Corporate One, CU*Answers Partner to Simplify Immediate Payments for More CUs

A new partnership between Corporate One Federal Credit Union and the CUSO CU*Answers aims to make it easier for more credit unions to join The Clearing House’s Real-Time Payments (RTP) network and enable immediate payment send and receive functionality – as a result of the pairing, six early adopter credit unions have already begun the process of joining the network, according to an announcement from the two organizations Wednesday.

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based CUSO is leveraging a Third-Party Service Provider (TPSP) solution from the $5.4 billion Corporate One, based in Columbus, Ohio, to establish a technical connection to the RTP network, according to the announcement. The connection enables CU*Answers’ credit union clients to begin receiving immediate payments through the RTP network, as well as allows the CUSO to begin building out RTP send experiences desired by their clients, Corporate One and CU*Answers said.

The Clearing House, the first U.S. vendor to offer access to payments that settle instantly, requires financial institutions to become network participants, either independently or through a TPSP, in order to gain access to the service. The Federal Reserve Board launched the nation’s second instant payments system, FedNow, last month. Corporate One is a certified TPSP on the RTP network and FedNow pilot participant, and offers three immediate payment-related services to credit unions, including CU Corporate Payments on the RTP Network, a B2B send solution offered in conjunction with Juniper Payments. The Corporate One-CU*Answers partnership allows CU*Answers’ credit union clients to become RTP network participants via Corporate One.

“Our partnership aims to empower CU*Answers credit unions to conveniently access the RTP network through a ‘plug and play’ solution, a simplified API connection that can be integrated into a wide range of products, allowing them to confidently advance their payment modernization efforts,” Corporate One President/CEO Melissa Ashley said. “Connecting CU*Answers to the RTP network enables them to swiftly onboard their client credit unions and provide them with seamless access to real-time payments. Partnerships like this one that fuel credit union adoption of immediate payments and help them compete and take advantage of immediate payments’ opportunities are exactly what we hoped to do when we set out on this journey nearly 10 years ago.”

CU*Answers CEO Geoff Johnson added, “When we launched our initiative to add RTP capabilities for our network clients, we needed a partner with plenty of experience to help us navigate these new waters. Corporate One gave us a great start and has not only connected us to the technology for RTP services but has provided invaluable education and the benefit of their experience along the way. And their simplified onboarding process will allow everyone in our network to hook in with minimal disruption to their current operations.”

During a July 25 interview with Ashley, she shared that 69 non-corporate credit unions total had become participants on the RTP network. Corporate One revealed three of the six early adopter credit unions that are connecting to the network as a result of the Corporate One-CU*Answers partnership are:

• Element Federal Credit Union ($52.4 million, Charleston, W.V.)
• Bluestone Federal Credit Union ($183 million, Sioux Falls, S.D.)
• Day Air Credit Union ($748 million, Dayton, Ohio)