Synergent Chooses Digital Dialogue

Business Wire, April 19, 2001

Business Editors

TAYLOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 2001

Maine Credit Union League subsidiary enters reseller

agreement with Internet-based call center

Digital Dialogue, an Internet-based multi-channel call center that enables credit unions to provide members 24-hour lending services with immediate loan decisions, today announced that it has entered a strategic marketing agreement with Synergent Corp., a subsidiary of the Maine Credit Union League, Westbrook, Maine.

"Digital Dialogue allows us to outsource the entire lending process, up to the signature required on paper, with approvals arriving in seconds," said Gary Glenn, IT vice president of Synergent, "The Digital Dialogue alliance is one more service to strengthen our commitment to our credit unions. The costs of implementing a 24-hour call center and Internet lending system with automated decisioning is typically cost prohibitive to individual credit unions. However, Digital Dialogue enables the credit unions to offer the same capability anytime through various methods. There are minimal up front fees and low transaction costs, eliminating much of the capital expenditures and risks for participating credit unions."

According to Glenn, "One of the most appealing features of the service is derived from the convergence of the Internet and the call center. This service helps alleviate the high abandonment rate in the Internet lending market by providing online chat and voice over IP service to the members. Additionally, the call center lending agents immediately place outbound phone calls to members submitting incomplete applications for conversion." Digital Dialogue has historically converted 25 percent of their partial applications to completed applications.

Synergent provides a full array of online data processing, credit, ATM and debit card processing, check processing, and printing and creative services for more than 100 credit unions throughout New England.

"Our alliance agreement allows Digital Dialogue to develop an interface to Synergent's host system, which enables the Internet lending system and our lending agents to act as a virtual call center for the institutions," said Peter Schmitt, COO of Digital Dialogue. "When a call is originated or an Internet application is started, the member's account information is downloaded for application pre-population and agent cross-selling. Once the application is completed, credit information retrieved and the application is decided upon, the information is automatically uploaded to the host for immediate use by the credit union staff."

About Synergent

Established in 1971 as MECUL Services Corp. Synergent provides a full array of online data processing, credit, ATM and debit card processing, check processing, and printing and creative services for more than 100 credit unions throughout New England. For more information, visit www.synergentcorp.com.

About Digital Dialogue

Digital Dialogue is a joint venture between Dialogue Marketing, an award winning call center, and The Maxxar Corp., a well-respected computer telephony integration (CTI) development company with more than 2,000 installations. Digital Dialogue provides financial institutions with high levels of customer and member service using the latest Internet and telephony technologies. The business responds to consumers' rapid adoption of multiple communication channels available 24 hours each day. For more information visit www.digital-dialogue.com