February 10, 2022
by Vicky Kinsey, Vice President of Marketing, CU Alliance CUSO

Alabama CU Services, a CUSO based in Tuscaloosa, AL, operates a very successful indirect program in over a dozen states and provides auto, power‐sports, and tractor lending.

Historically, Alabama CU Services provided indirect services only to Alabama Credit Union. However, ACUSI saw how smaller credit unions were being squeezed out of the indirect market. As a result, the 2021 business plan was to add the capacity to provide indirect lending opportunities to other credit unions in their market. In order to do this, ACUSI needed a partner who could rapidly add new dealers, reduce friction with dealer portals, and reduce the time it took to fund loans. The CUSO began discussing their desire to find a new provider back in February of 2021. Joe Hardy, Sales Manager at
Alabama CU Services, Inc., mentioned during a recent interview, “We needed a solution partner that could not only meet our existing needs; but, meet our projected growth needs for years to come.”

Kurt Howard, Chief Operating Officer at CUAC, was recently asked how CUAC was able to help Alabama CU Services with its indirect program. “I was so happy that Joe reached out to us when they were looking for a new partner. I knew right away that we would be a great fit for their CUSO and what they were looking to do long‐term with their indirect program. CUAC services the indirect needs of 6 other CUSOs currently and many of the things Joe was looking to do, we had already implemented. From doc generation for their indirect dealers to eContracting, through the Dealertrack and RouteOne portals, I knew we could not only immediately increase their existing value proposition to their dealers; but, also help them roadmap based on their aggressive growth plans.

The CUSO is now significantly increasing its dealer footprint and expanding its offering to other credit unions. Tommy Cobb, the CEO of the CUSO, had this to say. “We are developing other lending technologies that we believe will help smaller credit unions and our options would be very limited without the help of CUAC. We are pleased about our partnership with CUAC and look forward to them helping us meet our growth potential. They have the key technology components we are looking for, they provide us with operational insight and a genuine interest in helping us reach our goals. We are excited about the opportunities in front of us.”

CUAC is the leading provider of indirect lending services for CUSOs and credit unions on the Dealertrack and RouteOne platforms.

If you are interested in taking your credit union’s indirect program to the next level, please reach out at khoward@cuac.com or online at https://www.cuac.com/contact.