CULedger Debuts Credit Union Payments Exchange

Credit union service organization CULedger has debuted its financial exchange for credit unions using R3’s Corda blockchain technology, the firms said in a press release Thursday (Dec. 5).

Dubbed CUPay, the one-to-one financial exchange enables electronic funds transfers via blockchain for near-instant payments, both domestic and international, between credit unions and their members. CUPay was first announced earlier this year in partnership with Luxoft. Now, the technology is ready with a visible proof-of-concept, reports said.

“Current payment methods, especially cross-border payments, rely on outdated, slow technology laden with risk,” said Julie Esser, CULedger chief experience officer. “CUPay gives credit unions and their members an alternative option — one that is more secure, protecting both members and the organization, and more efficient in terms of speed, cost and transparency. This is the technology of the future, and we are ecstatic that credit unions will be among the first financial services organizations to provide this service.”

CULedger said the CUPay project will enable credit unions to choose from multiple payment options for both domestic and cross-border payments, depending on what their members need. The EFT option aims to boost transparency from the beginning to the end of a transaction, the announcement noted.

CUPay integrates CULedger’s MyCUID solution for identity verification, while also implementing know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) functionality for compliance and streamlined data entry. It has also adopted R3’s Corda Settler application to fulfill payment obligations raised on Corda on any payment system around the world, meaning CULedger can add support for more payment rails moving forward.

“CUPay will enable credit unions to move even closer towards cross-border payments that are executed seamlessly and successfully,” said R3 Chief Revenue Officer Cathy Minter. “That is why R3 is proud to be the partner to support CULedger’s initiative, which will allow its members to transact more efficiently. We look forward to seeing CULedger continue to achieve success and transform the way that payments are executed.”