Software-as-a-service provider Vergent LMS is prioritizing service to the Latin American community with help from Microsoft’s Blazor plugin.

The company’s loan management software (LMS) connects to the tech giant’s plugin to allow documents, payment screens and account management tools to automatically translate into a user’s language of choice. As of now, Spanish is the second most-used language by customers after English, Bradley Tompkins, chief information officer at Ridgeland, Miss.-based Vergent, told Bank Automation News.

“When a customer initially interacts with the customer portal, they select their preferred language., That preferred language is then stored in the loan management system with that customer’s account record,” Tompkins told BAN. “When they interact with the portal in the future, they are displayed the language of their preference, additionally, and that’s pervasive throughout the customer-facing app.”

Blazor is an open-source web framework, allowing developers to create apps using coding languages such as C# and HTML, according to Microsoft’s website. The dynamic plugin used for Vergent’s LMS can automatically translate information into a wide range of languages and is currently exclusive to its users. The one drawback was adjusting the system to different Spanish dialects, Tompkins said.

In one specific instance, the automated language called the home button “casa,” he said, but native speakers of Spanish requested the word to be replaced with one that would be used by Latin Americans.

“We’ve found that really getting native speakers to provide the correct translations has worked out best,” Tompkins told BAN. “So, we had to kind of correct some things that we went through, so just due to the limitations, the automated translation of programs.”

With the help of the Blazor plugin, Vergent hopes to better serve those in the Spanish-speaking community and build a level of trust with those who may be wary of utilizing banks or financial services.

“I think as the Latin American community [in the U.S.] grows, and exposure of financial institutions to that community grows, we’re just going to see a lot more need for this type of functionality,” Tompkins said.

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