Constellation launched May 2 and Kovacs has been serving as the interim leader until very recently, when the credit union service organization (CUSO) board formally offered him the CEO position. Kovacs holds more than 25 years of experience in credit union operations and technology.

The concept for Constellation was born out of necessity. Kovacs realized there was a fundamental problem in modern digital financial services. Despite a recent boom of potential financial technology partners, credit unions cannot access them because of the legacy structure of credit union relationships with current digital banking providers.

Constellation is designed to deliver a revolutionary software platform solution that will transform the future of digital banking for credit unions and members. Constellation is building out its cloud-based financial services marketplace and platform that will allow credit unions and members to choose which services to use inside of a secure banking experience.

To date, nine partners spanning nationwide and totaling $12 billion in assets, have committed to investing in the platform. The partners are Coastal Credit Union, CFCU Community Credit Union, Meritrust Credit Union, Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union, Georgia’s Own Credit Union, Affinity Federal Credit Union and Nusenda Credit Union.

Combined, the credit unions represent a significant user base of more than 1.1 million members. Constellation is continuing to offer investment opportunities to make ownership of the platform more accessible for a variety of credit unions. The initial credit union investors are being joined by CO-OP Financial Services and CUNA Mutual, who are also investing in the new CUSO.

In addition, the marketplace will create a new service-based economy where interested digital service developers can also get involved and become service providers and partners on the new platform. Developers can create tiles or services, then credit unions can seek out and select services within the marketplace. Nine service provider partners are already on board: Telrock, Connect Financial Software Solutions, Obloco, Corporate One Federal Credit Union, Gro Solutions, Xtensifi, Insuritas, QuarterSpot, and Narmi.