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EFCU Financial taps Dolphin Debit for ATM management

The outsourcing deal expands on a cobranding relationship that already existed between the two organizations.

June 4, 2015

EFCU Financial, one of the nation's oldest credit unions, has turned over management of its ATM fleet to full-service management provider Dolphin Debit, the company said in a press release.

Dolphin Debit now operates eight ATMs for the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based FI, which holds $315 in assets and serves 33,000 members from eight branch locations.

According to EFCU Financial CFO Rick Myers, the looming cost of ATM upgrades provided the impetus for outsourcing the CU's fleet.

"We had just finished getting quotes on upgrades for our ATMs for EMV card readers and Windows 7, and we were looking at some pretty horrible expenses," he said. "Dolphin Debit paid us a call about that time, and offered us a much better solution."

EFCU Financial previously had co-branded five Dolphin Debit-owned and operated ATMs at Murphy USA fuel stations in the Baton Rouge area. Dolphin Debit has an exclusive ATM placement arrangement with Murphy USA in several states.

Myers said that offloading ATM operations was a relief for the credit union.

"The way we are structured, we did not have an ATM expert on staff," he said. "All of our ATMs were older, so there were ongoing maintenance issues too. Without the expertise, I felt we were always trying to tinker with them. Having Dolphin Debit take them over for us was a really attractive option."

Dolphin Debit President Ben Allen said CU had discovered the same thing as many other credit unions about the real cost of operating ATMs: "When they get older and need upgrading, or need major work to stay compliant, they can get very expensive."