Member First Credit Union are one of the largest credit unions in Ireland, serving communities across North Dublin. They have over 70,000 members and a current loan book of €115 million. As a not-for-profit organisation, MFCU are all about their members and looking after their communities. Being almost 60 years in existence has meant a build-up of historic member data for Member First.

Recently they faced a challenge with storing and managing large volumes of paper copies of their members’ files. As this Credit Union office was moving to a new smaller building with no space to store these documents, the need to digitise the paperwork became urgent. That’s when Datascan stepped in.

The Challenge

Rosanna Del Rio, the Member Engagement Manager of Member First Credit Union, described the situation: “We had a filing room with paper version of our member’s files, we were moving premises, as we were physically downsizing, we did not have extra space to store paperwork. We knew the paper should be scanned, but the job was too big for us to scan internally. We pride ourselves on being a digital organisation but with these old paper files, it meant we had to physically search and retrieve members information from these files, which was so time-consuming for our team.”

Finding a Provider

Rosanna sent out a tender for the project and received quotes from two recommended companies. Additionally, she searched online for a third option and discovered Datascan. After speaking with the team at Datascan, Rosanna felt confident about the partnership due to Datascan’s proactive, flexible approach and cost-effectiveness.

“Datascan seemed proactive and assured us they would be flexible to meet our needs. I felt that nothing would be an issue for them. They were experienced, confident, and were not putting any pressure on me,” Rosanna noted.

Project Execution

Once selected, Rosanna met with Kym and Orla from Datascan to discuss compliance and security requirements. A visit to their premises reassured Member First Credit Union that their data would be handled securely. Datascan’s ISO certification for compliance, quality, and security was a significant factor in this assurance.

“We organised a visit to their premises where we could see where our boxes would be stored and how the process would be completed. We wanted to ensure our data was managed securely. We both are certified to ISO 27001 standards so that further reassured me” Rosanna explained.

The initial trial with a sample batch of documents was successful, leading to the scheduling of the remainder of the project. Datascan maintained clear communication throughout the process, providing regular updates and ensuring any minor issues were promptly resolved.

“Datascan gave us dates when they planned to collect and were always there and throughout the process, quality control testing of the scanned documents was carried out by Staff of MFCU. They kept us up to date with regular updates. If there were any minor issues, we solved them between us. There was good communication, and they took the heavy lifting out of the process for me,” Rosanna said.

Results

“From a Member First Credit Union perspective, I am happy to say all our paper files are now digitised and as the paper versions are not required, for security reasons, Datascan will shred them under the supervision of MFCU Staff. In line with our Member First Credit Union climate goals, the shredded paper will amongst other things, be recycled as household and personal cleaning material. The efficient service provided by Datascan Scanning was instrumental in this smooth transition”

Future Plans

Member First Credit Union plans to continue working with Datascan for remaining historical documents. “We are already planning another project. While we are now digital in all our communications, we still have some historical documents that need attention. We look forward to continuing our working relationship with them” Rosanna stated.

Testimonial:

Rosanna, Member Engagement Manager of Member First Credit Union, said, “Datascan made what seemed like an insurmountable task manageable and stress-free. Their professionalism and efficiency were beyond our expectations.”

Orla Cafferty, CEO Datascan, commented, “Working with Member First Credit Union was a pleasure and also a rewarding experience. They are a very professional organisation with extremely high standards. Our goal is to make the digitisation process as smooth as possible for our clients, and we are glad we could meet and exceed their expectations.”

Datascan’s meticulous approach and commitment to client satisfaction allowed Member First Credit Union to successfully digitise these historical documents, ensuring they remain a leading digital organisation in their sector. This case study exemplifies the importance of choosing a reliable and experienced partner for large-scale digitisation projects.