ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CSCU is marking its 25th anniversary at its Annual Meeting and Solutions Conference here with some history-making news: an $11-million check the organization had written clearing on the day the meeting opened.
The CUSO now serves more than 2,300 credit unions representing more than 12 million member accounts.
CSCU CEO Bob Hackney pointed to some of the changes seen since CSCU’s 1990 founding, including the then-prevailing average mortgage rates of 10%, a median home price of $120,000 (today it’s $275,000), and that 15 of the 30 companies that made up the Dow Jones Industrial Average are no longer included in the Dow and have been replaced.
Fast-forwarding to 2015, Hackney said CSCU is now working to lead the way for its credit unions in sorting through a rapidly changing payments landscape and all its various form factors—chip card, PC, smartphone, tablet, wearable—as well as the transition to the EMV compliance deadline later this year.
“Just a year ago at this conference we were still treading water (with the future of payments). Starbucks was using a closed loop mobile app. Visa Checkout was there,” he said, illustrating how many developments, especially Apple Pay, have been seen since its previous meeting.
One of the biggest moves CSCU has made was its earlier announcement it will be paying the $11-million total cost for its member credit unions to convert to chip cards.
“We saw this coming four years ago and asked, ‘What could we do to help our 2300 member credit unions,” said Hackney. “We knew some would be on leading edge, most would be in the middle, and a few would need to be taken by the hand. So we started to sock away some money and with our partnership with FIS we were able to negotiate a deal where we could pay for everyone. That check clearing today! I have never seen a CU organization write a check for that amount in 17 years I’ve been in this space.”
CSCU also is announcing a number of enhancements and new initiatives as part of its Portfolio Consulting Services at the meeting. CUToday.info will have full coverage.