How We Helped Sunwest Bank Innovate in the U.S. Financial Market
Founded in 1969, Sunwest Bank is an American community bank focused on serving small and mid-sized private companies across the western United States.
Luby became its strategic partner for developing several web and mobile applications — both internal and client-facing — after identifying new business opportunities. We've worked from product conception (prototyping and validation with business teams) through development, deployment, and ongoing operations. Today, Luby manages a portfolio of seven Sunwest Bank projects.
The Challenge
Sunwest Bank sought to innovate in a traditional and competitive market by digitizing key services for customers and employees. Many banking processes — such as account opening and loan requests — still relied on manual paperwork and in-branch interactions.
The challenge was to modernize these workflows, create user-friendly interfaces, and enable digital operations without disrupting compliance or core banking integrity.
Our Approach
Innovation
Luby participated from ideation and design to development and testing of Sunwest's new digital platforms. Today, the bank itself uses these platforms to manage its HSA accounts and employee benefits.
SNAP
A web application allowing new and existing Sunwest Bank clients to open accounts digitally in less than one hour. In the U.S., account opening is still often done manually at branches, with lengthy forms.
Luby helped conceive, prototype, and test this product with business teams — and now maintains its daily operations. Since launching in 2021, SNAP has been considered a game-changer for Sunwest Bank, making it one of the few U.S. commercial banks offering fully digital account opening.
Loans
An online lending platform launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, when loan demand surged. Customers could apply and track loans completely online — an essential capability at the time.
Luby participated from ideation and prototyping to full development and testing. The platform generated a 40% increase in new customers, and 45% of them remained with the bank even after the pandemic.
Selfcare HSA
A specialized account platform for managing Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), allowing companies to register employees, open accounts, make digital contributions, and enable employees to pay medical expenses or request reimbursements.
Sunwest identified an opportunity to improve HSA management for businesses and their teams, and Luby helped design and develop the full platform.
Cyber Security
Our cybersecurity solutions ensure the protection and integrity of client data and operations through integrations with leading global providers. For Sunwest Bank, we implemented and managed key integrations, including:
LexisNexis Risk Solutions
Provides data and technology to assess risk, detect fraud, and support safer decisions. Luby integrated LexisNexis products (Bridger and InstantID) into Sunwest's applications to enhance identity verification and fraud prevention, such as during account openings.
ID Analyzer
A platform for verifying the authenticity of user identities, using document recognition technology for passports, driver's licenses, and ID cards.
DocuSign
Digital document signing platform integrated into Sunwest's workflow.
Remittance Security
These integrations strengthened the security of Sunwest's remittance product — which enables money transfers from the U.S. to Mexico.
Evolution & Third-Party Integrations
Luby performed multiple integrations with major fintech partners, supporting Sunwest's transition to a more connected and scalable architecture.
Fiserv
Core banking solutions provider for Sunwest Bank. Luby has extensive experience integrating Fiserv APIs for account creation, banking data access, and transactions.
DriveWealth
End-to-end investment platform provider integrated into Sunwest's ecosystem.
Plaid
Enables Sunwest applications to connect to users' bank accounts for efficient transfers and transactions.
Transnetwork
Facilitates remittances and financial transactions between individuals, businesses, and institutions.
Banking as a Service
Sunwest Bank offers services to the HOA (Homeowners Association) market — organizations formed by residents of neighborhoods or condominiums that manage community finances. Through API-based solutions developed by Luby, HOA platforms can access banking data, allowing residents to view payments, fees, and balances directly.
Luby built this entire API ecosystem, integrated with partners like Fiserv, Plaid, ID Analyzer, and LexisNexis. We continue to support this operation with new integrations and clients as Sunwest expands its digital offerings.
Outsourcing
Our partnership with Sunwest Bank also includes two dedicated squads for operational support and system maintenance:
Team Blue and Team Green, totaling about 13 professionals — developers, product managers, QAs, designers, and tech leads.
The SNAP and Selfcare HSA projects are examples of our Customer Experience focus, where our UX/UI and delivery work directly impacted Sunwest's business results.
Experience
Luby delivered UX and UI improvements across all Sunwest Bank products — from conception to prototyping. Our UX team focused on enhancing usability and user experience, ensuring accessibility and consistency across web and mobile interfaces.
With deep expertise in the financial sector, we helped Sunwest strengthen client relationships and retention.
Results
Key Outcomes of This Strategic Partnership:
New customers through the Loans platform
New accounts via the SNAP application
Average time to open an account
Sunwest Bank has been a Luby client since 2017, and the Luby team has done great work for the bank across several development projects. As with all offshore engagements, setting clear expectations and having solid requirements, use cases, and test cases are key to success — but Luby is certainly one of the best offshore application development teams I've worked with (and I've worked with many over my career).
Matt March
CIO, Sunwest Bank
Tech & Stack
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