Coopecaja Enhances Member Services and Secures Data with Laserfiche  

Coopecaja, a savings and credit cooperative in Costa Rica, operates with the complexity of a bank, providing mortgages, consumer loans and savings services to its members. While the organization is dedicated to offering robust financial benefits, the management of physical documentation created significant logistical and financial hurdles. 

The cooperative previously relied on physical archives, storing documents in filing cabinets and external servers. This resulted in excess storage costs and slower member service. Coopecaja needed a solution that would not only digitize their records but also align with national archival standards. 

To alleviate these inefficiencies, the organization implemented Laserfiche to centralize document management and streamline processes across the enterprise. 

“Laserfiche has been a great tool to provide faster and easier access to information,” said Marlene Norori, archivist at Coopecaja. “Working with the platform is much more efficient and fits our administrative and document management needs perfectly.”  

Managing records in accordance with strict regulatory requirements and safeguarding sensitive member data is challenging with physical records. Physical files also slow internal processes and make it difficult to enforce strict access controls. As a cooperative, Coopecaja is governed by a legal framework and regulations issued by the General Superintendency of Financial Institutions (SUGEF) concerning supervision, regulation, and applicable financial controls. Additionally, for document management, Coopecaja must follow the archival standards issued by the National Archive of Costa Rica as well as other international standards. 

To centralize records and enforce granular access controls, the cooperative adopted Laserfiche’s cloud-based enterprise content management (ECM) system. 

“The permissions structure allows staff to find what they need quickly and securely,” said Sharon Ureña Sánchez, archive assistant at Coopecaja. “It also ensures that each person has access only to the information they need and not additional data.”  

With documentation in Laserfiche, Coopecaja minimized the need for printing and physical filing. The platform’s search templates and metadata capabilities helped the cooperative organize information, mirroring their previous archival structure in a secure digital environment. 

Staff can now access information instantly without leaving their desks, freeing up time to focus on higher-value tasks rather than information retrieval. 

“The time saved has been significant — we’ve greatly reduced waiting times for other departments when they need access to information,” said Sánchez. “Laserfiche provides us speed and accessibility.” 

“Laserfiche has significantly reduced physical storage costs,” said Norori. “The goal now is to eliminate obsolete documents that have already passed their retention period and keep only what’s necessary in Laserfiche.”  

By centralizing records in Laserfiche, Coopecaja created a secure environment that strictly enforces data privacy without hindering productivity. 

Beyond records management, Coopecaja is now using Laserfiche to automate key processes. Previously, joining the cooperative was a time-consuming, manual experience. Members were required to visit branch locations in person to complete registration paperwork. This reliance on physical presence and paper forms created delays and administrative burdens for both members and staff. 

Coopecaja transformed the experience by implementing a fully digital onboarding process. “Once members complete the registration process online, the digital documents are automatically uploaded to Laserfiche,” said Norori. “This has saved both our members and our staff a lot of time.” 

This also ensures that member information — such as social capital contributions and membership files — is complete, eliminating the back-and-forth that results from forgotten documents. 

The transition has accelerated service delivery and improved member convenience. Staff can now complete reviews instantly online rather than handling physical paperwork, significantly reducing processing time. 

As Coopecaja plans for the future, the team is confident that they have a scalable foundation. “As we continue adding documents and storage needs grow, with our Laserfiche Cloud infrastructure, we can expand as needed,” added Sánchez.