Cornerstone Foundation's 'First-Ever Fintech Venture' Launches

The charity arm of the Cornerstone League, Cornerstone Foundation, announced Wednesday it has partnered with its sister service corporation Cornerstone Resources and fintech startup Credit Mountain to offer technology that will give consumers personalized credit-improvement plans using a mobile app.

“This is Cornerstone Foundation’s first-ever fintech venture, which began with a successful joint pilot program and seven forward-thinking credit unions,” Cornerstone Foundation Executive Director Courtney Moran said. “The Foundation also led a grant-writing initiative to secure funding from CUNA Mutual Group Foundation, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, and the William and Sylvia Zale Foundation, while also catching the attention of FINRA Foundation.”

According to Wednesday’s statement, the seven Cornerstone-member credit unions that participated in the pilot program included:

1. Resource One Credit Union ($747 million, Dallas)
2. WEOKIE Federal Credit Union ($1.3 billion, Oklahoma City, Okla.)
3. Allegiance Credit Union ($380 million, Oklahoma City, Okla.)
4. Mobiloil Credit Union ($1 billion, Beaumont, Texas)
5. Communication Federal Credit Union ($1.8 billion, Oklahoma City, Okla.)
6. Beacon Federal Credit Union ($204 million, La Porte, Texas)
7. Santa Fe Credit Union ($153 million, Amarillo, Texas)

In early 2022, Credit Mountain became a CUSO and with this new partnership with Cornerstone Resources, Credit Mountain will be able to extend its ability to serve credit unions around the country.

“Credit Mountain blends the member-focus of credit unions with emerging technologies to deliver a personalized credit-improvement experience,” Credit Mountain Co-founder and Chief Product Officer Frank Santoni said. “We are grateful that the Cornerstone Foundation recognized the opportunity to partner with Credit Mountain.”

“The Credit Mountain service goes beyond monitoring,” Cornerstone Resources Chief Revenue Officer Ryan Dold said. “It equips users with the tools needed to improve their credit health. Credit unions can track members’ progress and make offers that help them achieve their financial goals.”

“The path to product market fit — finding the right product calibration for the right customer — is the narrow strait that few startups get through successfully,” Credit Mountain Co-founder and CEO Nathan Pinto said. “Having the Foundation by our side for the journey helped us know where to look, who to ask and most importantly, what to create. It’s unlikely we would have created a product that resonates so well with the credit union industry without our partnership with the Cornerstone Foundation.”