In a move to deliver more features and a better member experience through its ATMs, Pelican State Credit Union has turned over management of its fleet of machines to Dolphin Debit, the full-service ATM management company.

The Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based credit union had been managing its own ATMs for at least 15 years before deciding that amid concerns about compliance, security, and the cost of upgrading its machines for member-friendly features it would be better to hand off management responsibilities.

“We wanted to offer image deposit to members, and most of our machines couldn’t do that,” explained Kim Saia, Project Manager for Pelican State Credit Union. “Also, the multiple relationships involved in managing ATMs were difficult to coordinate, and we were dealing with a lot of downtime.”

The $398 million credit union, with 15 branches and more than 55,000 members, has turned over management of 22 ATMs to Dolphin Debit, with a 23rd coming soon.

Those ATMs are primarily located at branches and at Pelican partner (SEG) sites. Pelican State, which began in 1956 by serving hospital and medical groups, now has a broad range of Pelican partners in addition to serving two parishes in central Louisiana.

One way that Pelican State has leveraged its new ATM relationship with Dolphin is by getting machines out in front of the community at local festivals and special events. The credit union brings in its highly visible branded machines for the duration of these events, and are finding they are very well received.

Beyond the positive feedback, noted Pelican State Marketing Supervisor Frank Kerner, the credit union is seeing strong activity at the special event ATMs and believes the good experience users are having with them is driving interest among potential members and helping with membership growth.

Before selecting Dolphin as a partner, Pelican State checked the company out thoroughly, and was impressed most by the positive comments from existing Dolphin clients, Saia noted.

“Having a good vendor relationship is important to us, in addition to factors such as reduced downtime,” Saia said. “It has been unbelievably easy to work with Dolphin. They are responsive and follow up with us very well.”

“A key reason that Dolphin Debit has been so successful in growing our client base is because clients are always giving us great recommendations,” observed Gary Walston, CEO of Dolphin Debit. “When prospective clients hear what existing clients say, they realize that excellent customer service is more than just a promise for us. It is what we deliver, day in and day out.”