CULedger, a credit union service organisation based in Denver, Colorado, has made a deal with IBM to develop new blockchain services.
The new services will help credit unions offer members greater efficiencies and improved user experiences, says CULedger – which operates a cross-border global distributed ledger platform.
Under the new deal, it will work with IBM to develop permissioned blockchain technologies which will create an immutable audit trail. CULedger hopes this will encourage new business models and transform existing processes for credit unions.
It also aims to increase financial inclusion by extending the reach of credit union services to a broader range of new members.
“A co-operative model that helps improve the member experience while benefiting all credit unions is the ideal approach to ensuring the next wave of financial innovation for the credit union industry,” said John Ainsworth, CEO and president of CULedger, which is owned by credit unions.
“We are creating a network through which all members can join and access new services and enabling credit unions to become even more competitive while addressing new market dynamics where members are demanding even more for their financial services provider.”
Related: Case study of Clockwise, the credit union that developed its own IT offer
“Credit unions will be able to co-operate and receive shared value from quickly exchanging sensitive data in a permissioned, individually controlled and transparent way,” added Marie Wieck, general manager, IBM Blockchain.
“This decentralised approach using blockchain helps put the customer in control of their own identity. The work under way between CULedger and IBM will also lay the foundation for new kinds of services and collaboration among credit unions as we work together to scale and extend the network.”
The news follows CULedger’s announcement in December that it had joined enterprise software firm R3’s global blockchain ecosystem. This brings together more than 200 of the world’s largest financial services firms, tech companies, central banks, regulators, and trade associations to work on Corda, an blockchain platform that removes costly friction in business transactions.
Initial services on the CULedger/IBM blockchain network will be available to credit unions around the world later this year.
