would help members get in better financial shape, but also collect on the debts,” Scharf said.

Wheeler added that the app, which will likely be offered online via a credit card portal and a mobile portal, was designed, in part, for millennials who generally prefer automated self-service services. It was also geared toward members who might be in debt for the first time.

“People that are having trouble paying bills are embarrassed. Sometimes it is a member who has never been delinquent before and they don’t what to do, or it’s a member that has a big problem,” said Wheeler. “They are afraid to call because they think we are going to take a hard line with them, but we have tools that can help them get back on their feet and this app can help.”

Over the course of the coming year, Team MoPRO Active will regularly meet with PSCU’s innovation team to develop the app. In 2012 the winning entry was a mobile app that allows cardholders to report a card lost or stolen or dispute a transaction. Scharf explained that PSCU adapted this idea and incorporated it into a larger credit card data and account servicing app that is now offered on iTunes.

While Team MoPRO Active works toward bringing the app to market, they will also take time to enjoy the $1,500 travel voucher each member was awarded. Warren said he is considering a cruise, but Wheeler’s vacation plans are already set.

“I’ve already book my flight to England. My boyfriend is British, so I’m going to visit him and some family, too,” said Wheeler. “It’s going to be a blast.”

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