WASHINGTON – BancVue, the Austin, Texas, based financial services innovation company still owns Kasasa, the free checking platform aimed at credit unions and community banks.

However, the quirkily-named program now flies under its own brand, executives with the company said.

“We realized that Kasasa was the biggest thing we did and deserved to stand on its own,” explained Keith Brannan, chief marketing officer for BancVue, attending CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington.

In addition to its suite of free checking accounts, Kasasa now offers marketing, media, training and compliance support.

For example, in one of the product enhancements, Kasasa will help a credit union promote the free checking accounts to members who might have a loan with the credit union that had been originated indirectly and convert them to using more products and services.

“The goal is to help the credit union grow and deepen its deposit base,” Brannan explained.

About 300 financial institutions offer Kasasa checking now, half credit unions and half community banks, Brannan added.