Origence, LoanStar Partnership Brings Retail Merchant Financing to CUs

Origence, a brand of the Ontario, Calif.-based CUSO CU Direct, announced an exclusive partnership with the Swarthmore, Penn.-based CUSO LoanStar Technologies Wednesday. As a result of the partnership, Origence credit unions will have the opportunity to capture loans that members obtain to finance large purchases they make from merchants at the point of sale.

Origence’s credit union clients will utilize LoanStar’s MerchantLinQ portal, a locally-branded system that enables consumers to instantly apply for a credit union loan while visiting the merchant they are shopping with. Credit unions will also benefit from LoanStar’s business development support services, which include consultation on how to gain more market share, according to the announcement from Origence.

“As we continue to explore new ways to reach and serve credit unions and their members, we are excited to announce the next evolution in point-of-sale financing through our collaboration with LoanStar,” CU Direct Chief Product Officer Brian Hendricks said.

Andrew Turner, CEO of LoanStar, stated, “We are excited to partner with such a well-known organization like Origence to help their lending partners diversify their portfolios while offering their members a new ability to borrow at the point-of-sale.”

As part of the deal, CU Direct Connect (CUDC), a subsidiary of CU Direct that provides outsourced processing and underwriting services for credit union lenders, will be LoanStar’s exclusive provider of business process outsourcing (BPO) services, according to the announcement.

“The business development and product aspects are critical for credit unions to succeed in this market,” CUDC President Brian Hamilton said. “Beyond that, however, it is a high-transaction business that requires responsiveness and coverage outside of standard business hours. We look forward to enabling credit unions to grow through this channel without needing to invest heavily in their own back-office operations.”

Turner added, “We couldn’t have selected a better partner than CUDC to assist with our customers’ needs for outsourcing – not only do they understand the business, but the whole team came from lending operations.”