custom application development

unique requirements call for custom developed solutions

While the CU*Answers Web Services Team are experts at WordPress because of its flexibility to fit most needs, we are not a one trick pony. CU*Answers Web Developers are experienced developers in their own right. Our team takes on custom develop projects that meet certain needs of our users on a case by case basis.

Experienced, security minded PHP developers

CU*Answers Web Services developers are very security minded and conscientious when dealing with private data. All of these applications have been developed using PHP and PHP frameworks where appropriate. They adhere to best practices in development standards, as well as carrying over our extensive experience in front end design. CU*Answers Web Services Professionals have achieved industry recognized certifications such as Zend Certified Engineer (PHP5) and MySQL Certified Developer.  Here is a sampling of some of our custom development projects.

Retailer Direct

This loan origination application was written to allow credit unions to partner with local businesses to generate new loans. Retailer Direct communicates to CU*BASE and the Lender*VP 247 Decision Model via a secured XML gateway. This application was created in PHP and written from the ground up in custom code to meet requirements.

Launched in 2006, this application passed over $1 million dollars in loans in the first 30 days and continues to build credit union business to this day. CU*Answers Web Services is constantly updating this application and its capabilities as well as deploying new sites.

For more information, visit Retailer Direct or Lender*VP.

Lender on the Road

Lender on the Road is the sister project of Retailer Direct. This web applications is a variation of Retailer Direct that enables credit unions to bring their loan department to the member. An example use of Lender on the Road is for a credit union to staff a trade show, such as the Home Expo or Boat Show, to offer on the spot financing to members and potential new members.

For more information, visit Lender on the Road or Lender*VP.

Retailer Direct MicroLender

Retailer Direct MicroLender was created in 2009 to enable credit unions to offer short term, small denomination loans, commonly called pay day loans, to compete with local lenders in favorable way. This web application was developed using the Zend Framework in PHP and passed a rigorous code audit. This application is unique in that it is a fully functional, standalone loan management system and does not require a core processor integration. In addition, this application communicates in real time via web services to the credit bureau to obtain a decision based on input member data as well as, reporting real time activity on the loan. Because this application contains private data, security was a critical concern and therefore, this application uses multiple security and encryption protocols to protect the data.

For more information, visit Lender*VP

CU*Answers University

The CU*Answers University pages were created to enable the CU*Answers Organizational Resource Development team to manage the expansive offering of CU*Answers Education classroom and webinar classes. Created a content management system that empowered the Educational Administrators to manage their own content streamlined workflow and instructor reporting while reducing update requirements on the Web Services team. In addition, by these new education pages created new enhancements in online registration and class offering sorting. This application was developed with custom PHP to integrate with existing infrastructure, yet still add new features and enhancements.

To see the CU*Answers University registration in effect, please visit cuanswers.com/education. Please note, this is a live website.

Xtend Branch Search

In partnership with Xtend, CU*Answers Web Services developed a custom shared branch search engine and mapping tool, for both staff and credit union members. This shared branch search uses a custom search engine query developed specifically for this site, to enable members to find the closest shared branch location from their selected position. In addition, this application integrates with Yahoo! Maps to provide detailed directions and location information. This application was created using the CakePHP Framework.

For more information, please visit Xtend.

SiteControl Plugin for WordPress

CU*Answers Web Services capitalizes on the power of WordPress for use as a Content Management System whenever possible, especially, for traditional marketing sites. The innate power of WordPress is in its flexibililty to hand multiple site archetypes and design patterns. This is further enhanced by the robust plugin capabilities, which add on functionality to the core system. So, when CU*Answers Web Services needed to integrate WordPress with the CU*BASE data processing core, we turned to a plugin. SiteControl is our custom plugin that controls all integrations with CU*BASE and other CU*Answers collective functionality, like common marketing and content initiatives. SiteControl is included free of charge with all CU*Answers Web Services WordPress installations.

PLM


Project Log Monitor, or PLM, is the heart of our software development tracking. PLM provides for the entry, tracking, retrieval and reporting of the many projects and changes it requires to keep CU*BASE GOLD functional and relevant. PLM also gives clients the ability to track projects of their interest on the monitor web interface from inception to completion.

Other Projects

In addition the CU*Answers Web Services team is adept at leveraging Open Source Projects to meet specific client needs.