Like many credit unions, Columbia operated with a lean team and relied heavily on manual processes. Underwriting was time-consuming, and only 18% of lending decisions were automated. That inefficiency put pressure on internal teams and slowed the member experience—especially in the fast-moving auto lending space. “When you’re trying to be sophisticated—reaching an audience getting a new iPhone every year—it’s hard when your system is too simple. Provenir helped us add intelligence and dynamic capabilities to a platform that was originally basic.”

The goal was clear: increase automation, improve decision speed, and better serve both members and partners like auto dealerships—all without overwhelming staff or adding unnecessary complexity.

Provenir’s flexible platform has helped Columbia not only become more efficient but also more innovative—without needing to hire an army of developers or data scientists. “Provenir is allowing us to dip our toes into AI in a very controlled and tested way—with expertise we don’t have to hire ourselves.”

Automation allowed the team to shift its mindset. Instead of simply managing workload, the credit union is now actively identifying which decisions aren’t automated—and figuring out how to fix that. “We’re thinking differently now. It’s not just ‘get through the queue’—it’s ‘how do we expand what’s automated, and why isn’t this case being handled already?’ That’s a powerful shift.”

For dealerships, speed is everything—and Columbia is now winning more of that business. “We used to capture around 40% of the dealership loans we approved. Now we’re over 55%, and some months we hit 60%. That’s purely because of faster responses.” That’s a huge leap in competitiveness in a space where timing often determines the lender a customer chooses.