ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.–PSCU has announced what it said is a record-setting patronage dividend of $37.4 million, with 30% being distributed in cash. Separately, it also released its latest analysis of card spend by CU members, showing a strong rebound.
PSCU reported the cash distribution to its owner credit unions this year is $20.5 million, including $6.7 million in capital credits and $2.6 million in revolving funds, representing what it said is also the largest cash payout in its history. Since its founding, PSCU said it has distributed more than $577.6 million in patronage dividends, with 51% paid in cash.
“In a year in which the credit union philosophy of ‘people helping people’ has taken on even deeper meaning, our commitment to the success of our owner credit unions and their members has not wavered,” said President/CEO Chuck Fagan. “Together, we have partnered to meet these challenges head-on and have become an even stronger cooperative. As we previously reported, PSCU completed our 2020 fiscal year with excellent top- and bottom-line growth. As we build on our strong momentum, we continue to invest a significant portion of our top-line revenue in capital expenditures – in addition to our $100 million three-year investment – to fuel future investments, all while providing record patronage dividends to our owners.”
Fiscal Year Highlights
According to PSCU, highlights from its past fiscal year include that $100 million investment, the largest ever approved by its board. The investment has fueled multiple initiatives, including:
- Continued growth of Lumin Digital, PSCU’s cloud-native digital banking platform, with nine credit unions and more than 300,000 users currently on the platform, eight more implementations in process and a strong pipeline in place
- Commitment to improving credit union onboarding, solution delivery and program enhancement efficiencies, “as well as continued growth in strategic solution offerings including digital, risk management and data analytics offerings.”
- Deployment of additional robotic process automation (RPA) and machine learning capabilities to improve efficiency and speed to deliver.
PSCU said other highlights of the past year have included:
- Exponential growth in contactless, with PSCU slated to produce more than 6.8 million new contactless plastics – “the most significant volume in the credit union space – and deliver them to more than 100 credit unions to support natural and mass reissuance strategies in the current calendar year.”
- Continued investment in cutting-edge data, network and cybersecurity infrastructure tools, “including Linked Analysis, PSCU’s proprietary approach to intercepting and predicting fraud; the CUSO’s best-in-class security practices saved owners over $400 million in potential fraud dollars in fiscal year 2020.”
- Expansion of collections capabilities, tools and resources in anticipation of growth in delinquencies in the post-pandemic environment
- Onboarding of more than 900 Jack Henry & Associates (JHA) financial institutions, representing over 15 million accounts, fueling additional investment opportunities to benefit PSCU owners
- The acquisition of Primax, which PSCU said added scale to its core payments business and additional expertise in the small and medium-sized business card market
- Continued focus on building and leveraging a diverse, agile and digital workforce through both dedicated internal initiatives and industry partnerships.
PSCU reminded its annual meeting will be held virtually in 2021, with details forthcoming.