Business

Decision Time advances on Credit Union market after acquisition

Decision Time managing director Geoff Higgins.
Decision Time managing director Geoff Higgins.

ANTRIM-based governance software specialist Decision Time has landed a series of new contracts with credit unions across the island of Ireland.

It comes just weeks after the cloud-based software company was acquired by Advanced, one of the UK’s largest providers of business software and services.

Based in Slough, the Advanced Computer Software Group has embarked on a growth drive since it was acquired by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners in 2015.

It now has around 25,000 customers and employs a workforce of 2,700 people.

Decision Time, which already counts organisations such as KPMG, Royal Mail and HM Land Registry as clients, specialises in supporting organisations practice good governance by running effective meetings, managing risk and monitoring strategic performance.

That list of customers now includes 30 credit unions.

Cavan-based Link CU, which has almost 17,000 members is the latest to sign up with the Antrim firm.

It follows contracts with Rathmore CU in Kerry and Naomh Breandan CU in Galway.

With 3.6 million people members of 250 branches, Ireland has one of the highest credit union memberships per capita in the world.

Decision Time managing director Geoff Higgins said the firm expects to double the number of credit union customers it has to more than 60 over the next 12 months.

“Good governance and risk management is clearly extremely important to credit unions in their role serving communities across the island,” he said.

“This has led to strong demand in the sector meaning that we now have 30 credit union customers, and we expect that number to double over the next year.

“This will include more credit unions in Ireland, but we are also in discussions with credit unions in England, Scotland and Wales where we believe there is very strong demand for the products that we provide.”

The chief executive of Link Credit Union, Angela Rice, said: “We wanted a secure place for board members to access relevant documents as well as previous minutes and agendas, and Decision Time was a solution that really impressed us.

“I like how attendees can annotate meeting packs and documents and collaborate with others within a secure environment.

“It is also really good to have the option to manage risks on the platform as well.”