Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union Improves Security, Efficiency, and Member Experience with IllumaSHIELD™
June 5, 2026 | Success Stories
As fraud threats continue to evolve across the voice channel, credit unions are under increasing pressure to strengthen security while delivering faster, more seamless member experiences. For Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union (MAFCU), improving member authentication while creating a more efficient experience for both members and team members became a key priority.
By implementing IllumaSHIELD™ Voice Security, MAFCU has successfully modernized its caller verification process, achieving exceptional member adoption, reducing reliance on traditional knowledge-based authentication, and significantly lowering average handle time across its contact center.
Strengthening Security While Improving Efficiency
As a not-for-profit financial cooperative serving Montgomery County, Maryland, Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union is committed to helping members achieve their financial goals through exceptional service, innovative financial solutions, and a strong focus on community impact. That commitment to continuously improving the member experience led MAFCU to modernize its authentication process with IllumaSHIELD™ Voice Security.
Like many credit unions, MAFCU relied on traditional question-and-answer verification to authenticate callers. While effective, the process added time to every interaction and created unnecessary friction for both members and team members.
MAFCU sought a solution that would strengthen security while creating a faster and more convenient experience.
“We were looking for a way to streamline verification while maintaining strong security standards for our members. These are typically tradeoffs, but we were unwilling to compromise on either” said Victor Hammarin, Vice President of Member Experience at Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union.
After evaluating its options, MAFCU selected IllumaSHIELD™ Voice Security to transform how members are authenticated.
Implemented in One Day with Minimal Effort
According to the MAFCU team, implementation was straightforward and required very little effort from internal resources.
“It was very simple and easy to implement. Technical onboarding started on a Wednesday and by Thursday afternoon we had the system configured and tested successfully in production” said Lisa Paster, Online Branch Manager at Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union.
Because IllumaSHIELD™ integrates seamlessly into existing contact center operations, MAFCU was able to quickly begin enrolling members and realizing value shortly after deployment.
Exceptional Member Adoption
One of the most impressive outcomes has been the speed at which members embraced the technology.
Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union has integrated enrollment directly into its member service process. Once a member’s identity has been verified, representatives offer enrollment, creating a seamless experience that drives exceptional adoption rates.
The result has been remarkable adoption. 9 out of 10 MAFCU members offered enrollment have joined the program , resulting in more than 20% of the credit union’s total membership being enrolled in IllumaSHIELD™ in less than a year since launch.
Members have responded positively to the experience.
“They are very positive about it,” said Paster. “We haven’t had much push-back regarding voice authentication. Members are happy with it.”
Reducing Reliance on Traditional Authentication
As enrollment has grown, MAFCU has significantly reduced its dependence on traditional knowledge-based authentication questions.
Today, 84% of callers are authenticated using voice verification, allowing representatives to spend less time verifying identities and more time helping members.
By replacing multiple verification questions with passive voice authentication, MAFCU has created a faster, more convenient experience while strengthening protection against fraud.
Improving Contact Center Performance
The operational impact has been equally significant.
Because representatives no longer need to ask as many verification questions, MAFCU has substantially reduced the time spent authenticating callers.
IllumaSHIELD™ is currently saving the credit union more than 75 seconds in Average Handle Time (AHT) on every call where voice authentication is used.
“IllumaSHIELD™ has reduced our average handle time by helping us reduce the number of questions we need to ask members to verify them,” said Paster.
These time savings allow representatives to focus on delivering service and resolving member needs instead of spending valuable time on repetitive authentication steps.
A Recommendation for Other Financial Institutions
Based on the results achieved, MAFCU strongly encourages other organizations to consider voice authentication as part of their security strategy.
“IllumaSHIELD™ has delivered exactly what we were looking for—a faster, more seamless authentication experience for our members and a more efficient process for our team,” said Hammarin. “The ease of implementation, strong member adoption, and measurable operational improvements made this a successful initiative.”
For organizations looking to strengthen security, improve member experience, and increase contact center efficiency, MAFCU’s experience demonstrates the value of IllumaSHIELD™ Voice Security.
Impact at a Glance
- 9 out of 10 members offered enrollment join IllumaSHIELD™
- More than 20% of total membership enrolled within approximately one year
- 84% of callers authenticated using voice verification
- Over 75 seconds saved in Average Handle Time per authenticated call
- Simple implementation with minimal operational disruption
- Positive member feedback and strong adoption rates
About Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union