A Texas-based banking technology firm replaces a decade-old, sunset-bound system with a feature-rich, on-premise dispute management platform that brings automation, consistency, and compliance confidence to its operations.
First Texas Data, Inc., a wholly owned division of First Texas Bancorp, Inc. that acts as a technology service provider for financial institutions, had relied on the same dispute management solution for more than a decade. When that system was announced it would be sunset, the company evaluated replacements with clear priorities: on-premise deployment, a feature-rich platform, and robust compliance capabilities. FIntegrate’s FusionDMS delivered on all fronts.
The transition from a manual-heavy system to FusionDMS brought meaningful operational improvements across the board — from automated deadline tracking and standardized form letters to consolidated reporting and a stronger compliance posture.
The FIntegrate team guided the process with consistent communication and responsiveness from kickoff through go-live. James Davenport, President of First Texas Data, Inc., describes the outcome as a platform that has genuinely elevated how the organization manages disputes.
First Texas Data had used its previous dispute management solution for well over ten years. The system served as a basic data repository — staff could input dispute information and pull light reports, but it lacked the dynamic functionality increasingly needed. Deadline tracking was entirely manual, with no system-generated consistency.
“We were manually tracking deadlines, and there were various spreadsheets we had to manage to correlate all of that information,” Davenport explained. “Different people had different interpretations of where a transaction needed to begin in the dispute process — some people were counting weekends, some were counting holidays, some were not.”
As a result, the team had built additional procedural layers as safeguards, including extra steps that would no longer be necessary with a platform capable of managing compliance requirements end to end. When the vendor announced the solution would be sunset, Davenport began the evaluation process in earnest.
Davenport evaluated FusionDMS alongside a competing cloud-based platform. While not opposed to cloud computing in principle, the ability to host dispute management on-premise was a meaningful differentiator.
“Being able to properly manage that on my side gives me greater autonomy and flexibility with how we can utilize that platform,” he said. “Having that autonomy and peace of mind goes a long way.”
The combination of on-premise deployment and a significantly richer feature set made FusionDMS the clear choice. After more than a decade of working with a basic repository, moving to a system with preconfigured dashboards, automated workflow, customizable form letters, and Regulation E deadline alerts represented a material step forward in how First Texas Data could serve its clients.
FusionDMS is available as both an on-premise and cloud-hosted solution, giving institutions the flexibility to deploy in the environment that best fits their operational and security requirements.
The FIntegrate team approached the implementation with clear communication and consistent follow-through from the start. “The team was very responsive,” Davenport noted. “Whatever issues or items came up, we’d reach out and get those addressed in a timely manner. There was an open line throughout.”
The FIntegrate team handled the technical requirements of connecting FusionDMS to the core provider — ensuring card numbers and transaction details flowed into the system in real time — and kept Davenport informed at each step. The result was a go-live that met expectations and set the organization up for immediate operational gains.
The most significant improvement since implementing FusionDMS has been the elimination of the manual processes and multi-spreadsheet workflows that previously defined the dispute function.
“Operational efficiency is the biggest thing,” Davenport said. “We have achieved a 50% reduction in dispute processing time. Less time on those manual streams. The automation — not having to aggregate multiple different subsets of data points to pull everything into one spreadsheet — that’s been the biggest improvement.”
Beyond time savings, the standardization of outgoing letters and forms represents a tangible quality upgrade. System-generated correspondence is consistent and professional in a way that manually assembled documents simply are not. Automated Regulation E deadline tracking has also removed the procedural workarounds the team previously relied on, replacing them with compliance management built directly into the workflow.
The overall effect is a dispute management function that operates with greater maturity. First Texas Data can now present clients and examiners alike with clean, auditable processes backed by a platform purpose-built for the work.
When asked whether he would recommend FusionDMS to other financial institutions, Davenport is direct. He says that for institutions managing dispute volume that has become difficult to handle manually, FusionDMS offers a compelling path forward.
“I think the feature-rich capabilities of the application, the customization it affords, and the on-premise deployment make it a really good product,” Davenport said. “Especially if you’re tracking disputes manually and getting to a size where that’s becoming untenable — this is the way to go.”
For First Texas Data, the move to FusionDMS represents more than a technology upgrade. It marks a shift toward a more standardized, automated, and compliance-confident approach to dispute management — supported by a vendor relationship built on responsiveness and open communication throughout.
