Third Federal Injects Fiserv’s DNA

Third Federal Savings & Loan, a Cleveland-based bank with $17.1 billion in assets, is adopting Fiserv Inc.’s DNA platform. Fiserv acquired the core-processing platform in 2013 with an acquisition.

Among the platform’s features is an AppMarket. Users can select a variety of payments apps, such as for automated clearing house payments. Other payment apps include debit card services, ATM transactions reports, and upgrade capability for existing card agreements to online versions. The DNA platform also enables users to create their own apps that can be fully integrated into the platform and validated by Fiserv. Third Federal, issues a Mastercard-branded debit card with its checking accounts. The institution ranks 113^th in the country by asset size, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Banks increasingly find themselves competing against fintechs as both vie for consumers’ financial accounts. Fiserv says the DNA platform can help financial institutions more easily adapt to a competitive market, engage customers, and achieve growth.

A 2023 report found that nearly half of 108 banks had lost at least 10% of their payment volume to fintechs, according to Datos Insights, formerly Aite-Novarica. As Digital Transactions News contributor Ashish Bhatnagar, head of payments at consultancy Cognizant, characterized it, “As the payments ecosystem undergoes these shifts, banks face relentless pressure to keep up with more agile competitors while modernizing legacy systems. And, as this trend unfolds—and is coupled with rising consumer expectations for fast, transparent, low-cost, and low-friction transactions—competition for customers is heating up.”

A Third Federal executive views the DNA adoption as an important part of the effort to serve its customers. “An open and real-time core solution that allows us to easily integrate with third parties and provide a superior user experience helps us achieve this goal,” Andy Rubino, Third Federal chief information officer, says in a statement. “We regularly evaluate new ways to improve the service we offer, and the Fiserv DNA core platform empowers us to create a seamless customer experience.”