Online services update

On March 22, we launched our new Online Banking and Bill Pay platforms. Within a few hours of launch, we rolled back the new Online Banking system as soon as we noticed reliability issues with high traffic volumes. The new Bill Pay system is live, but several members have had questions about it. Please see the Q & A below for the latest information.

Bill Pay

Q: Why did you change the Bill Pay service?
A: Our previous Bill Pay provider discontinued their service. We conducted an RFP process that evaluated several different providers and selected a solution that would allow us to offer features many members have requested including bill presentment (eBills), bill alerts, and expedited payments.

Q: The new system is clunky, can you just restore the old Bill Pay system?
A: Our previous Bill Pay provider discontinued the service so we had to change platforms. The new Bill Pay was designed to work optimally with our new Online Banking system. As such, it admittedly feels a bit clunky in comparison to the old system. We have made improvements in the past few weeks, but it will run optimally with the new Online Banking system.

Q: Can you change Bill Pay so joint owners can share payee history and scheduled payments?
A: Our Bill Pay provider doesn’t support the sharing of payee history and scheduled payments. Surprisingly, we found this to be the case with the top-tier providers. We understand this makes it more cumbersome for some members. Conversely, it solves a problem for other members. Knowing this would be a challenge for some members, we copied the payee lists between account owners so the payees would be available to all parties.

Ideally, we’d allow our members to choose how to share information between joint owners. We’re exploring our options to improve the sharing of information, but this is not a trivial task. In the meantime, our member service representatives will work with you to address specific concerns.

Q: Can you add a logout button to the Bill Pay page?
A: Yes, we’re correcting this. In the meantime, you’ll find that closing the Bill Pay window logs you out of the Bill Pay system, but not Online Banking.

Online Banking

Q: What happened with your Online Banking rollout?
A: We made the decision to roll back our Online Banking changes as soon as we saw potential reliability issues when traffic was extraordinary.

Q: Can you provide more details on the technical issues?
A: For the sake of member privacy and security, it wouldn’t be responsible of us to provide working details of the Online Banking system.

Q: Did you test the Online Banking system before you went live?
A: Yes. Our testing activities included load testing, stress testing, beta testing (by staff), usability testing, and functional testing. The issue that occurred on March 22, 2010, was not disclosed during any of those tests.

Q: What are your next steps to restore the updated Online Banking system?
A: In addition to rigorous troubleshooting and testing, we’re evaluating when to re-deploy the system. We won’t install it until we’re certain it’s reliable with high usage.

Q: Why deploy a new Online Banking environment in light of the pending merger?
A: The new Online Banking platform was nearly complete by the time our Board of Directors even considered a merger. Assuming for a moment that the merger was approved, it would still be several months before system integration. Believing that our members would find much value in the new system, we decided to move forward. Our new platform shares similar functionality with Addison Avenue’s system.