Before Covid it was a matter of vendor philosophy when it came to doing a core conversion in-person or remotely; now all conversions are being done remotely and the success of those being done today could help change the future. “I think generally the core providers have gotten really good about doing the actual conversions,” said Aaron Silva, President of Paladin, which helps banks and credit unions renegotiate technology contracts, to American Banker. “By the time they get to the conversion date, it’s been a long time coming. They can do it remotely.” Core conversions are not a quick process, as most firms start looking at potential core systems years in advance and usually send employees to fellow financial firms to understand different systems. Symitar, a unit of Jack Henry that provides technology solutions to credit unions, usually sends 6 to 12 employees to assist a credit union with a conversion. Symitar is using videoconferencing to build much-needed relationships before a conversion; the hybrid conversion will most likely be the long term answer as firms like Symitar allow clients to decide what works best for them in the future, but for now it’s essentially 100% virtual deployment. American Banker.
