Source: Connect Financial Software Solutions
CU Wallet a collaborative credit union owned and directed mobile payments technology provider, and Connect Financial Software Solutions, an online and mobile solution provider for credit unions, announced they have formed a strategic alliance to enable and equip credit unions with the necessary tools to succeed in an increasingly competitive mobile payments market.
"The partnership between Connect FSS and CU Wallet will enable credit unions to claim a stake in the future of the payment landscape," said Grant Parry, president of Connect FSS. "As mobile wallets become more prevalent, credit unions run a real risk of becoming a back-end commodity. Survival in the mobile wallet age is about scale, in other words the number of consumers that a financial institution can bring to a partnership with a merchant. Individual credit unions do not have the necessary scale, but collectively, credit unions not only have the scale, but are in a very unique position to significantly shape the payments landscape. The CU Wallet initiative is uniting credit unions around this cause, and we are proud to be a part of this movement."
Connect FSS' credit union customers will now have access to the CU Wallet mobile payments platform. The platform will be integrated with Connect FSS' mobile banking and online banking channels to ensure a seamless member experience. Las Vegas based One Nevada Credit Union ($681 million in assets and 75,000 members) will be the first joint customer to launch the mobile wallet platform.
Paul Parrish, executive vice president and chief financial officer of One Nevada Credit Union, said, "It is now quite apparent that having a robust mobile payments strategy is critical to the long-term success of credit unions. We have evaluated all the current mobile wallet options in the market and CU Wallet has the only solution that will function completely in the credit union's interest in terms of providing functional value for the members, new revenue opportunities to offset diminishing interchange, and most importantly, assurances for continued member loyalty. We're proud to be one of Connect FSS' active partners in this alliance with the fast-growing CU Wallet initiative, and we are excited about the seamless E-wallet experience we'll be able to offer our members across all channels."
CU Wallet is the industry's first mobile payments initiative designed specifically for credit unions, by credit unions. By integrating CU Wallet's mobile payments platform to its mobile banking and online banking channels, Connect FSS will provide credit union customers the opportunity to easily deploy a mobile payments, mobile wallet product offering. By providing a credit union branded mobile wallet app, credit unions are positioned to meet the immediate demands of an increasingly mobile membership, attract a new generation of members, and generate new, sustainable streams of revenue.
"Connect FSS shares our dedication to the credit union movement," said Paul Fiore, co-founder and CEO of CU Wallet. "Like Connect FSS, our primary goal is to equip and empower credit unions with innovative technology solutions to ensure their future success. Working together in a collaborative effort, credit unions have a distinct advantage in determining what their future will be as mobile payments continues to transform the banking institution. We look forward to working with the Connect FSS team as we move into the next phase of our mobile wallet initiative."