Nymbus Moves In With VyStar CU

A fintech with credit union funding is moving from Miami Beach to the campus that houses the headquarters of VyStar Credit Union in Jacksonville, Fla.

Nymbus said in a news release Tuesday that it made the move because of its relationship with VyStar ($11 billion in assets, 778,348 members). VyStar invested $20 million in April to help develop Nymbus’ month-old Nymbus CUSO to better extend its services to credit unions. In July, VyStar chose Nymbus as its new online and mobile banking solution partner.

In September 2019, VyStar created a $10 million fund to invest exclusively in fintech companies. VyStar has said it has supported Nymbus because it provides a way for it and other credit unions to keep up with members’ rising expectations for sophisticated online services. Nymbus’ website said it saves banks and credit unions “decades” in developing such services.

Nymbus received state and local government incentives for the move based on its promise of adding 600 jobs in the Jacksonville area “in the coming years.”

Anne Miela, COO for Nymbus, said the relocation “represents a new partnership model that takes an excitingly progressive approach to vendor collaboration and accountability.”

“Our teams are now afforded the opportunity to truly innovate alongside one another in a region that is experiencing substantial growth as a financial services and fintech hub,” she said.

Nymbus’ connections to VyStar also include Joel Swanson, VyStar’s chief member experience officer, who is a member of the parent company’s board of directors, and Joe Colca, VyStar’s SVP of digital experience, who was appointed to the Nymbus CUSO board in August.

“Nymbus has proven to be an effective, valuable partner in our efforts to improve the member experience at VyStar and strengthen the credit union industry as a whole,” Colca said.

Nymbus CUSO received a $5 million second round investment in June from the Curql Fund, a venture capital fund founded last year and managed by credit unions. Curql CEO Nick Evens said at the time that Nymbus’ “banking-as-a-service model allows credit unions to quickly stand up an entirely digital organization that includes the required people, processes and technology.”

Nymbus was founded in Miami Beach in 2015 by Scott Killoh. Besides VyStar and the Curql Fund, Nymbus also lists as investors Financial Services Capital Partners of London and Insight Partners of New York.